Editing Kit Lambert

{{Short description|English record producer, record label owner, raconteur and manager of The Who}}
{{About|the manager of the Who|the actor|Christopher Lambert}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name                = Kit Lambert
| image               = The Who receive gold record for Tommy album.jpg
| caption             = Lambert (back row, right) posing with the Who as they celebrate [[Tommy (The Who album)|''Tommy'']] becoming a [[Music_recording_certification#Certification_thresholds|gold]] record {{circa|1969}}
| birth_name          = Christopher Sebastian Lambert
| alias               = Baron Lambert<br />Kit "The Baron" Lambert
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1935|05|11}}
| birth_place         = [[Knightsbridge]], London, England
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1981|04|07|1935|05|11}}
| death_place         = [[London]], England
| father              = [[Constant Lambert]]
| relatives           = {{nowrap|[[George Washington Lambert|George Lambert]] (grandfather)}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|Talent manager|record producer|record label owner}}
| module              = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed               = yes
| years_active        = 1964–1976 manager<br>1967–1978 label owner
| label               = [[Track Records|Track Record]]
| website             = 
}}
}}

'''Christopher Sebastian''' "'''Kit'''" '''Lambert''' (11 May 1935 – 7 April 1981) was an English record producer, record label owner and the manager of [[the Who]].

== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Kit Lambert was born on 11 May 1935,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DykffzkFALoC&dq=Kit+Lambert+BORN+MAY+11+1935&pg=PA351 |first=Nick |last=Talevski |title=Rock Obituaries – Knocking On Heaven's Door |year=2010 |publisher=Music Sales |isbn=978-0-85712-117-2 |page=351}}</ref> the son of composer [[Constant Lambert]] and part-time actress Florence Kaye. He was the grandson of [[George Washington Lambert]], a sculptor and painter who was an official [[war artist]] for the Australian government at [[Gallipoli campaign|Gallipoli]] during the [[World War I|First World War]]. His godfather was his father's friend and fellow composer, [[William Walton]].<ref name="Napier-Bell">{{cite news|url=http://www.simonnapierbell.com/kit_lambert.html|title=Kit Lambert|last1=Napier-Bell|first1=Simon|year=1997|newspaper=Sunday Times magazine|access-date=13 March 2015}}</ref> His godmother was [[Margot Fonteyn]], the prima ballerina who danced for Constant's company, [[The Royal Ballet]], and with whom Constant had an affair causing him to leave Lambert's mother.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/oct/31/biography.stage |title=Equally Home on the Range – A Review of Margot Fonteyn |last1=Perry|first1=Jann|year=2004|newspaper=The Observer|access-date=28 January 2017}}</ref> Home life was difficult for Lambert who was sent to live with his grandmother at a young age. When he was 16, his father died at the age of 45.

=== Career in film and music ===
After studying history at [[Trinity College, Oxford|Trinity College]], Oxford, Lambert trained at the [[Mons Officer Cadet School]] and briefly served as an officer in the [[British Army]] to carry out his [[national service]] obligations; he was stationed in Hong Kong. After returning to civilian life, in May 1961, he joined an expedition with two [[Oxford]] friends, [[Richard Mason (explorer)|Richard Mason]] and [[John Hemming (explorer)|John Hemming]], in an attempt to discover the source of the [[Iriri River]] in the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon]]. Lambert hoped to film the expedition as a documentary. On 3 September, Mason was killed by an uncontacted Amazon [[Indigenous peoples in Brazil|tribe]] known as the [[Panará people|Panará]] while he was alone hunting for food. Lambert was initially arrested on suspicion of murdering his friend but, after a concerted campaign in Britain by the ''[[Daily Express]]'' newspaper, which had financed the expedition, he was released. After returning to the United Kingdom, Lambert became an [[assistant director]] (AD) on the films ''[[The Guns of Navarone (film)|The Guns of Navarone]]'' (1961),<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kit-lambert-mn0000080966/biography|title=Kit Lambert Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=7 March 2023}}</ref> ''[[The L-Shaped Room]]'' (1962), and ''[[From Russia with Love (film)|From Russia with Love]]'' (1963), which is when he met fellow AD [[Chris Stamp]], brother of actor [[Terence Stamp]].

