As a man who has had some of the all-time great rock groups under his charge, Peter Mensch is in a better position than most to survey the state of the rock landscape. The co-founder of prestigious management firm Q Prime has worked with Metallica since the mid-80s and has overseen mega-successful periods with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Def Leppard, Muse, AC/DC and many more. His company also manage the dance-y British alt-rock titans Foals and, in an interview related to their 2022 record Life Is Yours, this writer spoke to Mensch and asked if he thought bands could still be as important as ever in the era of streaming and playlists. He wasn’t sure.
“I hope so, I gotta tell you, you ask the question that I ask myself daily and the sad thing is, I don’t know the answer,” the Q Prime supremo said. “Although maybe I do know the answer, I just don’t want to admit it. I don’t know. You’ve got to name me a guitar-based rock band that has broken through to the point of playing the O2, or you have to decide what your aspirational choices are. I look around and I don’t see a lot.”
