Paul Charles: 'The news is that Tom Waits has started writing again'

As the Irish music agent releases his memoir,  he shares happy memories of Tom Waits, Rory Gallagher and more

Paul Charles has jjust published Adventures In Wonderland. Picture: Miguel Ruiz

The music agent Paul Charles pitched for years to become Tom Waits’ agent. He was a big fan of the American singer. He’d contacted lawyers, managers, record executives, but the trail always went cold. One day in 1982, he was in a Tower Records store in London browsing. He was looking for a copy of One From The Heart, a soundtrack album for the Francis Ford Coppola film recorded by Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle, but he couldn’t find one. 

He approached a store assistant and asked her, “Do you have any copies of the new Tom Waits’ album?” “Sorry, we’re all sold out,” she said proudly. Charles sussed she was a fan. Then she leaned across the counter conspiratorially and whispered to him: “You’ll never guess who I sold the last copy to. Don’t look now as he’s right behind you, but it’s Tom Waits with his wife.”