R.I.P. JUDY TOTTON, MUSIC PR GURU & PHOTOGRAPHER

Judy Tottton with David Stark Judy Totton, Anita Maguire, Chrissie Hynde and Sepp Osley Judy Totton, Keith Altham and Paul Sexton

London, October 2021: SongLink is extremely sad to report the death, at the age of 69, of Judy Totton, a great personal friend of David Stark's and to many others in the UK music industry. Judy was a music PR guru & photographer for many years, whose clients included Joe Brown, Joan Armatrading, Andy Fairweather-Lowe, Donovan, Dire Straits, Status Quo & many others over the years. She also did a wonderful job in plugging David Stark's recent book "It's All Too Much" on radio and in the press in the past year.

Judy Totton Publicity was founded in 1979, while for over four decades Judy provided a quality service combining flair and sensitivity with efficiency and drive. The ability to generate widespread coverage, a down to earth approach and a commitment to each client's individual needs are the qualities that won Judy the music industry's top PR Award on four separate occasions.

Judy also handled events as varied as the Chinese State Circus and Castle Donington's 72,500 capacity annual Monsters Of Rock festival; companies as large as EMI Publishing; and international stars as big as David Bowie, Dire Straits and Kiss. Major shows included 2018's 'Evening With Eric Cantona' and 2019's Drum Legends festival. Judy also worked on successive talks by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; the launch of Bill Wyman's 2002 best-selling book and subsequent solo album; and dates for Pink Floyd.

Having gained a BA (Hons) from Exeter University and an MA from the Royal College Of Art. Judy spent a short time working in theatre before joining Magnet Records, the No 1 singles label of the time, under the consultancy guidance of legendary PR Clifford Elson. In 1978 she left Magnet to become Press Officer at CBS Records (later to become Sony Music). Among the many artists she represented were Abba and The Jacksons featuring a young Michael Jackson.

In 1979 Judy set up her own company and within a month was engaged by Status Quo. They were to remain on her roster until she went on tour with David Bowie a decade later. Another long-standing client throughout the '80s was Toyah, named Singer of the Year in 1982, while other artists included The Only Ones, Orange Juice, the Beat, John Cooper Clarke, Doll By Doll, Haircut 100, Landscape, Dr Feelgood, Fischer Z and Gary Numan. Latterly the company handled PR for many artists including Steve Mille, the Kinks, Joan Armatrading and Joe Brown.

On a more personal note, Judy also contributed photographs and articles to many publications and was a panellist at various music industry seminars. She also donated her time and energy to a variety of charities including environmental and humanitarian causes.

Her partner John Taylor (manager of Joe Brown and Andy Fairweather-Lowe) announced the sad news on October 20th, writing, "Dear friends, it is with a heavy heart I have to let you know my beautiful partner Judy Totton has passed away this morning. In keeping with Judy's character, It was peaceful, calm & completely dignified at home here and with absolute air of serenity.

"I'm sorry I know this will come as a shock to most of you as she did not want her illness to become the subject of discussion so we did not broadcast but withdrew to deal with it and I'm also sorry this news has come via email but there are just so many people to tell it would otherwise take days and I don't think I will manage many conversations just yet. We have not made any decisions about what will happen next but will let you know when we have."

RIP Judy Totton
2/1/52 - 20/10/21
www.judytotton.com