LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES -- Why would a rock manager resign at the moment when his band was about to cash in on the most lucrative recording contract of its career?
That was the question buzzing through the music industry last month when Jefferson Holt abruptly stepped down as manager of R.E.M., the superstar rock quartet that just completed the last album on its Warner Bros. Records contract and is poised to become the hottest free agent in the music business.
Holt was asked to leave after members of the group investigated allegations that he sexually harassed a female employee at R.E.M.'s tiny Athens, Ga., office.
The 42-year-old manager officially left the R.E.M. organization last week after receiving a hefty severance package, sources said.
In a phone interview on Thursday, Holt denied he had ever sexually harassed anyone and said that the decision to part ways with R.E.M. was mutual.
"I've agreed to keep the terms of my agreement with R.E.M. confidential," Holt said. "However, 15 years is a long time, and as time passed, our friendships have changed. I think we found as time passed that we have less and less in common. I've become more interested in other things in life and wanted to spend more time pursuing those interests. I'm happier than I have been in a long time."
Representatives for R.E.M. refused to comment, but released a statement Thursday that said the band and Holt terminated their relationship by mutual agreement. According to the statement, "the reasons for this decision and terms of the termination are private and confidential, and no further discussion of these matters will be made by any of the parties."
The fact that the latest allegations of sexual harassment surfaced inside the office of R.E.M. -- long considered one of the nation's most liberal and "politically correct" rock groups -- is surprising to many in the industry.
Formed in 1980, R.E.M. consists of guitarist Peter Buck, 39, singer Michael Stipe, 36, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry, both 37. The band, which has sold more than 30 million albums and won four Grammys, is regularly praised by critics for its uncompromising artistic integrity.
Since the day R.E.M. burst onto the college club scene 16 years ago, the quartet has been a proponent of political activism, encouraging voter registration and supporting environmental, feminist and human rights causes. R.E.M. avoided many of the trappings of stardom by remaining based in Athens, a small college town about 70 miles east of Atlanta, where the band operates a small office with just six employees.
R.E.M. met Holt in 1981 when he was working in a record store in North Carolina and booking concerts on the side. Holt soon moved to Athens to work as a tour manager for the band and quickly took over the role of artist manager.
Band members were "shocked" when a female employee complained four months ago about Holt's alleged behavior, one source said.
The employee did not file a lawsuit nor register a claim with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, but complained to the band that Holt had harassed her with lewd remarks and demanded sexual favors, sources said.
Band members questioned Holt and then spent about three months investigating the allegations, sources said. In May, the band called a meeting and asked Holt to leave the organization, sources said.
R.E.M. has no plan to replace Holt in the near future. For the time being, management duties have been turned over to the band's attorney Bertis Downs.
Pub Date: 6/22/96