Darcus Beese OBE is a legendary music-industry executive, the first Black President of a UK major label, (Island Records UK),  and the only Black British CEO of one of the world’s biggest and most influential record companies, Island Records US. The son of Darcus Howe and Barbara Beese,  members of the Mangrove Nine and two of Britain’s most important and powerful political activists, Darcus’s personal journey is every bit as interesting as his work life, and the values he learned as a kid, have stood him in good stead throughout his life.

Described by Music Week as ‘one of the great A&R people of his or any generation’, Darcus began his incredible journey in the music business working as a tea boy at Island, under the label’s illustrious founder Chris Blackwell. Quickly rising through the ranks, Darcus went on to run Island, overseeing the musical output of Bob Marley, U2, Cat Stevens, Drake and the Weeknd to name but a few, while simultaneously signing and nurturing some of the greatest artists of the twenty-first century including Florence and the Machine, Mumford & Sons, Jessie J and most notably Amy Winehouse. Following the global success of Amy, Darcus headed to New York to become CEO of Island US where he ran the US giant who counted Sir Elton John, Bon Jovi , The Killers , Sabrina Carpenter, Remi Wolf, Shawn Mendes & Keshi among its enviable roster.

In 2024 Darcus released his critically acclaimed memoire, ‘Rebel With A Cause: Roots, Records and Revolutions’.  Concurrently, he started working on a new venture, Darco Artist Partnerships Ltd (D.A.P), an artist driven creative hub.

Ted boasts a career that has graced several decades in the music sector and is recognised as one of its paramount figures.  He was President of Virgin EMI, part of the Universal Music Group and Ted presided over this label being the UK’s number one label for 7 consecutive years under his watch.

His career kicked off in the nineties with Sony Music where he spent a decade rising to Marketing Director,  when in 2005 Universal Music recognised his expertise and extended an invitation to lead Island Records UK. With Ted at its helm, the label soared, scouting and fostering global sensations such as Amy Winehouse, Florence & The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Paul Weller, George Michael and Sir Tom Jones, and launching the UK careers of Drake and The Weeknd. In 2013, Ted  took the helm at Virgin EMI , still within the Universal Music Group. Under his guidance, the label reigned supreme on the UK charts, handling the careers of iconic talents such as Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber,  Elton John and The Killers and it was here that Ted helped launch the career of artists including Lewis Capaldi and Oliva Dean.

He then developed his skill set further working within the music asset class as the President for the Hipgnosis Song Fundbefore returning in 2025 to his first and real love, running a new independent front facing label ‘Darco Artist Parterships’ alongside his legendary colleague Darcus Beese.