Geldof in tribute to manager 'THE MICK"
West Midlands Express and Star
Mar 20, 2003, 12:21:00

Sir Bob Geldof gave an eloquent and emotional tribute to his friend and manager Mick Owen as stars from the rock world turned out in force to pay their respects to one of the great characters of the music business.

The tour manager of The Boomtown Rats, known to his friends as "The Mick", lost his battle against cancer on March 8 at the age of 56. His funeral took place at All Saints Church in Bewdley yesterday afternoon followed by a wake at the Black Boy Hotel.

The church in Wribbenhall was packed with figures from the rock world including superstar Robert Plant, of Led Zeppelin, Mike Peters from the Alarm, who faced his own battle with cancer in the 1990s, and members of the Boomtown Rats and UB40.

Floral tributes included one from Van Morrison and there was also another from Remy Martin in the shape of a bottle of brandy in honour of Mick's taste for the brand.

The service was marked by a moving speech from Geldof in honour of his friend which was by turns witty, irreverent and poignant.

He paid tribute to Mick's "huge spirit" and lust for life and singled out his characters of loyalty, bravery and honesty.

He told how Mick, who suffered from dyslexia, came from Birmingham and left school at 14 with no qualifications, working as a roofer before drifting into rock 'n' roll.

Punk stars the Boomtown Rats first encountered him when they noticed that a bottle of Remy Martin was regularly appearing on their backstage "rider" - even though none of the band members had requested it.

It turned out that Mick, who was working as a T-shirt vendor, had managed to add the bottle to the rider and was "tasting" it for the band.

Mick's problem with spelling once led to a booking for Geldof in 1996 for "Belgravia" which the singer was looking forward to as it was only a mile from his home in Battersea. The location should have been Belgrade.