Rod Smallwood

Rod Smallwood
Smallwood in Costa Rica, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Roderick Charles Smallwood
Born	(1950-02-17) 17 February 1950 (age 67) Huddersfield, England, UK
Occupation(s)	Music manager
Years active	1969–present
Associated acts	Iron Maiden, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Website	www.ironmaiden.com

Roderick Charles "Rod" Smallwood (born 17 February 1950) is an English music manager, best known as the co-manager of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. With his business partner, Andy Taylor, whom he met while studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, he founded the Sanctuary Records Group in 1979, which became the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world until its closure in 2007. Prior to managing Iron Maiden, Smallwood managed Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.

Smallwood was born and raised in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, where he grew up listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones on the radio and playing cricket and rugby union. It was only when he began attending university that his musical interests expanded and he began listening to Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead and The Doors.

In the autumn of 1968, Smallwood began studying architecture at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he soon became involved in organising social events, such as the annual Trinity May Ball, for which he booked the "various acts". It was while undertaking these duties that he formed a friendship with fellow undergraduate and future business partner Andy Taylor. From then on, Smallwood and Taylor worked on end-of-term events together and booked various musicians, including Graham Bond, Chris Farlowe, Bridget St John, John Martyn, and, most notably, the MC5. Smallwood acquired most of these artists from a local booking agency, Horus Arts, whose boss, Barry Hawkins, gave Smallwood advice which led to his career as a booking agent.