Lawyers called in after Kyle’s split with BFF Hawkins
As breakups go, Kyle Sandilands’ split with his former manager and pal Andrew Hawkins was slow, painful and absolute.
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As breakups go, Kyle Sandilands’ split with his former manager and pal Andrew Hawkins was slow, painful and absolute.
During their 15-year relationship, no one — bar no one — appeared more dear, more valuable, to the radio shock jock than Hawkins.
They worked together, played together, travelled together and at times shared a house, with Sandilands once admitting to having courted Hawkins to come on board as his manager:
“I thought, ‘how do I get this guy?
“I woo him. I romance him, bachelor-style.’ ”
A two-week honeymoon stay at US rapper Snoop Dogg’s house sealed the deal.
As their mutual friend and business partner David Freeman observed in 2014: “They are the yin to the yang of each other. That’s what makes them work.”
The relationship with Hawkins was the most meaningful relationship in Sandilands’ life say sources who believe it dwarfed even his two-year marriage to singer Tamara Jaber which ended in 2010 as Sandilands’ relationship with Hawkins was going from strength to strength, six years after the men first met at the 2004 ARIA awards when Hawkins was an energetic 20-year-old trying to make it as a record producer.
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This writer had the chance to witness the bromance, most memorably at their mutual friend John Ibrahim’s Kings Cross nightclub the Piano Room, on one occasion while Sandilands was working the front room as its charismatic celebrity promoter and Hawkins the back room — or at least the combination lock to said back room when this Piano Room/Trademark virgin explorer spotted him during a back alley precinct expedition a decade ago.
When the men’s relationship fell apart a year ago it was messy.
There were claims the pair had fought over money.
Hawkins, talking to this writer at the time, denied rumours to that effect.
With tempers high and accusations flying, lawyers had to be brought in months later to help with the division of assets. Both men signed nondisclosure contracts this column has learned.
Having spent a decade exploring business investments together, assets were divided almost squarely down the middle. Hawkins is believed also to have banked a lump sum.
In the division, Sandilands has kept the minor shareholding (formerly 23 per cent) in the lucrative H2, formerly H2Coco, which partners him with four others, among them major shareholder Toby Browne of vitamin company Pharmacare and founder David Freeman,
son of convicted criminal and bookmaker George.
The business, started in 2010, banked $22 million in the 2018-2019 financial year.
Sandilands and Hawkins invested in H2 through their jointly owned King Kyle Investments. Hawkins meanwhile has taken over the men’s interest in LA boutique recording company Young & Vicious, which is one third owned by mystery backers.
Young & Vicious, according to LinkedIn, was founded in 2012 by “storied industry pioneers (sic) Andrew Hawkins creating a forward thinking platform focused on developing artists and building business, brands and careers for talented creatives” — the errant “s” could suggest the removal of another’s name from the page.
Sandilands, who has previously said his role at Young & Vicious was to secure scripts and choose artists and songwriters, is not mentioned on the site which spruiks artists Youngblood Hawke, Luciana, Nat Dunn, Jezzabell Doran, Paul Harris and Jodhi Meares’ friend James Maas.
Sandilands also retains his interest in winemakers Sam Bowman and David Kynaston’s Nueva Sangria wine, launched after his split from Hawkins.
He keeps too the rights to usage of the business name King Kyle Productions.
A loan company set up with Western Australia’s largest car and boat dealer Alf Barbagallo,
13Kyle, never quite got off the ground. Also not to eventuate where ambitions to invest in a Kings Cross tattoo parlour with Ibrahim and a broadcast and performance space called The Studio at the site of Ibrahim’s old Piano Room with enigmatic Sydney website entrepreneur Ron Creevey, a mate of Sandilands’.
Andrew Hawkins is now based permanently in the United States while Sandilands has spent less time in his beloved LA since the split.