Soon after, he and Stamp decided to make a documentary that would show the behind-the-scenes life of a pop group. The band they chose was the High Numbers (known previously, and again afterwards, as [[the Who]]). Lambert and Stamp began filming concerts of the group, but eventually abandoned the idea of the documentary, deciding instead to become the Who's managers, even though they had no experience managing a group. After the band was turned down by [[EMI]], Lambert and Stamp signed them up with [[Shel Talmy]], who had produced [[the Kinks]] hits, and whose company had an output deal through [[Decca Records]] in the UK. Lambert eventually replaced Talmy as the group's producer in 1966,<ref name="auto"/> starting with "[[I'm a Boy]]," which reached number two on the [[UK Singles Chart]].

=== Track Records ===
{{Quote box
 | quote = "[[Pete Townshend|Pete]] always hated Kit's production. Some of the mixes Kit did were terrible. He was always a bit bass-light, which used to upset [[John Entwistle|John]], but recording circumstances were different in those days...[and] we didn't have a lot to play with. But Kit was incredibly adventurous. He'd fly in, throw everything at the wall, tear it down and rebuild it. We'd do layers and layers. We'd do [[Harmony|harmonies]] all over the place, building them up by bouncing one track onto another, on those three-tracks. This allowed us to get the backing vocal harmonies sounding like we were a 12-piece vocal group."
 | source = — [[Roger Daltrey]], reflecting upon Lambert's early production style with the Who in his autobiography<ref>{{cite book |last1=Daltrey |first1=Roger |title=Thanks a Lot, Mr. Kibblewhite: My Story |date=2018 |publisher=Blink Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-1-788700-31-3 |page=112}}</ref>
 | align = right
 | width = 35%
 | bgcolor = #f9f9f9
}}
In 1967, Lambert and Stamp established their own independent record label, [[Track Records]], one of the first of its kind, signing up various new artists, including [[Jimi Hendrix]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/aug/08/jimi-hendrix-40th-anniversary-death |title=Jimi Hendrix – You Never Told Me He was That Good |last1=Vulliamy|first1=Ed|year=2010|newspaper=The Observer|access-date=28 January 2017}}</ref><ref>The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ''Live at Monterey'' DVD</ref> [[Arthur Brown (musician)|Arthur Brown]] (producing his No. 1 single, "[[Fire (Arthur Brown song)|Fire]]", and parent studio album ''[[The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (album)|The Crazy World of Arthur Brown]]'' in 1968), [[Thunderclap Newman]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.simonnapierbell.com/kit_lambert.html|title=Simon Napier-Bell|website=Simonnapierbell.com|access-date=7 March 2023}}</ref> [[John Lennon]] and [[Yoko Ono]], and [[Golden Earring]]. In 1968, they set up offices in New York and signed [[Labelle]], whose eponymous debut studio album ''[[Labelle (album)|Labelle]]'', Lambert produced, and [[the Parliaments]]. The label initially proved very lucrative for the duo but due to fiscal mismanagement and ongoing conflicts with the Who it soon fell into debt and was dissolved in 1978.

=== ''Tommy'' ===
Ever since the beginning of their working relationship Lambert had been trying to convince [[Pete Townshend]] to move away from simple songwriting and compose more mature fare using his troubled childhood as a starting point. Townshend has acknowledged that it was Lambert who influenced him to combine [[rock music]] and [[opera]], which led to the creation of the [[rock opera]] ''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommy]]''. Although the Who were international hitmakers by the late 1960s, it was not until the release of ''Tommy'' in 1969 that the band became firmly established both creatively and commercially.

=== Firing ===
While the Who was struggling to articulate Townshend's next concept, ''[[Lifehouse (rock opera)|Lifehouse]]'' (which would eventually be abandoned, and turned into the popular rock album ''[[Who's Next]]''),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-12-31/interview-how-the-who-salvaged-whos-next-from-the-lifehouse-wreckage |title=Interview: How The Who Salvaged Who's Next from the Lifehouse Wreckage |last1=Egan|first1=Sean|year=2017|newspaper=Teamrock.com|access-date=28 January 2017}}</ref> Lambert began shopping a film version of ''Tommy'' without the band's authorization. This led to significant differences between Lambert and the group.

