Stephen Street
Encyclopedia
Stephen Street is an English
music producer
best known for his work with The Smiths
in the 1980s, as well as Blur
and The Cranberries
in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey
on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs. As a producer, Street has served more as a musician
than as an engineer
, thereby significantly influencing the sound of the groups he has worked with. More recently he collaborated extensively with the Kaiser Chiefs
on their first two albums.
/Massive Attack
producer, Cameron McVey
. Street started at Island Records
' Fallout Shelter Studio in 1982 firstly as an "in-house assistant" and then as an "in-house engineer".
's "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
". He was well aware of the band and excited by the prospect of engineering the session, saying in a HitQuarters
interview, "I’d seen them just shortly beforehand on Top Of The Pops doing ‘This Charming Man’, and like most other people around that time who were into music I was really excited by them." Street says his enthusiasm must have rubbed off on Morrissey
and Johnny Marr
because they took his name and number. Although not contacted for the subsequent recording "William, It Was Really Nothing
", he was asked to engineer their next album, Meat Is Murder
, with Morrissey and Marr producing for the first time.
During this time he also engineered for reggae
artists including Black Uhuru
and Linton Kwesi Johnson
, and for juju musician King Sunny Ade
. He also helped produce Stephen Duffy
's first two albums, The Ups and the Downs in 1985 and Because We Love You in 1986. Twelve years later, he would again work with Duffy on his 1998 album I Love My Friends.
Street continued to work with The Smiths, working as an engineer on their album The Queen Is Dead
before assuming a producer role for their final album, Strangeways, Here We Come
.
After the Smiths broke up, Street was contacted by lead singer Morrissey, who offered him the position of producer and co-songwriter for his forthcoming album, which came to be titled Viva Hate
. Street accepted and this album reached #1, spawning two top-ten hits in the United Kingdom
. Street and guitarist on Viva Hate
, Vini Reilly
, had a dispute over songwriting credits - Reilly claimed to have written the majority of the tracks on the album, which Street dismissed and claimed that he wrote all of the tracks on the album and Reilly had no part to play in this. Street was credited as producer, songwriter
, guitarist
, and bass guitarist on the album. Street went on to co-write and produce two more top ten singles for Morrissey which appeared on Bona Drag
before the singer ended their association apparently because of disputes regarding the royalties and alleged conversations between Street and author of controversial Morrissey texts, Johnny Rogan
.
's first single, "She's So High", Street contacted their manager. Soon after he was called in and produced their establishing hit, "There's No Other Way
", although he did not produce the album as a whole. Street went on to produce Blur's second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish
.
Stephen Street was a key force behind Blur's involvement in the Britpop
movement. He produced one of the earliest and most influential creative works in Britpop, Blur's 1994
album Parklife
. The album became Blur's best-selling ever and included the massive hit "Girls & Boys". Street later produced the #1 hit "Country House
" and Blur's follow-up album The Great Escape, the song that won "The Battle of Britpop" for Blur by outselling rival band Oasis
's single "Roll with It" from (What's the Story) Morning Glory in a Battle of the Bands fueled by massive coverage by the mainstream British media. After the Britpop movement waned, Street produced Blur's overdue chart-topping eponymous album, Blur, a totally different work very influenced by American lo-fi indie rock
that showed that the band could continue evolving. This album included the #1 hit "Beetlebum
" as well as the hit "Song 2
".
After Graham Coxon
left Blur, he and Street aligned and went to produce Coxon's most commercially successful album up to date — Happiness in Magazines
(May 2004). Street's work with Coxon continued with, Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
, released in March 2006 and his latest effort The Spinning Top
released on May 11, 2009.
on their debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
. The album turned out to be a huge success in America (singles Dreams and Linger
), and is one of only 5 albums to completely drop out of the British charts only to return at number 1. In 1994, they released their No Need to Argue
album, also produced by Street. This became their best selling album (over 20 million copies worldwide). After this album, lead singer of the band, Dolores O'Riordan
, was stressed and burned out, and she wanted to do a more hardcore album. They supposedly had some differences, but after two albums not produced by Street (To the Faithful Departed
produced by Bruce Fairbairn
and Bury The Hatchet
produced by Benedict Fenner) they worked with him yet again on their 2001 album Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
and the two extra tracks that were recorded for their 2002 best of album Stars: "Stars" and "New New York".
After the Cranberries went on hiatus in 2003, guitarist Noel Hogan
began working on a solo work then titled Mono Band. Street worked with Hogan in producing the album of the same name released in 2005.
Street has produced their sixth studio album Roses
, to be released in 2012. Recording of the album began at mid April and finished on May.
, the debut album by Kaiser Chiefs
. Coincidently, like 15 years before when he heard Blur's "She's so High", he was in the same way involved with Kaiser Chiefs. Street heard one of their early demos and contacted the band with a view to producing them. As they were heavily influenced by, and fans of, his recordings with Blur they agreed. At one point Street brought Blur guitarist Graham Coxon
into the studio to rev his moped for a sound effect. This can be heard on the track "Saturday Night". Street also produced the band's second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob. Kaiser Chiefs did not use Street for production duties on their third album, "Off With Their Heads", and replaced him with celebrity producer Mark Ronson
and assistant Eliot James. Street also produced the first two albums for ska-influenced British indie band The Ordinary Boys
, also on the B-Unique label, Over The Counter Culture
in 2004 and Brassbound
in 2005, to high critical acclaim.
