Banny Poostchi is an Oxford graduate who worked as a lawyer for Warner Chappell Music Publishing and managed The Libertines between March 2000 and October 2003. She was described by Peter Doherty and Carl Barat as a "a lady of vast ambition, like Margaret Thatcher."
Poostchi first crossed paths with The Libertines in March 2000. Recognizing their potential, she took on an active role in managing them.
Under her aegis The Libertines recorded "Legs XI", a set of their best 8 tracks at the time (and later a popular bootleg recording among fans). However, by December 2000, they had still not been signed and this caused Paul Dufour, John Hassall and Poostchi to part ways with The Libertines. The subsequent success of The Strokes, a band with a similar style, caused Poostchi to reconsider her position. She formed a plan (dubbed "Plan A") to get the Libertines signed to the record label Rough Trade within 6 months. In this period, Carl Barat and Peter Doherty wrote many of the songs which ended up on their first album. Gary Powell was recruited to play drums, as Paul Dufour was deemed by Poostchi to be 'too old'.
On 1 October 2001, Barat and Doherty played a showcase for James Endeacott from Rough Trade. His support led to them playing for the heads of Rough Trade, Geoff Travis and Jeanette Lee, on 11 December that year. They were told they would be signed, and the official deal took place on 21 December.
In late October 2003, following Doherty's incarceration for burgling Barat's flat, Banny Poostchi resigned and was replaced as manager by Alan McGee, previously the founder and MD of Creation Records.
NameBanny Poostchi