Despite this, in 1973, Townshend contacted Lambert, asking him to help with the recording of ''[[Quadrophenia]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-10-26/the-who-how-we-made-quadrophenia |title=The Who: How We Made Quadrophenia |last1=Hughes|first1=Rob|year=2016|newspaper=Teamrock.com|access-date=28 January 2017}}</ref> but Lambert's drug abuse and the allegations of missing funds stalled efforts at a reconciliation. After litigation was initiated for unpaid royalties, both Lambert and Stamp were sacked in 1974 and replaced by [[Bill Curbishley]], who still manages the band. They officially ended their partnership with the band two years later. On 22 January 1977, the Who settled their lawsuit against Lambert and Stamp. Townshend received a $1 million settlement for his US copyrights to date and the Who gained rights to all their recordings from "[[Substitute (The Who song)|Substitute]]" onwards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thewhothismonth.com/jan1.html|title=The Who This Month|last1=Kent|first1=Matthew|year=2000|newspaper=Thewhothismonth.com|access-date=28 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202064003/http://www.thewhothismonth.com/jan1.html|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1978, Lambert worked with some early [[Punk rock|punk]] bands including producing a couple of singles for groups Razr and [[Chelsea (band)|Chelsea]], the latter under the name Kit "The Baron" Lambert.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4WM6Cb1z-PwC&q=Chelsea+punk+band+and+Kit+Lambert&pg=PA154 |title=Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970–1982 by George Gimarc |year=2005 |publisher=Backbeat Books (1 August 2005) |isbn=978-0-87930-848-3 |access-date=28 January 2017}}</ref>

=== Ward of court ===
At the peak of his success Lambert owned a flat in [[Knightsbridge]], London, and [[Palazzo Dario]] on the [[Grand Canal (Venice)|Grand Canal]] in Venice, where he was known as Baron Lambert. Lambert claimed that he was conceived in Venice and hence was connected to the city. His neighbour was the heiress and renowned Modern Art collector, [[Peggy Guggenheim]], with whom Lambert was rumoured to be romantically linked. However, back in the UK his excessive drug use brought him to the attention of the British police and he was arrested and charged with possession of heroin. As a defence, and one rarely used, a lawyer convinced Lambert to become a [[Ward (law)|Ward]] of the [[Court of Protection]] whereby he would avoid drug charges and a potential prison sentence while an Official Solicitor would take charge of his affairs. As a ward Kit would be provided with a small weekly stipend out of his own money to live on amounting to approximately £150 per week, even though royalties from the albums that Lambert produced for the Who and Hendrix were steadily increasing each year.

=== Book and final days ===
[[File:ConstantLambertBrompton.jpg|thumb|Family monument, Brompton Cemetery, with Lambert’s name added]]
In 1980, Lambert began writing an autobiography, detailing how he discovered the Who. It included many never-before-told stories about his contemporaries [[the Beatles]], [[the Rolling Stones]], [[Brian Epstein]], and [[Jimi Hendrix]], and friends like [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret]] and [[Liberace]]. However, days before Lambert was to sign a publishing deal, the publisher was contacted by the Official Solicitor in charge of Lambert's life, who stated that all revenues from the sale of the book had to be paid to the court, which would then dole them out to Lambert. That was the beginning of Lambert's downward spiral, increasing his dependence on drugs and alcohol.

Lambert died on 7 April 1981 of a [[intracerebral hemorrhage]] after falling down a flight of stairs.<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1424}}</ref> On the night of his death, he was seen drinking heavily at a popular [[Kensington]] watering hole, El Sombrero, where, according to many, including Townshend, he was beaten up by a drug dealer over an unpaid debt, which contributed to his fall and death. In his autobiography ''Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Guy'', record producer [[Tony Visconti]] stated: "He [Lambert] was already in advanced stages of whatever. He died when a coke dealer pushed him downstairs."<ref>Visconti, Tony, ''Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy'', Harper Collins, London, 2007</ref> Lambert was cremated and his ashes interred in [[Brompton Cemetery]], London, in the grave of his father, paternal grandfather, and grandmother.

By 2018, his original inscription on the family headstone – "Christopher Sebastian 'Kit' Lambert – Son of Constant 1935–1981 Creative Musician" – was virtually unreadable. Nick Salaman, a friend since they were at university,<ref>{{cite web|title=Trinity College Report 2015/16, ed. Tom Knollys (Alumni Relations Officer)|publisher=Trinity College, Oxford|page=42|url=https://www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/TrinityReport2015-16-web-1.pdf|access-date=11 April 2019|archive-date=11 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411210213/https://www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/TrinityReport2015-16-web-1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> wrote in the Friends of [[Brompton Cemetery]] magazine: "He was more than a creative musician. And who was this Christopher Sebastian Lambert? Did anyone know or care about his full name? An idea popped in my mind to put up a new gravestone that spelt out exactly who Kit was and what he was famous for." A new stone, paid for by Salaman, and Kit's only surviving relative, his half-sister Annie, was added to the bottom in place of the original one. Unveiled in a ceremony at midday on 12 June 2018, it is inscribed: "Also Constant's son, Kit Lambert, 1935–1981, The man who made The Who".<ref>''Friends of Brompton Cemetery Magazine'' issue No. 62 Autumn 2018</ref>

