- Son of Blanche Blackwell, friend of Ian Fleming. His father Joseph Blackwell was heir to the Crosse & Blackwell food empire.
- Was almost single-handedly responsible for bringing reggae music to the world outside of Jamaica by signing Bob Marley to Island Records.
- Sold Island Records to PolyGram (now Universal Music) in 1991.
- Founded the Palm Pictures group in 1997.
- He owns "James Bond" writer Ian Fleming's former Jamaican home, Goldeneye. It is now a luxury resort. Blackwell grew up nearby.
- Founded Island Records in 1960.
- Portrayed by James Norton in the biopic Bob Marley: One Love (2024).
- On the 1991 laserdisc commentary for Dr. No (1962), director Terence Young discusses Blackwell's uncredited cameo in the Jamaican scenes, also that the young impresario asked him to invest £5000 in the fledgling Island Records, then a modest undertaking involving Blackwell selling his label's records from a car. Young was happy to put up capital, but when Blackwell and his partner showed up for a meeting the following day "absolutely high as kites", Young's appalled wife dissuaded her husband from the venture. Since Blackwell sold Island to Polygram for several hundred million dollars, Young says his change of heart "wasn't a very good decision".
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