Joyce Smyth | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 (age 67–68) |
| Education | Clare College, Cambridge |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Manager ofThe Rolling Stones |
| Spouse | Michael Smyth |
| Website | glastry |
Joyce Smyth (born 1957) is an English solicitor. She has been themanager of the British rock bandThe Rolling Stones since 2010.
Smyth was raised inPortsmouth, and attended grammar school and college inFareham.[1][2][3] While working on herA-levels, she played guitar and sang folk music at local restaurants and pubs. She then read law atClare College, Cambridge, where she was a member of thefolk music club and helped to organise theCambridge Folk Festival.[2][4] After graduating university, Smyth moved to London to work for the law firmTheodore Goddard in its private client practice. In the 1980s, she was assignedPrince Rupert Loewenstein, the then-business manager forThe Rolling Stones, as a client; Loewenstein eventually became her mentor in the music business.[1][4][5]
Smyth became partner at Theodore Goddard and, in 1990, she was appointed the head of its private client practice. Throughout the 1990s, the firm began to shift its focus toward corporate work, such asmergers and acquisitions. In 1997, Smyth—who felt that the private client practice was being treated as a "second-class division"—left the firm at the urging of Loewenstein. She started a new firm, Smyth Barkham, with her partner Caroline Barkham and the other private client attorneys at Theodore Goddard. They took their clients—including the Stones—with them.[1][4][6]
In 2010, Smyth took over as the Stones' manager when Loewenstein retired.[5][4] As manager, she promoted the band's 50th anniversary in 2012. She was an executive producer of the band's 2012 documentaryCrossfire Hurricane and she organised the band's2016 concert inHavana.[1][4]
Smyth has co-managedCeline Dion through her music management firmGlastry since 2023.[7] She also representedCheryl in her divorce withAshley Cole,Phil Collins, andMick Jagger in the annulment of his marriage withJerry Hall.[1][6]
Smyth is married to the lawyerMichael Smyth, whom she met at Cambridge.[1][5]