Svenagliobit: Lou Pearlman

Here's a sentence that might bring you up short:

Figures from the pop music world have paid tribute to Lou Pearlman, the founder of Backstreet Boys and Nsync, who has died in prison aged 62 while serving a 25-year sentence for a $300m (£229m) fraud.

Yes, the death of Lou Pearlman, without whom we'd not have had Backstreet Boys on NSYNC, has got those who owe him everything trying to thank him while not upsetting those from whom he took everything.

The Nsync singer Lance Bass tweeted: “Word is that #LouPearlman has passed away. He might not have been a stand up businessman, but I wouldn’t be doing what I love today without his influence. RIP Lou.”

The US singer Aaron Carter also paid his respects on Twitter:

#LouPearlman my old manager died in prison... Rip Lou not the best business guy really at all but he did discover me karma is real

"Not the best business guy" is how you'd describe someone who tries to sell hamburgers at a vegan festival. Pearlman was a disgraceful con merchant - and even Bass' "not a stand-up business man" doesn't really come close to how huge his deception was:

According to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, at the time of Pearlman’s investigation he owed his investors $96 million, but had less than $15,000 in the bank. The investigation found that Pearlman’s records neglected to show the more than $38 million he had withdrawn for himself and his companies.

You can see why Bass - one of the minority of people who shook Pearlman's hand and came away with the same number of fingers he started with - would be trying to look on the positive.

He ended up in such disgrace that when the Hollywood Review met with Pearlman in jail, you could hear Simon Cowell walking away backwards from a claim to kinship:

So yes, he is well aware of record-breaking pop juggernaut One Direction and boasts, "I know if I was out there, we'd give One Direction a run for their money." He reminisces about his "friendly rivalry" in the '90s with that band's puppeteer, Simon Cowell. (Responds a spokesperson for Cowell: "Simon hardly knows him. They were only ever introduced once, and there wasn't any kind of friendly rivalry.")

And that's before you even get to the rumours of sexual abuse, most deeply investigated by Vanity Fair in 2007:

In the November issue of Vanity Fair, Pearlman, for the first time publicly, is described by several former singers, aspiring singers and their parents as a lecher, who used the same deceptive charms to cop cheap feels off teenage boys as he did to allegedly bilk 1,400 investors out of more than $300 million.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter from prison, Pearlman offered a watertight defence:

He adds that fellow inmates have come to know the real Pearlman through the years and never hassle him about the molestation charges: "They realize that none of that can be true."

'The guys on B Wing don't think I'm a nonce, so how could I be?'

The only trouble with this is that while he's saying he's not a sexual abuser, he also denies having run a ponzi scheme too. In fact, the only thing faster than Simon Cowell trying to distance himself from Pearlman is Pearlman trying to distance himself from the likes of Bernie Madoff. Pearlman insists that he was different because he had a way of making money to repay those he fleeced.

Which is puzzling, as a lot of people invested in a fleet of airplanes which turned out to exist solely as photos in a glossy booklet.

Lou Pearlman was 62. He'd been due to stay inside until 2029.

Managerobit: Giorgio Gomelsky

Giorgio Gomelsky, the original manager of The Rolling Stones, has died.

His entry into the music business came by way of London's coffee bar boom - his tiny Espresso bar became such a hit it formed a foundation of a nightclub; then, he helped create The Crawdaddy. This venue gave early starts to the Stones, Julie Driscoll, Rod Stewart and others. Although his stewardship of the Stones career wasn't long, his early support gave them the base on which Andrew Loog Oldham would build; Gomelsky moved on to help The Yardbirds build their career.

By the mid 60s, Gomelsky was running a management/label hybrid, Paragon, releasing music on the Marmalade label. This came apart when the money men for the venture at Polydor fell out with him; Gomelsky headed for France where he would find himself working with Gong and managing Magma, almost single-handedly creating an alternative music scene for the nation.

Since 1978, he lived in New York. He curated a series of music festivals and again got involved with releasing music and managing musicians.

