Sinead O'Connor, Boomtown Rats, Thin Lizzy, The Waterboys - Former Ensign supremo Nigel Grainge has worked closely with all of them and his involvement has been integral to their development, both creatively and commercially. Nigel Grainge grew up listening to music. His father ran a record shop and from the age of three onwards, he was given a new 78 (single !) every weekend. At five years of age, he realised that he didn't have to make do with what his father chose, and he could search out what he liked himself. This he did and, by his early teens, he had amassed a substantial vinyl collection and a vast store of rock and pop knowledge.

"I was like a ravenous beast, soaking up records and interviews and record information… it was the only interest I had and I was determined to make a living out of it. I just couldn't imagine myself doing anything else."

Mr. and Mrs. Grainge had started making other plans for Nigel, however. They wanted him to get a proper job, with good prospects, and he soon found himself working as a trainee first with a firm of surveyors, then with the Abbey National. He spent seven years at this before gaining a job in the sales division of (Philips) Phonogram Records. "Basically, I saw it as a way of getting my mitts on some free records," he says.