Barnett stroke

TOWERING RETURNO: Just call him Steve Barnett, interior designer. The CMG chief’s efforts to make the Capitol Tower inviting as well as iconic are recounted in the latest issue of L.A. Confidential. “They snuck me in here one morning and I thought it looked like a funeral home,” said Barnett during an interview in his office on the newly renovated top floor. "I said, ‘We really can’t do this.’ So I called Lucian and said, ‘We really have to make this great.’” The piece also contains some testimonials to Barnett’s other talent—running a record company, including fellow Brit Martin Kirkup, who manages Katy Perry and has known Barnett for years, “You feel the energy of his presence in that building immediately. He never loses sight of the fact that it is about the music and the artists. His excitement is palpable.” Adds Adrian Sykes, who manages the breaking Emeli Sandé, “He’s a man of his word and an honest guy. When he stands in front of you and says he’ll do something, he does it. That’s a big deal in our business.” (7/19a)