He told The Guardian on Wednesday that he had signed a management deal for the hotel with Kamalame Cay owner Brian Hew. Mr. Hew took over at Compass Point on Sept. 1.
Blackwell's company – Island Outpost – owns 10 stylish resorts in The Bahamas, Jamaica and the United States, including Compass Point and the Pink Sands on Harbour Island.
It also markets Kamalame Cay, a 96-acre private island off North Andros that bills itself as an upscale hunting, fishing and diving lodge. Its 11 cottages start at about $500 a night.
Compass Point is located on two acres next to Love Beach and is a well-known casual vacation spot. Its 19 units are across the street from Blackwell's Compass Point Recording Studio, which has hosted many big-name artists over the years. The studio is not part of the management deal.
Born in London in 1937, Blackwell grew up in Jamaica. His mother was a friend of James Bond author Ian Fleming, who had an 18-acre retreat near Ocho Rios called Goldeneye.
Blackwell later turned Goldeneye into an exclusive lodge. Through Island Outposts, he now owns three other small resorts in Jamaica, including the historic Strawberry Hill plantation.
Blackwell set up Island Records in 1959 to record Jamaican ska hits. Three years later he moved to London, and marketed Island's releases to Britain's Jamaican immigrant community.
In 1964 he produced 'My Boy Lollipop' by Millie Small, a 15-year-old Jamaican girl, which became a huge worldwide hit. After that Blackwell was drawn into the world of pop and rock. He managed The Spencer Davis Group, which featured Steve Winwood, and launched Island as a rock label on the back of Winwood's group Traffic.
In 1971, Blackwell cut a deal with the group who came to him as Bob Marley and The Wailers. He produced their first album 'Catch a Fire' and also launched the recording careers of such well-known names as Cat Stevens, Spooky Tooth, Robert Palmer and Mott the Hoople.
He sold Island Records to the giant Dutch label, PolyGram, in 1989 for $300m. Polygram ousted him from the company in 1997.
Blackwell's hotel interests started just over 10 years ago, when he bought the 1939-vintage Marlin Hotel on Miami Beach, just as the area was reviving as a popular tourist destination.
"Later, I was asked to start renting out Goldeneye, and over time I started adding hotels," he said in a recent interview. "Our properties are small, and therefore we market them very differently from traditional hotels. So, providing we do not disappoint, we will continue to thrive very much on a word-of-mouth basis.
Island Outpost also owns the 45-room Tides Hotel and the 54-room Kent Hotel in the heart of Miami Beach's famed Art Deco district. All are known as celebrity getaway palaces.
The company's most unusual property is Cuckoo's Nest in Provo, Utah. This spectacular, three-level mountain home with 5 bedrooms was designed and built by Blackwell in 1991.
Photo: Chris Blackwell
By Larry Smith, The Nassau Guardian
