Nancy Berry takes exit at EMI

THE FINAL chapter closed on the Ken and Nancy Show at EMI as the world's third largest music group announced the departure of the remaining half of the Berry duo who have reigned at the heart of the global music industry.

Nancy Berry, 42, famed for her 'rock chick' fashions and outrageous behaviour, has left her job as vice-chairman of Virgin Music Group Worldwide after a 16-year career marred by allegations of nepotism and affairs with the rock stars signed to her British husband Ken Berry's label.

Staff in Los Angeles have been told of her immediate departure which follows the ousting of her husband, former head of recorded music at EMI, parent company of Virgin Records. Berry, responsible for the Spice Girls and nurturing Radiohead and Blur, was drummed out of his £3m-a-year job last week with what some believe will be the biggest pay-off in British music history. He is negotiating a £5m exit deal.

Following a profits warning and mounting criticism over EMI's progress in the US, Berry, a former accountant from Ipswich, was replaced by Alain Levy, former head of Polygram.

Many people expected the departure of his wife, who is on the verge of divorce from her husband. The couple's extravagant lifestyle had become the stuff of rock legend and was nicknamed the 'Ken and Nancy Show' on both sides of the Atlantic.

The caretaker's daughter rose from her job in a record shop to become secretary to her future husband who rapidly promoted her through the ranks at Virgin Records where she was responsible for the development of artists from Lenny Kravitz to Mick Jagger. Critics claimed her interest in 'talent' went beyond the professional. She was publicly named as 'the other woman' in the breakdown of Patsy Kensit's marriage to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr. 'She was the ultimate rock 'n' roll chick,' said one executive. 'She'd party hard but the rock stars loved her.'