In 2001, he spoke to Eurock about how the business had changed in fifty years:

When I got to London in the mid-fifties, the “pop” scene was just a pale imitation of white US commercial music. At least there was a local “do-it-yourself” music, “skiffle”, (imported to the UK by British bandleader CHRIS BARBER) derived from Lonnie Johnson and other blues/folksters, which allowed young people to take up instruments. The Beatles started out as “The Quarrymen” and were able to inject some freshness into music when they started to make it. The Stones and the other blues bands introduced a new generation to black music thereby rendering an invaluable service too. European musicians were practicing jazz, and although aesthetically more appreciated than in the US, it seemed less urgent, less “dramatic”, less speaking to a new generation. So rock took over. Later the punks kicked everybody in the proverbial ---. This opportunity is still present, but bands/managers/labels are now so focused on making it in whatever category they and the “industry” define themselves to be, that a “major breakthrough” has become well nigh improbable. It’s the old story yet again, the seemingly tragic-comic vicious circle between the true function and merit of art and that of commerce and politics. Ultimately, it’s a question of education. I’m hopeful that the internet will allow the natural curiosity of those attracted to music to explore every nook and cranny of musical production and discover where the real values are and that bands will emerge who know what directions to pursue.

Giorgio Gomelsky was 82. He died of cancer, like so many others.

Managerobit: Joe Moss

Joe Moss, manager of Marion, has died.

Alright, he managed The Smiths too. That might be more culturally significant.

As recorded in The Severed Alliance - Johnny Rogan's Smiths bio; the one which had Morrissey wishing death upon the author - Moss decided to call it a day after The Smiths appeared on Top Of The Pops and did a frenzied date at the Haçienda on the same day:

Joe Moss was also entranced by The Smiths' performance, but a flash of self-awareness prompted him to ponder some searching questions. "I always thought Top Of The Pops was diabolical and there I was jumping for joy because we were on it. What had happened to my standards? And what would happen later?"
[...]
For Joe Moss, 24 November was also an epoch, but one in which he could no longer be a participant. Having promised to remain with The Smiths until they "made it", he realized that his bargain had been fulfilled. "The commitment I could offer them was short-term. I'd already said to Johnny 'when I do go, if any questions are asked I'll say I had to get out for personal reasons.' He said 'no, say a little more than that, otherwise they'll think it's personal between you and the band.'

Managing The Smiths wasn't always fun, it turns out:

"It might be exciting being in a band, but it's not exciting to manage them. When I left, I left on what was an absolute high. It was the only way to go. I ran down the street shouting 'it's too late to stop now.'"

Moss was 72; he was brought down by cancer.

Skiibii: The Reggie Perrin of pop

Social media deciding to inflate 'someone being a bit queasy' into 'you are with the angles now XXXRIP' isn't anything new, but I think the case of Skiibii is something of a first.

Skiibii had a blackout, and went to hospital for a check-up. The hospital thought he was fine; the internet decided he was dead.

So far, not so unusual. But part of the reason why the web was already rummaging through Skiibii's cupboards muttering "dead men don't need season tickets" was that his manager had confirmed the death.

It looks like there was an attempt to turn the death-that-wasn't into a marketing triumph. Instead, it ended badly. PR Week reports that Skiibii is trying to clear up the mess:

Speaking to Cool FM alongside Skiibii, fellow artist KCee said he blamed their manager Soso Soberekon for allowing the rumours to escalate. "My so-called manager confirmed it, I put the blame on him," said KCee, going on to say: "We are going to treat him according to his mistake, and right now as I speak he is fired."

Soberekon this morning released a statement via his Instagram page offering an "unreserved apology to everyone". He said: "With my wealth of experience in the entertainment business, I would like to state that events leading to the above misinformation through my channel was due to a breakdown in communication."

Sacking might seem a little harsh, but if you're not sure if you're representing a person or a corpse, maybe management isn't really for you.

Managerobit: Jazz Summers

Jazz Summers, manager and label owner, has died.

There's a statement from his company, Big Life management:

Jazz Summers, the legendary music manager, has died aged seventy-one. He had been living with lung cancer for over two years. The music industry has lost one of its most vibrant, most notorious and most brilliant characters. A champion of new music, a non-conformist and a visionary, Jazz Summers will be greatly missed.

Jazz Summers was a master of artist development. His ability to hear a song and recognize its power and potential brought him huge success across several decades.

Jazz managed Wham!, Lisa Stansfield, Soul II Soul, The Verve, Badly Drawn Boy, Snow Patrol, Klaxons, La Roux, Scissor Sisters and London Grammar among many others.

