Michael and Patrick McLoughlin
Michael McLoughlin ran a theatre in Toronto’s Summer Gardens. As sometimes happens, he was approached one day to help out a band in difficulties – The Bay City Rollers were in need of someone to cover their merchandising. Why not, he thought to himself, and so he headed off for a week to fill the gap. “He came back and said to Mum, I’ve found my new job,” recalls his son Patrick, who remembers as well how Michael sold his theatre interests and set up as a purveyor of show merchandise. It wasn’t long before he reached the attention of Ray Danniels, who asked him to do the same for Rush. “Why not,” agreed Michael.
Before long, this relationship with Rush grew to mean not only the merch but also running the backstage club and fan club activities on behalf of SRO. Michael moved the business to Las Vegas for family reasons, and as the operation in the mid-nineties he brought in family members Shannon and Patrick to help. Michael died in December 1998, but the family business lives on. His role was taken over by Patrick, who opened another office back in Toronto and has been managing things ever since.