Day One Entertainment boss Nick Shymansky has detailed how breakout sensation Lola Young inspired his return to management – and revealed the Messy hitmaker already has a new album in the works.
The Day One roster now comprises Young, Kenya Grace, Sofia And The Antoinettes, Bug Eyed, Kid 12 and Manuka. But speaking in our April issue, Shymansky – who was just 19 when he discovered and started managing Amy Winehouse – revealed he had no intention of getting back into the management game when he started the business as a TV & film production venture in 2017, prior to meeting Young.
“I didn’t actually want to go back into it, I thought I was done," Shymansky told Music Week's Karen Bliss. "I was trying to produce and I had an idea for a documentary. After the Amy film in 2015, I really got on with Asif [Kapadia], who directed it, we had such a fulfilling journey together. At the end, we were like, ‘Is there something else in music we should explore?’
"I had an idea to try and find an artist and make a documentary that followed real talent into success. And even if they weren’t successful, it would’ve been an interesting look at how anything can happen or not happen. I found someone to do it and it all felt great. Asif was involved, and Simon Fuller, who has always been a great mentor, helped me negotiate a deal with Amazon, and then the artist pulled out at the last minute.
“I’d put so much time and effort into trying to get it off the ground and I was like a mad person trying to find someone last minute to replace this artist."
I’ve always been drawn to people that are funny, talented and kind, and she’s got that
Nick Shymansky
Subsequently, Shymansky checked out Young's show at The Half Moon in Putney after being tipped off about the London singer-songwriter's rare blend of talent, attitude and character.
"Lots of managers were there that night trying to manage Lola," he recalled. "I pitched her the show and she told me it was a shit idea, that she’d never do it, which didn’t feel great at the time. Then she started introducing me to people in her dressing room. She knew I was a manager. And I said, ‘Yeah, but I’m not doing management anymore.’
"We had this really playful, funny conversation, and she started introducing me to her mum and her friends as her manager. And that’s how it started, although I didn’t agree to it. She kept calling me, I kept trying to convince her to do the show. And then, eventually, I gave in…”
Island-signed Young, who first released music with the label as a teenager more than five years ago, reached No.1 in the UK singles chart this January with her breakthrough hit Messy (701,070 sales, OCC). Shymansky described the 24-year-old, who now has 43 million monthly listeners on Spotify, as "one of the biggest characters I’ve ever met".
"I’ve always been drawn to people that are funny, talented and kind, and she’s got that," he said. "She is writing about her life. I think there’s this thing going on for her age group particularly, where everyone’s a star, everyone’s on social media, everyone’s got to keep up this perception of being cool or looking great or being liked and it’s hard to keep up with that.
"Lola doesn’t find it natural to always be perfect and she managed to write a song about the fact that she has this battle. It’s very in keeping with who she is."
This album has got a lot of legs and it’s just only being discovered, but we’ve almost finished the next record. There’ll be another record this year
Nick Shymansky
Messy was the sixth single from Young's second studio album, 2024's This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway (19,902 sales), and Shymansky divulged a follow-up LP was likely to drop later this year.
“This album has got a lot of legs and it’s just only being discovered, but we’ve almost finished the next record," he said. "There’ll be another record this year. That’s Lola’s strongest attribute; she’s so prolific. She’s got this chemistry with [producers] Solomonophonic and Manuka. They’ve hit on a sound and they just want to make music the whole time. We’ve genuinely got the most amazing record, better than the last one."
Shymansky added: "I think if you’ve got a record, don’t keep it on your hard drive, get it out. I think she’ll put a record out this year. If anything, she would have put a lot more music out. She just wants to make music and get it out, that’s her thing.
"It feels like there’s that shot, with everything going on, to be the one and that’s really the dream, that she makes some huge cultural impact, sells lots of records and can tour and keep going.”
In closing, Shymansky also reflected on his time working with the legendary Amy Winehouse, which he described as "the greatest gift ever".
“I got the magic," he said. "I had the happiest, best time with Amy. I was given the benchmark of Amy. I then had the baggage and the shit for years, but the growth from that, the Lola story, is completely entwined. It’s a second chance at Amy, right? And in my mind, in my subconscious self, there’s a drive, a feeling of that never having played out the way it was meant to.
"Also, I look back at me in my 20s and think, jeez, I’m so much more experienced and tougher now. I tried at the time. I just didn’t quite have the power or strength to navigate it. But mostly, I just ooze with pride. I get to say, ‘I discovered Amy Winehouse and Lola Young and Sofia And The Antoinettes,’ and when it comes out of my mouth, it’s not an ego thing; it’s true. It’s brilliant. Amy was the greatest gift ever.”
Interview by Karen Bliss
Subscribers can read the full interview with Nick Shymansky, in which he dives further into his own career, in the new edition of Music Week.