His artists have sold over sixty million albums and seventy two million singles around the world including over one hundred Top 40 hits in the past forty years.

Jazz was born on March 15th 1944. He enrolled in military school aged twelve and joined the army aged fifteen. He served as a radiographer, spending time in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

In 1985, in partnership with Simon Napier-Bell, Jazz helped Wham! to become the first western pop group to tour China. Summers was crucial in breaking the band in America and established a reputation as an expert in the American market. A reputation that would be strengthened by his work with Snow Patrol and La Roux.

Summers formed his own management company Big Life in partnership with Tim Parry in 1986. They also ran Big Life Records, which featured hundreds of releases from artists including The Orb, Yazz, Coldcut, De La Soul and The Soup Dragons.

In 2003, Jazz was awarded the prestigious Peter Grant Award and in 2007, the Strat Award at the Music Week Awards.

Big Life will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. It continues to prosper.

Summers was an active campaigner for artists’ rights. As chairman of the MMF (Music Managers’ Forum) he was vocal in many issues affecting artists, including the extension of copyright, secondary ticketing, and VPL. He was also prominent in setting up the Featured Artists’ Coalition and Julie’s Bicycle, a not-for-profit organisation working on sustainability in the creative industries.

In September 2013 Summers’ autobiography ‘Big Life’ was published to critical acclaim.

Jazz is survived by his wife Dianna, his daughters Katie, Rio and Georgia, his granddaughters Claire, Lila and Rose and his brother Don.

It wasn't, naturally, all clambering up the ladders - in 1999, the Big Life record label went into receivership and was eventually purchased by Universal. But before they folded, they released Mega City 4 and KMFDM records, and anyone would be happy with that.

And while 'taking Wham to China' might not sound very much of a big deal, it's worth recalling what a huge coup that was at the time (one minute in):

Managerobit: Lewis Chin

It's a bit hard to sum up Lewis Chin, who has died, in a word. Or two. Or even a handful.

SFGate has a go:

He was deeply involved in the 1960s and ’70s San Francisco entertainment scene, from opening Drag’ On A’ Go-Go, a Chinatown disco, and developing and managing the Whispers soul group to running clubs like Basin Street West and the Mabuhay Gardens.

He also managed punk acts and disco bands - really, his flair was entrepreneurial, and if that meant selling tickets to see a spoof detective show, or getting bookings for a soul act, Chin was there.

Active into his eighties, Chin remained a golfer and skier. He died from heart failure on May 13th, at the age of 88.

Managerobit: Paul Hickey

Paul Hickey, long-time manager, and former partner of, Andy Bell, has died.

Hickey had been unwell for some time; he was 62. He recently published a memoir of his years with Bell and Erasure.

Matt Willis sues Tricky

Matt Willis, once of Busted, is suing Tricky after Tricky dumped him as his manager. Tricky had...

Hang about a moment.

Tricky?

Being managed by one of Busted?

Apparently so:

Tricky, who appeared on stage with Beyoncé at this year's Glastonbury festival, hired Willis in April 2010 and agreed to pay him 20 percent of his earnings.

However, after paying Willis £44,633, Tricky (real name Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws) moved to Crown Management this February, according to a High Court writ.

Tricky. Being managed by one of Busted.

UPDATE: As pointed out in the comments, the DigitalSpy story about this has vanished, as it's a different Matt Willis. Perhaps Trciky thought he was getting the Busted one, too...

Gordon in the morning: On the brink

Yes, yes, the failure of the Democrats and Republicans to come to an agreement on the US budget ceiling is worrying, but as nothing compared to the threat to something more fundamental to our civilisation: The next series of Pete Andre Wanders About Mugging To Camera While ITV Desperately Hopes He Says Something About Jordan. Gordon's colleague Colin Robertson has a steadying drink and brings us the latest:

PETER Andre was last night ready to pull the plug on his TV show after a split in his management company.

The singer is due to start filming scenes for fly-on-the-wall ITV2 documentary The Next Chapter in the next three weeks.

But insiders say he's reluctant to start work with the two sides at war.

Although this isn't a "war", just a tiresome spat between the people who run Can Management - think Gepetto with a grudge against literacy. Still, it's guaranteed that the behind the scenes bad blood will be a thousand times more interesting than anything that might wind up on screen. I wonder if the BBC could dust down Blood On The Carpet for a special episode?

