Barry Fey- Rock in Peace!
Barry, this is the article I never wanted to write, but due to the circumstances I wouldn’t want anyone else to write it. The Internet is on fire with loving comments, there’s talk of erecting a statue to you at Red Rocks (I think you would have liked that one), and people have kept and photographed their concert stubs from their favorite concerts. You did something for music and for Colorado that no one else can claim. You made history. I never knew what the hell you were going to say, which made hanging out with you an adventure. Missing your humor, your hugs, and quirky personality.
Rock In Peace my friend.
Torch
In an interview I had with Barry, and through four years of following friendship we had many conversations, some parts I will now share with you.
Barry Fey had a few nicknames like the RockFather, and The Architect of Rock and Roll and several derogatory ones from some business acquaintances of years past. In 2012 he was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame along with Harry Tuft. During his acceptance speech into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, he thanked himself. Arrogant maybe, but he got this idea as a young man sitting in a bar watching a band. He thought everyone should be able to have that much fun, everyone should be able to hear this music. He turned that idea into the thriving business of live music promotion. He could spot talent and created stars and legends through his company Feyline. He told me the company name was a misprint and he decided to go with it. He endured a brutal experience in the service, and he vowed never to take crap from anyone again. He didn’t. There are a lot of adjectives used to describe Barry and his way of conducting business, which is not the focus of this article. What he did do was bring most of the greatest moments and stars in Rock and Roll to cheering fans for decades.
There are a lot of great things Barry Fey did for everyone that aren’t as well known. He helped save the Denver Symphony; he saved the Paramount Theater. On the grand scale he brought us the Rolling Stones, the Doors, the Who, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, U2, Metallica, Guns N Roses, and the list goes on.
He denied having his thumbs broken over a gambling debt but got a good laugh over it. He openly admitted to being an overeater, and told of how the guys from Aerosmith sat him down and did an intervention with him in Vegas and put him on a plane to Arizona where he started treatment. He did lose the weight. Barry regularly threw parties at his house for the bands, and did his best to take care of them. He had a wealth of stories to tell, but for those, buy his book Back Stage Past.
He was invited to be a guest lecturer in a UCD History of Rock and Roll class taught by Chris Daniels. I sat and watched one afternoon and he had everyone turn off their laptops and cell phones and closed the blinds, and had the class just listen to a live recording of the Monterrey Pop Festival. The class fidgeted and wriggled in their seats but did listen, bringing back a time when people bought an album (instead of stealing it), took it home and listened to it over and over memorizing every note. When Professor Daniels was diagnosed with leukemia, Barry stepped in and taught a few classes, along with G Brown, and Mark Bliesener while Chris Skyped in from his hospital bed in Texas. Most recently, Barry donated boxes of contracts and other documents from his years as a promoter, to the University of Colorado Denver so that they may document some of the history of Rock and Roll. Yes, at some point you will be able to see the actual band contracts, riders, and signatures.
In his closet, you will find the original jacket from the first Rolling Stones tour, piles of band shirts, lots of shorts as he wore them year round, and his service uniform. Barry loved football, Rock and Roll, pretty girls, his Sex Pistols t-shirt, telling stories, and most of all his sons.
Thanks Barry and as you signed most things “Rock and Roll”
Category: Local News
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