Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman.

He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Move, Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, and Trickster.

Arden gained a reputation in Britain for his aggressive, sometimes illegal business tactics, which led to his being called "Mr Big", the "English Godfather" and the "Al Capone of Pop".

[1] His success story turned sour when his violent 'negotiating' methods and questionable accounting caught up with him, and he became estranged from members of his own family.

Born into a Jewish family in Cheetham Hill, Manchester,[3] Arden began his show-business career when he was 13 years old as a singer and stand-up comic after briefly attending the Royal College of Music.

[4] After being demobilized from the British Army at the end of World War II, Arden returned to civilian life to develop his show-business career from 1946 to 1953.

He impersonated singers such as Enrico Caruso and film actors known for gangster roles, such as Edward G. Robinson and George Raft.

Arden launched his career as a manager when he signed up American rock 'n' roller Gene Vincent in 1960, taking over from John Schatt.

During 1964, Arden moved into beat group pop management with The Nashville Teens, who secured chart hits with "Tobacco Road", "Google Eye" and "Find My Way Back Home".

When group member John Hawken confronted Arden about some confusion over monies to be collected, his manager told him: "I have the strength of 10 men in these hands" and threatened to throw him from an office window.

"[9] The band's debut single, "Whatcha Gonna Do About It", was ushered into the hit parade by "chart-fixing",[3] which cost Arden £12,000.

[10] In 1966, Arden and a squad of "minders" turned up at impresario Robert Stigwood's office to "teach him a lesson" for daring to discuss a change of management with Small Faces,[1] which became one of the most notorious incidents from the 1960s British pop business.

Kenney Jones has mixed memories of the band's stormy relationship with Arden: Without Don, the Small Faces may not have existed, without his sort of vision at that time, be it short-lived or what.

I've got good and bad memories but mainly I think of Don with affection, surprisingly enough.Arden tried to rekindle his former glories as a family entertainer by releasing a single of his own in 1967: "Sunrise Sunset", from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, but it failed to chart.

He brought his son David and daughter Sharon into the business, intending to build an Arden showbiz dynasty.

[12] In 1979, investigative reporter Roger Cook used the dispute with Lynsey de Paul to probe Arden's controversial management style on BBC Radio 4's Checkpoint programme.

[citation needed] The drawn-out dispute meant Arden was unable to attend to business, and legal costs proved a fatal strain on Jet Records, which collapsed.

Later in the morning a plaque was unveiled at Higher Crumpsall Synagogue, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, with the addition of the words "It all started here" with a line of musical notes.