Mini liveblog: Alan McGee & Marc Marot on Today

Following the death of Amy Winehouse, Today has just hosted Marc Marot and Alan McGee wondering if management and labels could do something to help, rather than enable, self-destructive artists:

Marc goes first, calling for a change to how the music industry does business to stop putting pressure on artists:

"Recording contracts have a ticking clock attached to them - a three year cycle of hard, hard work. It's a cycle that has a contractual option at the end; there's enormous pressure on the artist to keep repeating themselves. There's no way to take time out."

He proposes a mechanism allowing the contract to be suspended. "The problem is who arbitrates"

Alan McGee says it's a reasonable idea, but "only you can get yourself clean". In other words, it's no good having a break clause because if the person doesn't want to clean up their act, it won't be invoked.

He's also a bit more clear-eyed about how much management can do in the face of an addict.

Marc's suggestion, though, is that touring and recording increases stress and - though he doesn't quite say it - puts the addict into a world knee-deep in drugs.

He praises Island for having tried to wean Amy Winehouse off drugs and alcohol.

Marc is one of the great guys, agrees Alan, but says that there aren't many like him. Blame culture is part of this nation, says McGee - you can't really blame management for someone who wants to destroy themselves.

Marc says there's a bigger problem: how do you tell a star 'no'? "Try telling someone who has sold 21 million records 'no' agrees Alan McGee.

We're not much further forward, apart from appearing to decide there's nothing management can do. Which doesn't feel entirely right.

Beyonce dumps her dad

Beyonce is only sacking her dad in a professional capacity, be very clear about that:

“I’ve only parted ways with my father on a business level. He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me.”

Especially the bit about being ruthless in business and never letting sentiment cloud your judgement.

Papa Knowles, meanwhile, has a statement of his own:

“The decision for Beyonce and Music World Entertainment to part was mutual. We did great things together, and I know that she will continue to conquer new territories in music and entertainment… Business is business and family is family. I love my daughter and am very proud of who she is and all that she has achieved. I look forward to her continued great success.”

Rumours that he now intends to adopt Letoya Luckett could not be confirmed at the present time.

It's Friday - EMI are running a bit late with this week's reshuffle

Like a really crap variety show magician, staring into the hat where he thought the bunny should be, EMI refuse to accept the trick has failed and are still hoping to come up with a magic word to make it work. Let's have another management restructure, eh?

"More music is being used than ever before, despite the continued decline in global music revenues," the company said in a statement released this morning. "As a result, the management structure of EMI is being changed to enable the company to reposition itself as a comprehensive rights management company that can take full advantage of all global opportunities in all markets for music."

The clunking 'music being used' might offer a really big hint why EMI is doing so poorly they just don't relate the thing they do to how it gets used - "I'm going up to my bedroom to use some music" and "I might nip down the club tonight to use some music" aren't phrases that trip off the tongue. McCartney doesn't sit down to plan what music he will be using when drawing up a set list.

The second part of that sentence, thoughm must be even more depressing for the people left at EMI who care about what they do: "More music is being used than ever before, despite the continued decline in global music revenues" really shows that EMI haven't yet grasped what they're dealing with. The note of surprise that major labels are taking less while people are still enjoying music; the suggestion that there's some sort of obvious link between the two sides. EMI still believe that 'love of music' and 'EMI revenues' exist as an equation rather than a non-sequiter. Until they understand it's EMI and not music which is of declining importance in the not-even-that-new world, they can shift management around until you can't screw any more nameplates on the office doors, and it'll do no good.

So, are they at least drafting in new people to help with the coming to terms?

Former EMI Publishing head Roger Faxon has been named Group Chief Executive and Charles Allen formerly non-Executive Chairman of EMI Recorded Music will become an adviser to EMI and its shareholder, Terra Firma.

Yes, all they're doing is formally combining publishing with recorded music, and keeping the people who've managed to make the firm what it is today. In other words: they're polluting the bit that was doing okay with the bit which was sickly.

Managerobit: Malcolm McLaren

BBC News is reporting the death of Malcolm McLaren in New York, apparently from cancer.

