KING of spin Max Clifford (pictured) has given islanders his advice on how to become rich and famous. The PR guru, who represents top celebrities such as Simon Cowell, has been in Guernsey since Thursday as the guest of AO Hall and the GTA University Centre.
‘The quickest way to get noticed these days is to become involved with someone famous. Reality TV is another route, as long as you have a thick-enough skin.’ Mr Clifford, 65, was guest of honour at the second fraud conference at the St Pierre Park Hotel yesterday.
He also had some words of wisdom for the lucky few who might one day make the A-list. ‘Make sure you see fame for what it is. The people close to you should be the ones you’ve known for years and remember that probably 95% of your new friends are interested in you only because you’re famous. Keep your feet on the ground, make the most of it and enjoy yourself – don’t let it destroy you.
‘Also, you should hire someone like me as that’s the difference between short-term fame and lasting success.’
Surrey-born Mr Clifford started his media career as a reporter for South London Press. After a few years, he joined record company EMI’s press office and got the job of promoting then-unknown group The Beatles in the USA.
‘It was a case of right place and right time. The Beatles were a wonderful opportunity for me because their success was so vast. If you wanted to know anything about them, you came to me. There was no public relations industry at the time – no one had even heard of PR.
‘It was something that came naturally to me. I had to make it up as I went along and that suited me.’
In 1970, aged 27, Mr Clifford established his own agency and started off by representing Frank Sinatra, Joe Cocker and Marvin Gaye and later Muhammad Ali and Marlon Brando.
His work has grown more challenging in recent times due to the changing nature of the industry, he said.
‘The British media get ever more savage and would rather write something nasty than something nice. These days I spend much more time protecting my clients than promoting them.’
He said he found society’s obsession with celebrities to be rather strange.
‘People realise that you don’t need to be talented to be famous any more. The perception is that it’s exciting and you can make a lot of money from it.
‘If you ask children what they want to be when they grow up, a lot of them will say they want to be famous and that’s quite sad.’
Mr Clifford is the patron of four children’s charities and is now as recognisable as many of the clients he represents.
‘I left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications and now I live in beautiful homes and fly everywhere by private jet. I drive a Bentley, whereas my dad rode a bike. It’s a wonderful life as long as you see it for what it is and my experience in the business lets me do that.
‘I enjoy what I do and I wake up every morning thinking how lucky I am.’
Mr Clifford was in Guernsey with his partner, Jo.
‘We’re having a cracking time here – it’s lovely. It’s my first time in Guernsey and everyone seems to be very friendly. That’s not the case in London, so I can see why people live here.’
Article posted on 28th June, 2008 - 9.30am
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