Brief encounter: John Williams.

Few label bosses can claim to have instilled the same kind of unwavering artist loyalty as that earned by John Williams.

Williams has ploughed numerous fields within the music industry since he first joined Polydor back in 1974, plugging The Who, Slade and The Osmonds, and the strong artist relationships he has established along the way continue to bear fruit in his latest role as managing director of the Universal-owned W14 label.

Since W14's launch in April 2006, Williams has been reunited with a number of acts, including JJ Cale, who he worked with as label manager at Island in 1976, Alison Moyet who followed Williams from Sanctuary, and The Waterboys who, 21 years after Williams produced their epic Radio One live session, signed to W14 in November 2006, prompting the band's Mike Scott to hail him as a "true music man".

In March this year it was the turn of The Proclaimers to return to the Williams fold and ink a deal with W14. Having signed the brothers Reid two decades previously and produced their gold-selling debut This Is The Story, Williams now has Craig and Charlie back on board. More recently, Williams' former Sanctuary signings Simple Minds have become the latest to join W14 for a new album

Discussing the launch of W14, which he describes as a boutique label, Williams says, "I knew the model worked - which was to engage artists who want to work with a safe pair of hands. I understood the recording process, had been an artist and a successful manager. I was interested in the whole package and what I was seeking was an outlet that had fantastic distribution, with the most dynamic personalities, and that's Universal."

One of the things that sets Williams apart is his experience in disparate areas of the industry. Along with ...