UPDATE: Alan Yentob has just been on the News Channel, saying (I paraphrase) that he'd known McClaren had been unwell, but was surprised how quickly the end came.

If McClaren was anything, he was adept at selling Malcolm McClaren - positioning himself as the inventor of punk rather than the more honest claim of being the person who worked out how to make money from it. In later years, he would attempt to create new genres, swearing that skipping-rock or opera-pop was just about to come. Normally, the only person making records in that genre would be McClaren; normally, he would plough the furrow alone, until abandoning it and moving on to the next thing. After all, he'd always have having invented punk to fall back on.

There are other blots on his record - Ghosts Of Oxford Street, the toe-curling Channel 4 Christmas confection from a few years back; the toe-curling musical map of London for Radio 2; The Baron, that odd ITV confection where he competed with Mike Reid for a Scottish baronetcy. And turning up for I'm A Celebrity but then refusing to go on because it was fake. (Reality TV? Fake? Whoever knew?)

He wrote the theme music for Carry On Columbus, the ill-judged attempt to revive the franchise in the 1980s. And remixed a British Airways advert. Hired by Adam Ant to turn the Ants' fortunes round, McClaren pocketed the cash, and persuaded The Ants to become Bow Wow Wow.

If Malcolm McClaren was anything, he was the ultimate art school student, stretching out his final show for fifty years.

And some of the stuff he had a hand in really did outshine the stunts:

Lady GaGa shows former producer her poker face

Wrangling, tussling, duelling lawsuits flying between Lady GaGa and former producer Rob Fusari:

March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Lady Gaga sued her former music producer Rob Fusari saying he shouldn’t get any share of fees he says he’s entitled to after claiming he discovered her, dated her and helped develop her sound and style.

Hang about... did Bloomberg just say he's claiming fees in part for having dated Lady GaGa? Is this a normal transaction? "I must make it clear that I am taking you out for a pizza and will, later, twiddle your nipples for a couple of minutes before a moment of disappointing splooge, but it is on the strict understanding that should you become subsequently rich, I will issue a charge of fifty thousand dollars for the evening."

Pete Doherty: All he needs is a good example

So, now that the drugs-and-driving offences are cleared up, it's time for Pete Doherty to get his life back together again.

All he needs is a good example, to teach him to respect the laws of the land, to drive with more care, and - when things do go wrong - to remind him the right thing to do is 'fess up, and take the consequences.

Perhaps his manager could fulfill this role?

The manager of musician Pete Doherty has admitted dangerous driving after a crash in Suffolk critically injured a pedestrian.
[...]
At Ipswich Crown Court, Andrew Boyd, 42, of north west London, also admitted failing to stop at an accident scene.

Boyd was released on bail and is due to be sentenced at a later date.

He also pleaded guilty to failing to report an accident, driving without reasonable consideration, driving not in accordance with a licence and without insurance.

Alright, then, maybe not.

Still, Boyd had a defence of mitigating circumstances:

His barrister Chris Henley told the court that the accident happened when Mr Boyd tried to comfort a four-year-old child who was sitting in the back seat of the Daimler car.

Ah yes. Which of us can truly say we haven't been so distracted by trying to comfort a child in the back of our car we have, erm, somehow accidentally traveled back in time and cancelled our insurance? And then been so engrossed we failed to report an accident?

Boyd has been warned he could receive a custodial sentence.

[Thanks to Olive, who flagged this story in the comments]

Morrissey to management: You're dismissed

With a terse statement that raises more questions than it answers, Morrissey has dispensed with his current management:

Following consultation with my lawyers, I wish it to be known that I have terminated with immediate effect my association with Front Line Management (Irving Azoff, Andy Gould and Lil Gary), who no longer have any rights to issue any statements on my behalf. I would also like to stress that I have no association with accountants appointed by Front Line, namely London & Co.

It's like a minor East European nation, isn't it?

Van Morrison's baby: Suddenly it's interesting

The mild diversion of Van Morrison's baby-that-never was has suddenly become more interesting. You'll have read elsewhere the announcement that Van had become a father again, only for the story to be denied as a malicious posting on his website. Why, said Van, I've never even heard of this Gigi Lee, who's supposed to be the mother.

It turns out, though, that not only does Van know Lee, but she was his tour manager. Oh, and a director of 14 Morrison-related companies.

