To find the money he had to sell his precious Virgin Records to Thorn-EMI.
Stunned by the high volume of orders, he set up shop and founded Virgin Records.
The duo ended their relationship with EMI's Virgin Records after more than 15 years to join forces with Columbia.
His original fortune was made at Virgin Records, where he recorded British stars such as the Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols.
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Virgin Records released the Sex Pistols' irreverent hit "God Save the Queen, " which bashed the Royals, was banned by BBC radio--and hit No. 2 on the charts.
Acquisitions in that time included Chrysalis Records in 1991 and Richard Branson's Virgin Records - home to the Rolling Stones and Janet Jackson - a year later.
EMI's labels include Blue Note, Capitol, Parlophone and Virgin Records.
Mention his two-year fling with the stock market in the 1980s--when he brought Virgin Records, Virgin Retail and Virgin Communications public--and he still shakes his head over the experience.
As when Virgin Records released the Sex Pistols' irreverent hit "God Save the Queen, " which bashed the Royals, was banned by BBC radio--and hit number 2 on the charts.
With Zya people can make music no matter how bad they think they are musically, says Music Mastermind cofounder and CEO Matt Serletic, who is the former CEO of Virgin Records.
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He scored hugely in music, both on the production and retail sides with Virgin Records (the Sex Pistols were signed to his label early on) and he famously donned a white wedding gown to promote Virgin Brides, something you would be unlikely to have seen Mitt Romney doing for Bain Capital.
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Our Price, Tower Records, Virgin Megastores, Zavvi, MVC, Music Zone, Andy's, Border's and Woolworths are all well-known names that have disappeared from streets in recent years.
When you consider the departure of Our Price, Tower Records, Virgin Megastores, Zavvi, MVC, Music Zone, Andy's, Border's and Woolworths, it's not just the story of the downturn.
It could also penalise airlines with good safety records such as Virgin Nigeria, owned by Nigerian investors, and Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, which has expanded rapidly in the past year.
As Virgin Galactic's chief pilot, David Mackay is likely to helm the first flights and may even break records for space travel as he clocks up at least one voyage per week when the service is up and running.
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