Music entrepreneur, impresario and producer, Giorgio Gomelsky is best known for discovering The Rolling Stones and managing The Yardbirds. As their first de-facto manager, Gomelsky established The Rolling Stones with a residency at his Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, South West London in February 1963.

After being unceremoniously dumped by Brian Jones in favour of Andrew Loog-Oldham whilst away in Switzerland at his father’s funeral, Gomelsky replaced them with The Yardbirds. Lessons learned from his informal arrangement with the Stones, he signed a management and publishing contract with The Yardbirds and established them as a major force in the emerging R&B scene with their legendary ‘rave up’ concerts. Affectionately known as the mad genius, Jazz aficionado Gomelsky recognised that the burgeoning youth movement required their own rebel music.

He is regarded as a pioneer of the British Rhythm & Blues scene. Whilst enjoying the spoils of a rock and roll lifestyle, Gomelsky’s main motivation was not financial. He was a visionary and an innovator who encouraged his artists to experiment. He introduced the harpsichord and Gregorian chant to their early hits and pioneered psychedelic rock with The Yardbirds whose line up included guitar heroes Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.