Harold Pendleton

Harold Pendleton (17 July 1924 – 22 September 2017) was a British music business executive and former club owner, who established the Marquee Club in London and the National Jazz Festival, the precursor of the Reading Rock Festival.

Early life Born in Southport, Lancashire,

Career By 1957 the National Jazz Federation was promoting 200 concerts a year, but lacked a regular venue. He also encouraged Barber's banjo player Lonnie Donegan to record Lead Belly's song "Rock Island Line", so stimulating the 1950s skiffle craze. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the club, and its attached recording studio, became one of the leading venues for R&B and rock music in Britain.