== ''The Lamberts'' biography ==
Some material compiled by Lambert was included in a book called ''The Lamberts'' by writer and poet [[Andrew Motion]], the British [[Poet laureate|Poet Laureate]], which won the [[Somerset Maugham Award]] literary prize in 1986.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMAYAAAAYAAJ&q=the+lamberts+andrew+motion|title=The Lamberts: George, Constant & Kit|first=Andrew|last=Motion|date=5 February 1986|publisher=Chatto & Windus|isbn=978-0-7011-2731-2|via=Google Books}}</ref> The tapes made of Lambert's interviews were several hours in length and became an important historical reference both of the era of pop and rock music as well as of Lambert's own tumultuous life. On the tapes he dispelled some of the popular rumours that he had purposely perpetuated himself to generate publicity about his charges. However, Lambert's methods in promoting groups like the Who were far more eccentric and stranger than popularly believed. 

The two remaining members of the Who, Townshend and [[Roger Daltrey]], have always acknowledged Lambert as a major influence on the band's success, along with his business partner [[Chris Stamp]]. After his death his estate was worth over £490,000 and the royalties that have flowed in from his various works to his heirs have totaled over £1&nbsp;million.

== Popular culture ==
In 2014, an American documentary film was made about Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp entitled ''[[Lambert & Stamp]]''. It was produced and directed by James D. Cooper. It had its world premiere at 2014 [[Sundance Film Festival]] on 20 January 2014. According to Lapin (2015), Lambert was a homosexual.<ref>{{Cite news|title='Lambert And Stamp': The Story Of The Men Who Helped Make The Who|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/04/02/396791393/lambert-and-stamp-the-story-of-the-men-who-helped-make-the-who|access-date=2 February 2021|website=NPR.org|date=2 April 2015|language=en|last1=Lapin|first1=Andrew}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sonyclassics.com/lambertandstamp/ |title=Lambert & Stamp &#124;&#124; A Sony Pictures Classics Release |publisher=Sonyclassics.com |access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2Ss51MfRT3lF4fRY2jxWCvg/lambert-stamp-the-men-who-made-the-who |title=Arts – Lambert & Stamp: The men who made The Who |publisher=BBC |access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Newspaper references ==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=oyIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=kit+lambert+letter&pg=PA82 ''Billboard'' magazine – 7 December 1968]
* [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19790630&id=0YJIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ym0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7021,4027428&hl=en ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' – 30 June 1979]
* [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19791203&id=3wMOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-W0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5935,269524&hl=en ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' – 3 December 1979]
* [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19810408&id=-UhPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LwMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4349,4959417&hl=en ''Toledo Blade'' 8 April 1981]
* [https://nypost.com/2015/03/28/the-who-documentary/ ''Lambert & Stamp'' review 28 March 2015]
* [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1242&dat=19711104&id=lUZTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=X4YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7032,3095442 Kingsport Post – 4 November 1971]

== External links ==
* [http://sonyclassics.com/lambertandstamp/ ''Lambert & Stamp'' documentary – Sony Classics]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2015/apr/27/lambert-and-stamp-the-who-video-clip/ ''The Guardian'' on ''Lambert & Stamp'']
* [http://www.mojo4music.com/20254/the-who-managers-exposed-in-new-documentary/ Mojo Music on ''Lambert & Stamp'']
* [https://www.imdb.com/video/epk/vi2233905433/ IMDb on ''Lambert & Stamp'']
* [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/lambert-stamp-sundance-review-673973/ The ''Hollywood Reporter'' on ''Lambert & Stamp'']
* [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/kit-lambert-mn0000080966/biography/ Allmusic.com Kit Lambert biography]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/21/who-kit-lambert-chris-stamp-roger-daltrey-film/ The Guardian Music on ''Lambert & Stamp'']
* [http://justbackdated.blogspot.com/2014/01/kit-lambert.html ''Mojo'' Magazine ''Just Backdated'' by Chris Charlesworth]
* [http://www.thestranger.com/film/feature/2015/05/06/22171907/the-amazing-journey-of-lambert-and-stamp/ The Stranger on ''Lambert & Stamp]

{{The Who|state=expanded}}
{{George Washington Lambert}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Kit}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century English LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths from falls]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in London]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Burials at Brompton Cemetery]]
[[Category:English music managers]]
[[Category:English record producers]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School]]
[[Category:Lambert family|Kit]]
[[Category:The Who]]