Mike Hedges
Encyclopedia
Career
Mike Hedges started as a tape-op at Morgan StudiosMorgan Studios
Morgan Studios, also known as Morgan Sound Studios, were recording studios in Willesden, North London. The studios were notable for many recordings of the 1960s and 1970s by many British bands and artists such as Ten Years After, Yes, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Joan Armatrading, Cat...
in London in the late 1970s. Having graduated to engineer, he went freelance in 1981 and became an engineer/producer.
Hedges' first major collaboration was with The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, and resulted in their debut single "Killing an Arab
Killing an Arab
"Killing an Arab" is the first single by The Cure. It was recorded at the same time as their first LP in the UK, Three Imaginary Boys but not included on the album...
". Hedges opened his own facility, the Playground, in nearby Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
where he continued to work with The Cure as well as with the Associates and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
His subsequent credits have included U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
, The Undertones
The Undertones
The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones , Hypnotised , Positive Touch and The Sin of Pride — before disbanding in July 1983.Music guide Allmusic...
, the Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
, Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, Texas
Texas (band)
Texas are a Scottish pop band from Bearsden, near Glasgow, Scotland. They were founded by Johnny McElhone in 1986 and feature Sharleen Spiteri on lead vocals. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at Scotland's University of Dundee...
, The Beautiful South
The Beautiful South
The Beautiful South were an English alternative rock group formed at the end of the 1980s by two former members of Hull group The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. The duo were initially joined by Sean Welch , Dave Stead and Dave Rotheray , all of whom stayed with the group throughout...
, and The Priests
The Priests
The Priests are a classical musical group made up of three Catholic priests all from Northern Ireland. Fr Eugene and his brother Fr Martin O'Hagan are originally from the village of Claudy, County Londonderry with the family now residing in Derry whilst Fr David Delargy is from Ballymena, County...
.http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec04/articles/classictracks.htm?print=yes&session=3d0a07264f2fa3bf0f9d8f82aa749b14 He produced the Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
' Everything Must Go
Everything Must Go (Manic Street Preachers album)
Everything Must Go is the fourth album by Manic Street Preachers, released in 1996. It contains five songs with lyrics by Richey James Edwards, who disappeared and presumed to have died circa 1 February 1995 and was the last album to feature his contributions until Journal for Plague Lovers...
, which was voted best album of 1996 by Q, Vox, Select and Music Week, and won the BRIT Award
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
for Album Of The Year.http://manics.rawkstar.net/articles/mikehedges.php
Hedges' more recent work includes Dido's 2003 album Life for Rent
Life for Rent
Life for Rent is the second studio album by the British singer-songwriter Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid 2002...
, which sold several million copies in under a year, the 2007 single "My Generation" for the band The Zimmers
The Zimmers
The Zimmers are a British band, thought to have the oldest members of any band in the world. The oldest member claims to have been born in 1906, although some sources indicate he was born in 1913. The former lead singer Alf Carretta died on 29 June 2010, aged 93...
and Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
's 2007 album Maths + English
Maths + English
- Track listing :*1 Samples Lyn Collins' "Think " and Galactic Force Band's "Space Dust Gurnhill EZI".*2 Co-mixed by Shy FX.*3 Samples "So You Wanna Be a Boxer" from the film musical Bugsy Malone.*4 Omitted from US version.-Charts:...
.
In 2009 he produced Claire Tchaikowski's debut album Those Thousand Seas, and the classical album The Priests
The Priests
The Priests are a classical musical group made up of three Catholic priests all from Northern Ireland. Fr Eugene and his brother Fr Martin O'Hagan are originally from the village of Claudy, County Londonderry with the family now residing in Derry whilst Fr David Delargy is from Ballymena, County...
.
Mike Hedges has also worked as part of the musical team for the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
.
Between 1996 and 2000, Hedges' work was continuously nominated for the Grammy awards for four successive years, which no other british producer has done.
Albums produced or co/produced by Mike Hedges
- Seventeen SecondsSeventeen SecondsSeventeen Seconds is the second studio album by The Cure, released in April 1980 by Fiction Records. It is the only Cure album to feature keyboardist Matthieu Hartley, and was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album reached number 20 on the British album charts...
, The Cure (1980, Fiction) - FaithFaith (The Cure album)Faith is the third album by British band The Cure, released in April 1981.- Overview :Faith is generally a brooding, atmospheric, and sombre album, although it has a flash of anger in the form of the song "Doubt", and some edge in the driving single "Primary"...
, The Cure (1981, Fiction) - Fourth Drawer DownFourth Drawer DownFourth Drawer Down is the second album by Scottish Post-Punk/New Wave group Associates released in 1981. It is a singles and b-sides compilation from all 6 singles they released that year on Situation Two records...
, The Associates (1981, Situation 2) - SulkSulk (album)Sulk is the third album by Scottish New Wave band Associates. It was released in May 1982, and reissued as a CD in 2000 with extra tracks...
, The Associates (1982, Associates) - Into the RainInto the RainInto the Rain is the debut album from Music for Pleasure and was released in 1982.- Polydor Records LP: POLS 1070 :-Personnel:*Mark Copson - Vocals*Christopher Oldroyd - Drums and percussion*Ivor Roberts - Bass...
, Music For Pleasure (1982, Polydor) - A Kiss in the DreamhouseA Kiss in the DreamhouseA Kiss in the Dreamhouse is the fifth studio album by English post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees and was issued by Polydor Records in the UK in 1982. It was reissued, remastered, and expanded in 2009...
