Cuffe & Taylor is set for its most high-profile year to date, with shows by the likes of Britney Spears, Gary Barlow and Lionel Richie in the offing for 2018.
The Preston-headquartered promoter, which has carved out a niche by delivering shows in some of the UK's less fashionable regions and unusual locations, was acquired by Live Nation last year, helping to create significant new opportunities.
Cuffe & Taylor continues to be led by founders and joint directors Daniel Cuffe (pictured left) and Peter Taylor (right) and brought Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You tour to Manchester Arena and The O2 in London in December.
Taylor, who gives the lowdown here on staging Spears' long-awaited comeback tour, told Music Week: "Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves. Little did we think, in our little office in Preston, that we’d be promoting Britney Spears and Mariah Carey and all the other fabulous artists that we are doing."
The firm will present Madness' tour of Stately homes this summer and yesterday announced a Lionel Richie concert at Scarborough Open Air Theatre. It has also confirmed Il Divo as the first headline act of its flagship Lytham Festival and unveil the line-up for its Greenwich Music Time festival next week.
"We've got a lot of theatre touring in as well so we're really excited, it's going to be a very busy year," said Taylor.
Prior to becoming part of Live Nation, Cuffe & Taylor promoted Rod Stewart’s 2016 UK stadium tour and works with artists such as Tom Jones, Gary Barlow, Olly Murs, Bryan Adams, Little Mix and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. In 2013 it staged a 40th anniversary celebration concert in the Highlands for Celtic rockers Runrig and has programmed Scarborough Open Air Theatre since 2016.
Taylor added it had been very much business as usual since the Live Nation deal. "Live Nation bought Cuffe & Taylor because they liked what we did, so I don’t think they want to then change that," he said. "They’re just happy to let us get on with it and we’re really enjoying it - no regrets."
