TUCSON, AZ — World-class production manager Christopher J. Reynolds passed away on December 23, 2020, after an extended battle with intrahepatic bile duct cancer. He was 64.
Growing up in Berkshire, U.K, Reynolds attended Wellington College, a high school in the small village of Crowthorne. He then moved on to the University of Southampton to study law and sociology, but eventually turned to his real life’s focus in the live entertainment industry. His first gigs in the concert touring industry were as a FOH and monitor engineer, for acts such as punk/power pop band The Only Ones, but he found himself better suited to focusing on being a production manager, stage manager or tour manager — all areas where he could put some of his studies in law and sociology to better use.
In the early 1980’s, he was a production rep for London-based Alec Leslie Entertainment, working with many significant artists. After that, Reynolds spent a couple decades as a production manager (or occasionally stage manager) for heavy touring bands such as The Scorpions, Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Slipknot and Pantera — to name just a few.
However, his talents went far beyond the hard rock and metal market. In the early 2000s, Reynolds began diversifying, and besides his work with Ronnie James Dio, he added clients such as Evanescence, Jennifer Lopez, Drake, Prince and 30 Seconds to Mars to his roster. Among his other projects of note included working on the opening/closing ceremonies for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy; the horse show Apassionata; and a huge Chinese stadium opera production of Turandot.
With his passing, the industry has lost a true road warrior who was not only a skilled and efficient production manager, but a genuinely wonderful person who was well-liked by crews and artists alike. He will be missed and not forgotten.
Even in the throes of his battle with cancer, Reynolds expressed concern about how COVID-19 was affecting his colleagues in the touring world. “You are all in our thoughts and prayers,” he wrote in an Internet posting. “We are a tribe, a micro-universe — the entertainment industry. In a world fraught with division and aggression, let’s hold space for each other until we can reunite in our buses, planes, venues and hotels around the world. We will rise again.”
Chris Reynolds is survived by his wife Christina Affholder. At press time, no details about a memorial service had been announced.
