Former LUU Ents Secretary Stuart Galbraith helped put on shows like The Clash, Simple Minds and U2 at Leeds in the 1980s. It was the grounding he needed to become a legend of the live music industry.
Live music events promoter Stuart Galbraith came to Leeds to study Biophysics and Microbiology, only to have his head turned by Leeds University Union's gig listings in his first week.
He signed up to Ents (Entertainments) at the Fresher's Fair, worked as a stage crew member, then stage manager, before becoming Ents Secretary in 1983. He never finished his degree, instead joining events promoter MCP during his third year, kickstarting an illustrious career in the live music industry – for which he received the LIVEtime Achievement Award at the LIVE Awards 2025 as a key player in the growth of UK live music over the last four decades.
Leeds Voices with Stuart Galbraith
Listen to our podcast episode with Stuart, as he discusses gigs at Leeds, life as an events promoter, and putting on some of the largest live music shows in the world.
"I loved it at Leeds," says Stuart. "We were a small student union venue that was boxing above its weight. I think we did the first ever show in the UK with ZZ Top. We had Robert Plant and Quiet Riot. It was a huge variety.
"Back in the 80s and 90s there wasn't the network of venues we have now. The Refectory was the main venue if you wanted to play to the people of West Yorkshire, so these bands came to us on the university circuit."
It was a recognised career path to move from Ents into the music industry. Stuart remembers Harvey Goldsmith worked the same role at Brighton University before going on to become a promoter of shows such as Live Aid, and John Giddings booked bands at Exeter University before eventually becoming an agent to the likes of U2 and David Bowie.
"I learnt so much at Leeds. I learnt how to work in multi-faceted teams. I learnt about the booking process, setting ticket prices, how to market gigs, the technical aspects like mixing sound and lighting, then the practical aspects like start times, crowd behaviour, and stewarding.
"Live music events are a huge jigsaw with lots of different parts you need to put together. I learnt to do that at Leeds."
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There were occasions we came close to losing everything.
Stuart later became Managing Director at Live Nation, before founding Kilimanjaro Live. His back catalogue includes Oasis at Knebworth and Red Hot Chilli Peppers at Hyde Park – not to mention festivals such as Wireless, Download and Sonisphere.
It wasn't always smooth sailing, and the role of event promoter is riddled with risk. Stuart explains how they are the only person who might come out at a loss after a gig, with the artist, stage crew and venue receiving payment no matter what. "Not every decision is a correct decision," says Stuart. "There were occasions we came close to losing everything."
But when the decision to work with an artist is correct, the rewards can be significant. Stuart looks back fondly on a concert the company put on with Just Jack at Shepherd's Bush Empire, supported by a little-known singer called Ed Sheeran. "We only sold 1,200 tickets and we lost £3,500. But it was the best £3,500 we ever lost.
"Seeing Ed play, it was very obvious he had huge talent, and so we began to work with him. The rest, as they say, is history." Kilimanjaro Live now promote Ed Sheeran at stadium level, and he is one of their biggest clients.
"I get real satisfaction from taking small artists and joining them on that journey from clubs to stadiums.
"To be able to do it, you need to have good ears to spot talent and you need to be very organised."
He remembers Live8 in Hyde Park, 2005, when major artists and bands played the largest simultaneous global concerts ever. Stuart helped pull it together in less than two months. "That scale of show and the complexity presented challenges. On the day we ran enormously late. That was one of the most stressful days. But it was organised chaos."
Stuart suggests one other key ingredient to success:
"Follow your passion. You will excel at something if you love doing it. If you don't go home from your day saying I enjoyed that, you're probably still looking."
