Dr. Raymond Coffer, Former Manager of Smashing Pumpkins, Dies at 70

Dr. Raymond Coffer, former manager of Smashing Pumpkins, Cocteau Twins and The Sundays, has died following a short illness, a representative confirmed. He was 70 years old.

Coffer was a notable manager who worked with some of the biggest names in U.K. rock and worked with Smashing Pumpkins during the 1990s. 

After starting his career in his family’s soccer souvenir business, Coffer trained as a chartered accountant and subsequently met U.K. band Love and Rockets, eventually becoming their manager. He guided the Northampton-formed group to a placement on Billboard’s Hot 100, charting at No. 3 with “So Alive” in 1989.

Coffer, known for his flamboyant sense of style, went onto manage a number of beloved U.K. indie rock bands including Cocteau Twins, The Sundays, Curve and Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen. 

Coffer began working with the Smashing Pumpkins in 1990 ahead of their debut album Gish, which released the following year. The band went on to become one of the best-selling rock bands of the decade, and hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in 1995.

During this time he also partnered with and provided mentorship for Andy Gershon, founder of Outpost Recordings and former boss of V2 Records, and Darren Michaelson, a music-rights fund manager and a board member of the PRS Fund.

He was also a founding board member of the Music Managers Forum alongside Ed Bicknell (Dire Straits) and Elliott Rashman (Simply Red) in 1992, serving until 1996. Coffer retired from the music industry in 2011 and earned a PhD from the University of London in Germanic and Romance Studies. He also founded the free-to-all Bushey Park Performing Arts Festival in north London.

Martin Mills, Beggars Group chairman said, “I am saddened to hear of Raymond’s passing. He played an extremely important role in the Beggars story and we had a lot of fun together over the years. Not only did he manage two of the most important bands in our early years in Love and Rockets and Cocteau Twins, he also managed two lesser known acts that we loved – Xymox and Swell. I shall miss his charismatic personality and passion for the artists he represented.”

Merck Mecuriadis, founder of Hipgnosis and MMF Custodian, said “Raymond was a lovely man and a manager that made a difference to his artists. May he rest in peace.”

Coffer died on April 30, and is survived by his wife Roberta, son Nick and his grandchildren.