Phil Wainman
Encyclopedia
Phil Wainman is a British
record producer
and songwriter
, primarily active in the 1970s. He is noted for his work with Sweet
, XTC
, Dollar
, Mud
, and the Bay City Rollers
. His greatest chart
success, however, was the production of "I Don't Like Mondays" by The Boomtown Rats
, written by Bob Geldof
and arranged
by Fiachra Trench
.
an cabaret circuit with a band called The High Grades. He returned to the UK
and joined The Paramounts in 1965 for a short period. The Paramounts had had a minor UK hit
with a cover
of The Coasters
', "Poison Ivy
", but Wainman does not appear on this track.
Wainman was originally a drummer
with a session
band
named The Quotations. He released two drum
-themed beat
/pop
singles
, 1966's, "Hear Me A Drummer Man" / "Hear Those Drums" and 1968's "Going, Going Gone" / "Hey Paradiddle". "Going, Going Gone" is now a highly coveted rarity among collectors, selling for up to £500 on eBay
.
He and pianist
Harold Spiro
later wrote The Yardbirds
"Little Games" single
, which was produced by Mickie Most
. Wainman was working as a music publisher and songwriter when he was introduced to Middlesex-based pop group The Sweetshop. Liking what he heard he produced the band's first single 'Slow Motion' which was released in July 1968. The band shortened its name to The Sweet just prior to the single hitting the shops. The track did nothing and he and The Sweet went their separate ways.
Fast-forward to 1970 and Wainman was, inter alia, playing in a studio group called Butterscotch who were enjoying chart success with a track called 'Don't You Know'. He was approached by members of the nearly destitute Sweet, who begged him for a 'hit'. Wainman, by that time, had made the acquaintance of a new songwriting duo, Londoner Nicky Chinn and expatriate Australian Mike Chapman who were looking for an outlet for their bubblegum brand of pop. The three parties came together and went on to forge a partnership lasting four years and producing many world-wide hits, not only for The Sweet (Funny Funny, Co-Co, Poppa Joe, Little Willy, Wig Wam Bam, Blockbuster (number one in the UK for five weeks from January 1973), Hell Raiser, The Ballroom Blitz and Teenage Rampage) but a host of other artistes. However, in 1974 Wainman left The Sweet and Chinn-Chapman to their own devices and he branched out on his own.
Wainman co-wrote and produced "Give a Little Love
" for the Bay City Rollers, a UK number one in 1975. He also produced "Bye Bye Baby", another UK chart-topper the same year which, ironically, held off Sweet's first ever self-written and produced hit "Fox On The Run" from the coveted number one slot. In addition record producer credits exist for the album
s, Bay City Rollers
, Wouldn't You Like It?
and Once Upon a Star
.
When punk
arrived he worked with Generation X
, but it wasn't an experience he remembers with any affection: 'Billy Idol
kept on saying, "Do you think I'm going to make it?" I said, "Well, you're absolutely bloody talentless, but you look great."'
The last major hit Wainman worked on was Adrian Gurvitz
's UK Top 10 hit in April 1982 "Classic". "And then I had an incident at home, where I got home one night at five o' clock in the morning, after I had been working, and there were six police cars in my driveway. You know the feeling when your heart jumps into your mouth? Well, my wife had been bound and gagged and [after that] I just figured if I had to risk my family's security because I'm in the studio - do I have to have an armed guard minding my family while I work? - so I just kind of gave up producing... I dropped out. But not because I wanted to, but because I felt I had to".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, primarily active in the 1970s. He is noted for his work with Sweet
Sweet (band)
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
, XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Dollar
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
, Mud
Mud (band)
Mud were an English glam rock band, formed in February 1968, best remembered for their single "Tiger Feet", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974...
, and the Bay City Rollers
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the 1970s. The British Hit Singles & Albums noted that they were "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", and were "the first of many acts heralded as the 'Biggest Group since The Beatles' and one of the most screamed-at...
. His greatest chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
success, however, was the production of "I Don't Like Mondays" by The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats were an Irish punk rock band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985. They were led by vocalist Bob Geldof.-Biography:All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland...
, written by Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
and arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by Fiachra Trench
Fiachra Trench
Fiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench is a musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth in Ireland....
.
