Meet the manager tickled pink about avoiding the limelight The man behind P!nk Roger Davies is a softly-spoken music manager who prefers to stay behind-the-scenes as he propels musicians like P!nk into stardom, reports entertainment writer Christine Sams. He is the elusive Australian music manager behind pop phenomenon Pink's success. But Roger Davies resolutely avoids any of Alecia Moore's spotlight (he never calls her Pink in person) so much that he hates being photographed and rarely gives interviews. "He worked out that it was much, much smarter not to be in the spotlight - to be a master strategist," said Christie Eliezer, music commentator and writer for US touring magazine Pollstar. But he does everything - the records, the images, the live shows. When you're talking about a hands-on manager, that's him. But it is all part of his genius, say colleagues, for Davies is a little-known success story. Behind the music: Roger Davies in office. "Roger likes to keep things private," promoter Michael Coppel said. To me, he's the most successful Australian music professional that I can think of. When Pink takes the stage in Sydney on Tuesday - for one of 45 concerts booked nationally - Davies will be calling the shots backstage. Friends say the 60-year-old has a quiet, softly-spoken manner which belies his knack for knowing what pop fans want. "His incredible success comes from his focus on attention to detail and his business acumen," said Denis Handlin, chief of Sony Music Australia and ARIA chairman. In many ways he is an unheralded success story mainly due to his modesty and professionalism - his focus is always on his artists. Davies started out as a roadie in his home city of Melbourne. But he found his feet in the 1970s as the manager of a young Aussie band named Sherbet - he took them on extensive regional tours and suggested their song Howzat! - before going on to a management career in the US. He has worked with artists from Tina Turner to Cher and Janet Jackson. He also chose the song Physical for Olivia Newton-John and What's Love Got to Do With It for Turner. Eliezer, who has observed Davies' work since the 1970s, said he was just a genuine music fan who had never lost touch with what people wanted to hear. With Alecia Moore, the feisty young R'n'B star with a killer singing voice, Davies found someone with a like-minded attitude of hard work and a strong business ethic. "Roger worked out pretty early he wanted to work with people who were hungry," Eliezer said. He simply doesn't play the game, he doesn't chase publicity - in fact he hates it.