I kept trying to leave for better-paid jobs I even got as far as handing

I kept trying to leave for better-paid jobs, I even got as far as handing in my notice a few times, but every time, it felt that I’d be wasting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from the best there was And, yes, he was that good. I was the first person John Webster hired when he was made creative director of BMP (Boase Massimi Pollitt) He was the only creative director I ever worked for. I hope I can look back and say that I’ve had a great time.”And with that, his very own personal organiser, the former pop star Sinitta, reappears to hurry him on to the next appointment in his busy agenda.. I wouldn’t have wanted any quick breaks.”When he looks back on his career in 20 years’ time, what would he like to have achieved? “That’s a very good question I don’t believe in leaving a legacy I’m sure I won’t. I had to start at the bottom and climb very slowly to whatever you perceive to be the top I’m glad I did it that way. When people ask me what my hobbies are, I say that I don’t have a hobby, because work is my hobby.”He believes he has his parents to thank for his work ethic.

“They taught me and my brother from a very early age that you have to earn everything you get. We were encouraged from the age of 10 to take holiday jobs and weekend jobs to earn our own pocket money.”I didn’t have A&R Idol when I was starting off. I want as many people as possible to buy my records and watch my TV shows That is a buzz.”I cannot bear snobbery I’m beginning to loathe the upper class in this country. I don’t know whether I am becoming a socialist or not, but I just find the idea of treating somebody differently because they’re born in a different way to you absolutely ludicrous.”After five years in the limelight, what is it that keeps him going? “I enjoy working.

I don’t like cultural snobbery, and record companies are a hotbed of cultural snobs.” By choice, Cowell would listen to Frank Sinatra and watch Top Gear (a car enthusiast, he owns a Range Rover, a Rolls-Royce and a Porsche).He warms to his theme “I’m not making shows or records to be critically acclaimed. “When you do this job, the one thing you can’t do is guess what other people would like You have to do things based on what you like. Luckily, I have incredibly juvenile taste at times and I also have very populist tastes.”I’ve never been ashamed of popular culture. If you walk into a French restaurant and you want to order fish fingers and chips, good luck to you. Later this year, Syco is launching a new classical quartet in the style of Il Divo, this time with two male and two female singers.It does not concern Cowell that, although many of his artists enjoy commercial success, few have earned critical acclaim. Our intention is always to look at everything as a worldwide brand and protect that brand, whether it’s an artist or a television format.”Other forthcoming projects include The American Inventor, a new series which Cowell has devised with British entrepreneur Peter Jones to recognise inventing talent, launching on ABC in March and Paul O’Grady’s Got Talent, an old-fashioned variety act contest, which Syco is making for ITV, despite O’Grady’s recent defection to Channel 4.

The single went on to sell a million copies, on the back of which he was recruited by BMG Sony as an A&R (artist and repertoire) executive.At Sony, where he remained for 15 years, he was responsible for signing acts such as Curiosity Killed the Cat, Sonia and Robson & Jerome. But success was tempered by a difficult period in his early thirties, when he went bankrupt and was forced to move home temporarily.”I started a label and probably did what every other A&R guy goes through. You start to believe your own hype, surround yourself with people who will just nod at everything you say, go through a sticky patch where you start blaming the world, then you realise that, actually, it’s you that got yourself into this situation.”Syco, which has a staff of just eight people, still works within the BMG Sony building looking after artists such as the Irish boy-band Westlife and Il Divo, the male quartet who have enjoyed No 1 hits in 13 countries.Cowell is keen that the recording and television sides of the business work together “I try to blend everything I don’t like a them-and-us attitude It’s manageable because it’s such a small staff. He had so much confidence in her song “So Macho” that he invested £5,000 in making a record and video, which he had to release three times before it became a hit. His first foray into the record industry was in the post room at EMI Music Publishing. It was not long, however, before he had worked his way up to become a record producer and then to set up his own label, Fanfare Records.Sinitta provided his first big break.