Career
In 1964 Wainman was working the EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an cabaret circuit with a band called The High Grades. He returned to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and joined The Paramounts in 1965 for a short period. The Paramounts had had a minor UK hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
with a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
', "Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy (song)
"Poison Ivy" is a popular song by American songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by The Coasters in 1959. It went to #1 on the R&B chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
", but Wainman does not appear on this track.
Wainman was originally a drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
with a session
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
named The Quotations. He released two drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
-themed beat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
/pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, 1966's, "Hear Me A Drummer Man" / "Hear Those Drums" and 1968's "Going, Going Gone" / "Hey Paradiddle". "Going, Going Gone" is now a highly coveted rarity among collectors, selling for up to £500 on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
.
He and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Harold Spiro
Harold Spiro
Harold Spiro was an English songwriter.- Early days :His interest in music began at an early age, in London's East End, where his uncle regularly took him to the Music hall....
later wrote The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
"Little Games" single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, which was produced by Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
. Wainman was working as a music publisher and songwriter when he was introduced to Middlesex-based pop group The Sweetshop. Liking what he heard he produced the band's first single 'Slow Motion' which was released in July 1968. The band shortened its name to The Sweet just prior to the single hitting the shops. The track did nothing and he and The Sweet went their separate ways.
Fast-forward to 1970 and Wainman was, inter alia, playing in a studio group called Butterscotch who were enjoying chart success with a track called 'Don't You Know'. He was approached by members of the nearly destitute Sweet, who begged him for a 'hit'. Wainman, by that time, had made the acquaintance of a new songwriting duo, Londoner Nicky Chinn and expatriate Australian Mike Chapman who were looking for an outlet for their bubblegum brand of pop. The three parties came together and went on to forge a partnership lasting four years and producing many world-wide hits, not only for The Sweet (Funny Funny, Co-Co, Poppa Joe, Little Willy, Wig Wam Bam, Blockbuster (number one in the UK for five weeks from January 1973), Hell Raiser, The Ballroom Blitz and Teenage Rampage) but a host of other artistes. However, in 1974 Wainman left The Sweet and Chinn-Chapman to their own devices and he branched out on his own.
Wainman co-wrote and produced "Give a Little Love
Give a Little Love
"Give a Little Love", by the Bay City Rollers, was a UK #1 single for 3 weeks in July 1975. It was written by John Goodison and Phil Wainman and produced by Wainman. It was the band's second and final UK Number 1...
" for the Bay City Rollers, a UK number one in 1975. He also produced "Bye Bye Baby", another UK chart-topper the same year which, ironically, held off Sweet's first ever self-written and produced hit "Fox On The Run" from the coveted number one slot. In addition record producer credits exist for the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, Bay City Rollers
Bay City Rollers (album)
Bay City Rollers, released in late 1975, was the first full-length album by Scotland's Bay City Rollers to be issued in the USA and Canada...
, Wouldn't You Like It?
Wouldn't You Like It?
Wouldn't You Like It? was the third studio album to be released by Scotland's Bay City Rollers. The LP, issued in the UK in late 1975, saw a marked change in the group's musical direction: all the songs save one were the band's own compositions. The one outside-written tune, "Give a Little...
and Once Upon a Star
Once Upon a Star
Once Upon a Star is an album released in 1975 by the Scottish group Bay City Rollers. The album featured a British #1 hit single, "Bye Bye Baby", and marked the first time the group performed its own music, rather than relying on session musicians ....
.
When punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
arrived he worked with Generation X
Generation X (band)
Generation X was a British punk rock band, formed on 21 November 1976 by Billy Idol, Tony James and John Towe.-History:...
, but it wasn't an experience he remembers with any affection: 'Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
kept on saying, "Do you think I'm going to make it?" I said, "Well, you're absolutely bloody talentless, but you look great."'
The last major hit Wainman worked on was Adrian Gurvitz
Adrian Gurvitz
Adrian Gurvitz is an English singer, musician and songwriter.-Career:...
's UK Top 10 hit in April 1982 "Classic". "And then I had an incident at home, where I got home one night at five o' clock in the morning, after I had been working, and there were six police cars in my driveway. You know the feeling when your heart jumps into your mouth? Well, my wife had been bound and gagged and [after that] I just figured if I had to risk my family's security because I'm in the studio - do I have to have an armed guard minding my family while I work? - so I just kind of gave up producing... I dropped out. But not because I wanted to, but because I felt I had to".