, Siouxsie and The Banshees (1982, Polydor) - Feast, The Creatures (1983, Polydor)
- What Is Beat?, The English Beat (1983, Go Feet)
- The Sin of PrideThe Sin of PrideThe Sin of Pride is the fourth and final album to be released by the original line-up of The Undertones. The album, which was produced by Mike Hedges, was recorded between the autumn of 1982 and the spring of 1983...
The Undertones (1983, Ardeck-EMI) - Nocturne, Siouxsie and The Banshees ( Album and live DVD, 1983, Polydor)
- Vermine In Ermine Marc Almond and the Willing Sinners (1984, Some Bizzare)
- HyaenaHyaena (album)Hyæna is the sixth studio album by English post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released in 1984. It was re-issued, remastered, and expanded in 2009...
, Siouxsie and The Banshees (1984, Polydor) - Stories Of Johnny Marc Almond (1985, Virgin)
- Baby The Stars Shine Bright, Everything But The Girl (1986, Blanco y Negro/Sire)
- Drop, The Shamen (1987, Mau Mau)
- Long Live The New Flesh, Flesh For Lulu (1987)
- Through the Looking Glass Siouxsie and the Banshees (1987, Polydor)
- PeepshowPeepshow (album)Peepshow is the ninth studio album by the English band Siouxsie and the Banshees and their first as a quintet. With the arrival of multi-instrumentalist Martin McCarrick, Peepshow was one of their most musically complex albums, including the singles "Peek-a-Boo" and "The Last Beat of My...
, Siouxsie and the Banshees (1988, Polydor) - BoomerangBoomerang (The Creatures album)Boomerang is the second album to be released by British duo The Creatures aka singer Siouxsie Sioux and musician Budgie. The album was recorded in Andalusia, Spain. One of the bluesy songs of this album, "Killing Time", was covered live by Jeff Buckley a few years later.At its release, the album...
, The Creatures (1989, Polydor) - Welcome To The Beautiful South, The Beautiful South (1989, Go Discs)
- Choke, The Beautiful South (1990, Go Discs)
- Once Around The World, The Stunning (1992, Solid Records)
- Mute, CatchersCatchersCatchers was an Irish indie pop band formed in 1993 and led by singer-songwriter Dale Grundle. The band consisted of Dale Grundle , Alice Lemon , Peter Kelly , Ger FitzGerald , Craig Carpenter and Jonathan Lord...
(1994, Setanta) - SplitSplit (Lush album)Split is the second album by British shoegazing act Lush, released on 4AD on June 13, 1994 in the UK and a day later in the US. Two singles were released from the album: "Desire Lines" and "Hypocrite," both released on May 30, 1994...
, LushLush (band)Lush were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were one of the first bands to attract the "shoegazing" label...
(1994, 4AD) - Yes, McAlmont and Butler (1995, Hut Records)
- Everything Must GoEverything Must Go (Manic Street Preachers album)Everything Must Go is the fourth album by Manic Street Preachers, released in 1996. It contains five songs with lyrics by Richey James Edwards, who disappeared and presumed to have died circa 1 February 1995 and was the last album to feature his contributions until Journal for Plague Lovers...
, Manic Street Preachers (1996, Sony) - No More Apologies, A House (1996, Setanta)
- FurtherFurther (Geneva album)Further is the debut studio album by the Scottish Indie band Geneva. It was released on 9 June 1997 and reached number twenty on the UK Albums Chart. Further includes the singles "No One Speaks", "Into the Blue", "Tranquillizer" and "Best Regrets"....
, GenevaGeneva (band)Geneva were a British indie band from Aberdeen, Scotland.-Career:The band were formed in 1992 by vocalist Andrew Montgomery and guitarist Steven Dora. They recruited second guitarist Stuart Evans, bass player Keith Graham and finally drummer Craig Brown. Craig was later replaced by Douglas Caskie...
(1997, Nude/Sony) - White on Blonde, Texas (1997, Mercury Records)
- This Is My Truth Tell Me YoursThis Is My Truth Tell Me YoursThis Is My Truth Tell Me Yours is the fifth album by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in September 1998 on Epic Records, and in the United States the following year, on Virgin Records.- Background :...
, Manic Street Preachers (1998, Virgin) - The Man Who, Travis (1999, Independiente)
- Yeah, The Wannadies (1999, RCA)
- "Blue Touches Blue", Noa (Achinoam NiniAchinoam NiniAchinoam Nini , also known by her professional name, Noa, is a leading Israeli international concert and recording artist.-Career:...
) (March 2000) - All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 (2000, Island)
- Know Your EnemyKnow Your Enemy (Manic Street Preachers album)Know Your Enemy is the sixth album by the Manic Street Preachers. It was released in March 2001 on Virgin Records. The album has songs ranging from energetic lo-fi rock songs reminiscent of their earlier material to highly produced, more melodic pop songs as well as a disco song...
, The Manic Street Preachers (2001, Epic Records) - Another Day" (Lene Marlin)(September,2003)
- "My Generation", The Zimmers (2007)
- Those Thousand Seas, Claire Tchaikowski (2009, Grá Mór Phonic Records)
- The PriestsThe PriestsThe Priests are a classical musical group made up of three Catholic priests all from Northern Ireland. Fr Eugene and his brother Fr Martin O'Hagan are originally from the village of Claudy, County Londonderry with the family now residing in Derry whilst Fr David Delargy is from Ballymena, County...
, (2008, Sony/BMG)
External links
- [ Allmusic.com discography]
- Nettwerk Management discography
- Interview with Sound on Sound about working with The Cure