Julian Henry - PR Career

PR Career

In 1986, Henry was appointed as PR executive for renowned fashion publicist Lynne Franks. He remained there for ten years as she promoted the careers of Jean Paul Gaultier, Katherine Hamnett, Rifat Ozbek and other influential designers, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director. Henry was caricatured in a sketch by comedians French & Saunders.

In 1987 Henry met music manager Simon Fuller and began a working relationship that has lasted over 20 years to the current day. His first work for Fuller was for songwriter Cathy Dennis and Annie Lennox while at Lynne Franks PR. He remains one of Fuller closest advisors and has taken on a senior role at 19 Entertainment as global head of communication.

He became a director of Lynne Franks PR in 1991 and developed his own entertainment client roster away from fashion including Absolut Vodka, Coca-Cola, BBC Radio 1, HMV Music Stores, Yamaha, Sega, the pop singer Michael Jackson, The Spice Girls and various television shows including the BAFTA award winning C4 show Network 7. While at LFPR Henry co-produced two TV shows with BBC TV's Kenton Allen 'Yamaha Band Explosion' (BBC) - a sponsored TV showcase for new talent - which featured early performances by Teenage Fanclub, Manic Street Preachers, Blur and Radiohead. He worked with Allen on the Diet Coke Movie Awards (ITV). At this time he founded his own record label JSH Records and contributed articles to British music papers including NME, Melody Maker and Music Week. As a champion of indie music and contributor to Underground Magazine Henry unearthed Liverpool group The La's who he introduced to Go Discs chief Andy McDonald. He also interviewed John Peel, Chelsea footballer Pat Nevin and others.

In early 1990s his music group The Hit Parade became successful in Japan and USA, and he toured Japan four times, releasing a series of CDs that were critically applauded but never commercially successful. Between 1996 and 1998, he was a member of the Spice Girls' management team. In 1998 he launched his own PR company, Henry's House with Simon Fuller as a fellow director. While running Henry's House he publicised Tango, Big Brother, Coca-Cola, Absolut Vodka, Pop Idol and various TV shows and celebrities.

In 1998 through 1999, he continued to do peripheral sports media management in association with Fuller's 19 Management, and acted as Steve McManaman's sports agent, securing his lucrative move to Real Madrid, making him the world's best paid British player at the time. In 2001 Henry's PR Agency Henry's House was taken on by ITV to promote the first series of Pop Idol in the UK; at that time his business was representing The Priory (C4), The Big Breakfast (C4) and Big Brother (C4) as well as various TV personalities.

In 2004 Julian Henry was named as one of the Top 10 Marketing & PR executives in the UK and two years later he took on the role of Head of Communications at Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment to oversee the promotion of David and Victoria Beckham, American Idol TV show, the Spice Girls and others, as well as handling all corporate affairs issues for Simon Fuller. In 2009 he began to work from Fuller's Los Angeles office in West Hollywood. Henry is no longer involved with Henry's House; he was a Trustee of The ICA from 2001 to 2008 and writes an occasional newspaper column for The Guardian.

In 2008 and 2009 Julian Henry wrote articles in UK press criticising the appointment of Andy Coulson as the British Prime Minister Head of Communications, and he has commented publicly since on the subsequent phone hacking scandal that has enveloped the British tabloids.

In 2011, following the release of a new record by the Hit Parade, Guardian journalist Alexis Petridis interviewed Julian Henry about his dual existence as PR agent and Musician. Julian Henry has been quoted in several publications concerning popular culture.