BEN WARD - HEAD AGENT / DIRECTOR
Ben Ward is probably best known as the frontman of UK Heavy Metal stalwarts Orange Goblin, a band that have spent the past 30 years touring all over the world, playing at pretty much every festival and venue you could possibly think of, releasing 9 studio albums, 2 live albums and influencing a whole new generation of amazing UK bands in recent years.
Throughout his career with the band, Ben has built a huge network of contacts with promoters, festivals, agents, managers, PR companies, record labels, transport and logistics companies, backline hire companies, road crew and industry folk that has proved essential in his other line of work, spending 25+ years working in the music industry. He spent 10 years as an assistant manager at One Fifteen Management, overseeing the day to day affairs of artists such as Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, the Syd Barrett Estate and Jools Holland as well as being a part of the team that helped create various Pink Floyd catalogue re-issues with EMI Records.
In 2013 Ben left One Fifteen Management in order to tour the world with Orange Goblin and also worked as a tour manager for various bands, travelling around Europe and across North America constantly with Orange Goblin touring the world with the likes of Clutch, Down, Saint Vitus and more.
In 2015 he joined the team at the esteemed The Agency Group, which soon became United Talent Agency, to become a live booking agent, working alongside the legendary Neil Warnock MBE. Ben quickly learned the ropes and built a roster of bands himself, looking after and developing the live careers of the likes of Fu Manchu, Earthless, Corrosion of Conformity, Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons, Orange Goblin, The Sword, Shooter Jennings, Massive Wagons, Voivod and many more in his five years at the company.
In December 2016, Ben and his now wife, Sandie Soriano-Ward started a fund campaign for the staff at Team Rock that had been made redundant just before Christmas, raising over £90,000 for the cause and earning themselves a Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award in 2017 for their efforts.
Then in 2020, amidst a global pandemic and a period of unprecedented uncertainty in the live music industry, Route One Booking was born. In 2022 Route One Booking relocated from Cornwall to its London HQ and today continues to thrive and grow as an established live booking agency.