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Max Clifford
Tom Kennedy Interviews Publicist, Max Clifford
5th December 2008
Max Clifford is nothing if not a controversial figure. Many view him as a master of his trade, with a midas touch within the intriguing world of media. Others consider him to be nothing but a promoter of sleaze, who has contributed to the celebrity obsession within our country. So I was naturally thrilled when Max agreed to have an interview with me over the phone on Friday morning.
Max never had ambitions to enter public relations or any form of the media. He tells me, “I wanted to be a footballer, but I wasn’t good enough or dedicated enough. I was interested in all sports, but other things just happened.” Those other things were jobs in the local press, mainly writing about sport.
Clifford was writing a record column, and the popularity and success of it lead to writing for popular music publication EMI. Here Clifford was gifted the opportunity of a lifetime. He was asked to promote an unknown band from Liverpool, and “told not to waste too much time on them”. That band turned out to be the greatest and most successful group of all time, The Beatles. “It was incredibly exciting. EMI didn’t see them as exciting, but they were. I loved their music. But I was just in the right place at the right time, the successes were down to them and the quality of their music. I was only 19, but everyone was contacting me because of their successes, and I built up a great media profile.”
Max reminds me that The Beatles weren’t the only musicians he was involved with, there was also Cliff Richard and Adam Faith. This was followed by the launch of Motown three years later, with such superstars as The Jackson 5 and Diana Ross. Max describes the whole time as “pure excitement”. When I ask Max if these events were the most exciting moments of his career, he tells me “There’s always been excitement in lots of different sort of ways, we’ve got such a wide range of people and events. But The Beatles flying into America for the first time was very, very exciting”.
As someone with an interest in becoming a journalist, I wanted to know how Max worked with the press. “Newspapers are an ever-changing field, because they are made up of individuals doing individual jobs. Because of our wide range of clients, you’re dealing with lots of different people in lots of different departments. It’s the same with every business.” Max is of course someone who is very experienced in the press. A former journalist himself, he shot to fame with the story he created for The Sun in 1986, under the headline “Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster”. The story proved to be a huge talking point, and Clifford’s ability to create a fast-selling story and follow it up won him many important admirers.
Another story that Clifford sold to the press was of his client, Rebecca Loos. Her claims of an affair with then England captain David Beckham, caused media hysteria. Other clients over the years have included the likes of Mohamed Al-Fayed, Simon Cowell and Marlon Brando.
There is no doubt that Clifford has saved many careers from media damage. But it is also important to remember that the media mogul is not only involved in high profile celebrity work. He has worked for various members of the public for free, often when he feels strongly about the cause. These include Martyn and Kay Tott, in their attempt to claim a 3 million lottery win after mislaying their winning ticket. Clifford has also taken part in some controversial work and is reported to have given assistance to those who wish to hide their sexuality from the public. I had read a quote from Max from a few years back, when he had said “Michael Jackson would be the hardest job in PR, apart from representing Saddam Hussein”. I asked him who he else he would consider in a similar fashion. “Garry Glitter would be up there I think. But people aren’t too hard to represent because of various controversies. It wouldn’t bother me that people hate them, it depends how I see them. I`m always happy to back my own judgment. There’s no point working with someone if they won’t listen, it’s a waste of their money and my time.”
Clifford’s dislike for lying politicians has always been clear. He was so disgusted with John Major’s conservative government he vowed to bring them down single-handedly. “It’s the hypocrisy of some politicians. With David Mellor it wasn’t the fact he was having an affair, it was the fact that he was doing it whilst preaching about family values.”
I concluded the interview by asking what advice Clifford would give to students attempting to break into the cut-throat world of public relations. “While you’re studying, try and get some work experience. If a new salon is opening, ask them if they want someone to sort out advertisements and try and get some local press and radio coverage for them, and see if they’ll pay you a bit. It’s not a hard job once you get in there. If you’re creative, it’s a wonderful job. Nowadays image is important to everyone, so there’s a greater opportunity than ever for PR.”
Whatever your view on Max Clifford and his line of work, it is impossible not to respect him as a master of his trade - and anyone with any ambitions to enter the media can learn a lot from his approach.
Tom Kennedy (Studying AS English Language, AS Government & Politics, GCSE Mathematics, AS Psychology and AS Theology)