Now, Morrison's lawyers - ah, they're involved now - have admitted he was "incorrect" when he claimed he'd never heard of Lee. Either Van's memory is fading surprisingly fast, or he's going to have people going through his bins for the next few months.

It's not going to end well for anyone involved, is it?

What's a nice Girl Like You not doing on a MySpace like this?

Huge thanks to Robf for tipping me off about the post of Edwyn Collins' MySpace by his manager Grace.

It details the struggle Edwyn's had trying to offer his music for download:

At the beginning of this year I noticed that Edwyn's myspace had gone bit wonky and I tried to upload the tracks back on to the music player. His most famous track, which he owns the copyright in, as he does for most of the music he's recorded in his life (preferring to go it alone than have his music trapped "in perpetuity" to use the contract language of the major record company) is called A Girl Like You. It's quite famous. Lo and behold, it would not upload, I was told Edwyn was attempting to breach a copyright and he was sent to the Orwellian myspace copyright re-education page.

It turns out that Warners was claiming copyright and - despite repeated attempts to persuade them - nobody has yet relinquished the false claim.

I'm not sure how one would even go about getting an ISP to punish Warners for this claim, even although falsely claiming ownership of something is a crime at least on a par with sharing an unlicensed file. At least unlicensed downloading doesn't preclude the legal owner from using their own material.

But it's worse than that:

A Girl Like You is available FOR SALE all over the internet. Not by Edwyn, by all sorts of respectable major labels whose licence to sell it ran out years ago and who do not account to him. Attempting to make them cease and desist would use up the rest of my life. Because this is what they do and what they've always done.

Now, people swapping files for free on the internet, they're perhaps breaching the letter of the law, but at least they're not doing it for financial gain.

Even when Edwyn was really skint at the fag end of the eighties, I remember being in Camden market and seeing some tapes of a couple of his shows on sale. I tried to buy them but the stallholder somehow knew who I was and said "free to the management." I failed to see how that guy selling tapes of Edwyn or even U2 or anybody on the list of signatories above could harm their career. But anyway, as an earlier post said, this is not really an argument worth having. The gig's up. You might as well take a position about when you want the sun to come up in the morning. It's over. Now let's get on with working out a wonderful new way for music lovers to enjoy music for free or for a small subscription that makes it legal and easy to hear ANYTHING and allows the artist to reap the rewards of such freedom of access. Viva la revolution!

Spot on. And yet the Featured Lily Coalition still seem determined to believe that if they make enough people miserable enough for long enough, they can make the sun rise in the South.

James Allan alive and well, more or less

The front of the BBC News website reports that James Allan's whereabouts are still a mystery:

Allan went Awol four days ago and missed the Mercury Music Prize, where the Scottish rock band were nominated.

But he got in touch soon after the ceremony on Tuesday to say he was safe. He did not reveal where he was or why he took flight.

Nobody seems to have told them that The Independent revealed his whereabouts yesterday:

The band's manager, Dean Cunning, said the singer had telephoned him yesterday afternoon after finding out that people were concerned for his safety.

"James is not missing, he's in New York," he said. "He got in touch with me yesterday at about 1.45pm to tell me he was OK because he knew people were worried, but to be honest I've been just as much in the dark about this as anybody - the last time I saw James was at the gig in Cardiff. I don't even know exactly when he went missing."

Not quite "not missing", then.

When asked whether the singer would be able to join the band for their American gigs, Mr Cunning said: "I fucking hope so."

I'm not entirely sure that I'd file Allan under 'found' just yet.

Managerobit: Jon Eydmann

The British tourist who died of a heart attack after diving into Lake Como last week was Jon Eydmann, one-time manager of Suede and Spitfire.

After helping Suede seal their deal with Nude, Eydmann also worked with Luke Haines and The Auteurs before moving on to an A&R role at Fire Records. Here, he worked with Spacemen 3, Libido and Novocaine. More recently, he had been promoting club nights in London, while working as a chef.

It's still not entirely clear how the 41 year-old came to have a fatal heart attack in the lake. He was on holiday at the time.

[CORRECTION: Press reports of Jon's death identified a boy at the scene of the accident as Jon's son; I've been asked by his family to correct this. My genuine apologies to all concerned for compounding the error in the original reports.]