CHICAGO (CelebrityAccess) Mike Egan, 64, longtime recording industry merch exec, died of a heart attack in Chicago April 3, according to Irene Egan, his wife of 34 years. Egan worked for Smash Records and for Manga Entertainment, among other businesses, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“He was the guy who would turn you on to the early Cure records,” Bob Callahan, a Midwest representative for WEA, which grew from Warner Elektra Atlantic, told the paper. “He’d say, ‘Here, listen to this – it’ll scare you to death.’”
“He had good ears,” Joe Shanahan, founder of the Wrigleyville clubs Metro and smartbar, added. “He knew the music, and he promoted it with a real conviction.”
