Phil Quartararo, record executive who discovered Paula Abdul, Spice Girls, dead at 67

Record executive Phil Quartararo, who kick-started the careers of Paula Abdul, the Spice Girls and Linkin Park, died Wednesday. He was 67.

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Quartararo died in Los Angeles of cancer, Billboard reported.

Known as “Phil Q,” Quartararo’s career in the music industry spanned five decades, according to Variety.

During the 1980s he helped to break U2 on pop radio while he was senior vice president of promotion at Island Records, according to Billboard. He handled the Spice Girls’ marketing plan during the 1990s while serving as the CEO of Virgin Records America, and he worked with Madonna, Coldplay, Faith Hill, Green Day and The Smashing Pumpkins, the music website reported.

“I loved helping an artist’s dream come true,” Quartararo said during a 2021 interview. “I cannot press upon you the satisfaction of doing that.”

A native of Brooklyn, New York, and a graduate of Syracuse University, Quartararo began his career in the radio promotion department of A&M Records in 1977, according to Variety.

He later worked in the promotion departments at RCA, Island and Artist Records. He moved to Virgin Records’ U.S. division in 1986, rising to the role of president/CEO until he left the company in 1997, the entertainment news website reported.

According to The New York Times, Quartararo helped “turn Virgin into EMI’s crown jewel,” generating most of EMI’s $5.9 billion in yearly sales.

After leaving Virgin Records, Quartararo was named president of Warner Bros. Records, Variety reported. He held the post until 2002 and then was named president of EMI’s distribution division.

Quartararo was also president of Rhythm Nation Records from 2016 until 2019, and then joined The Hello Group entertainment company as president and chairman, Variety reported.

“Phil approached everything with a kind heart and a light spirit and sense of humor,” Taylor Jones, co-owner of The Hello Group, told Billboard. “He was incredibly stress-resistant. His values have been instilled in the very core and ethos of our company.”

“Phil believed in me like no other,” Abdul said in a statement. “His ceaseless support for me during my time at Virgin was unparalleled. I will miss him.”

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