Barbara Skydel
DOB Unknown – June 10, 2010
Barbara Skydel was a well-known and respected booking agent for the better part of the last forty years. She began her career with Premier Talent Agency where she immediately proved her worth by taking on Led Zeppelin’s legendary 1969 U.S. west coast tour. Skydel soon found herself working with such acts as Bruce Springsteen, Grand Funk Railroad, Van Halen, U2, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. By the mid ’80s, she was a partner at the firm, which by then was one of the biggest in the world. As the first female executive at a major talent agency, Skydel earned the respect of both peers and artists alike. No less than U2’s Bono had referred to her as “Aunty Barbara.” In 2002, Premier merged with the William Morris Agency where Skydel remained as Senior Vice President until her retirement in 2009. Later acts that she handled included Sebastian Bach, the Pretenders, Keith Richards and the Who. Barbara Skydel passed away on June 10, 2010. Cause of death was not immediately released.