, the second album by Pete Doherty
's band Babyshambles
. The recording of the album was said to have been a hard process, due to Street's lack of co-operation with Pete Doherty. Doherty learnt to abide by Street's ruling and the rest of the band found the sessions with Street the most productive yet. Street later said in the NME: "Pete wasn’t in a very good state for the first couple of weeks of making the record for the reasons that people know about. It was a bit worrying to be honest with you. There were a couple of times I had to fire warning shots across his bow, say ‘Listen, you’ve got to sort yourself out here because if you don’t I can’t work with you’. I felt like I was going to let down the rest of the band if I walked away from things. I think the guy has got a lot of talent but for me it was hidden under this fog of addiction and I was desperately trying to get through to that young man that’s still there underneath it all who’s a very sharp, well-read, artistic person that’s let his less clever addictions get in the way. Sometimes I had to sit down with Pete and have really good heart-to-hearts with him to get through all of that and connect with the real musician and artist that’s underneath..I wanted to prove to those people that he can make a decent record."
Doherty told the NME that Street gave the band an ultimatum of "if you carry on like this, I’m going home” in reference to Pete's drug addiction at the time. Doherty also was quoted as saying, about Stephen Street: "It’s important to have someone who knew what he wanted, we worked 11 to eight with no weekends. It was a contradiction to how we would have chosen to work."
Street also produced Doherty's solo album Grace/Wastelands
(2009) and also will produce the next Babyshambles record.
after hearing demos and offered to produce the album. The album was recorded in London over a six week stretch and was named St. Jude
. The album reached No. 4 in the British UK Album Charts but was subject to mixed reviews. Street described iconic singer Liam Fray as "the best vocalist he's ever worked with".
Liam Fray recounted some apprehension at recording with such a high profile producer who has recorded some of his favourite work, and explained how "We were a little nervous, but then we remembered we were there on our own merit and just got on with it", and that "We were going in hungover some days and were really worried about whether Stephen would be bothered, but then he told us he'd had Babyshambles in the month before us, so we must have looked like right fairies compared to that lot". Courteeners drummer Campbell praised Street, explaining how Street "was an absolute legend". Campbell also explained how Street came to produce the album, saying that "He came to see us play live a few times, and the live tracks he heard then have transcended really well on to the album. He was really approachable, and he wasn't overbearing, or saying 'this is how the record's going to sound'. On one of the days he got out some of the B-sides of bands he'd worked with for us to listen to and he was really proud of it - and so he should be."
Morrissey, for whom Stephen Street produced for a number of years and eventually formed a songwriting partnership with, has also cited himself as a strong fan of the band. Street also produced the standalone single "That Kiss", released on 6 October 2008. "That Kiss" saw a departure from the traditional Courteeners sound of the debut whilst expanding on ballads on the debut album such as "Please Don't" and "Yesterday, Today and Probably Tomorrow" but more heavy on production, for instance the addition of a strings section.
and Spin. However, the label wasn't a commercial success and folded in 1991.
In 1989 Street produced and engineered "The Black Swan" which was the last album prober by The Triffids
,
Street produced the 1990 Danielle Dax
album Blast the Human Flower
, released on Sire Records
, along with a subsequent remix EP.
Street also worked with Lloyd Cole
, produced Shed Seven
's 1998 album Let it Ride and more recently worked with New Order
. In addition to this, he also produced several tracks on the Longpigs second album Mobile Home in 1999.
Street worked with The Darling Buds
' on their third and fourth albums Crawdaddy
(1990) and Erotica
(1992).
In 2001-2002, Street worked from Jacobs Studios in Farnham, England to produce The Promise Ring
's final album, Wood/Water
, released by ANTI-
in 2002.
Street produced The Magic Treehouse
, the debut album from Ooberman
and Tired of Hanging Around
, the second album by The Zutons
, released in the UK on April 17, 2006. He also stepped in on production duties for The Caretaker Race
's album Hangover Square in 1990. The band, formed by ex-Loft
guitarist Andy Strickland and roving drummer Dave Mew, had recorded a number of singles previously, some produced by John Parrish. For Hangover Square, the band added a number of new tracks including "Man Overboard" and "2 Steel Rings", both released as singles.
It was confirmed in 2006 that Street would be producing the next album by Feeder
, which was released in 2008. Street also co-produced the tracks "Save Us
" and "Burn the Bridges" from the band's The Singles album with lead singer Grant Nicholas
, released in 2006. An exclusive mix of this track, done entirely by Street, was available from iTunes upon release.
Street also worked with alternative
post-punk
band White Lies
when they were known as Fear Of Flying, producing "Routemaster" and "Three's A Crowd".
Street has completed recording a 4-track EP with London-based 5-piece Exlovers.
In late 2009 Street began recording with Funeral Suits whose debut album is due to be completed by the end of 2010.
In August 2010 Street produced the debut EP for Dublin based band The Vagabonds.
It was confirmed in late 2010 that he is working with The Subways
on their third album, set to be released in 2011.
During 2011 he will also work with Britpop
revivalist Viva Brother
) to the polished sound of Strangeways, Here We Come
. This also worked to the advantage of Babyshambles, who had struggled to achieve wide mainstream success due to lack of tight production on their debut album, from Clash guitarist Mick Jones, and lack of discipline in the studio - Street tightened the sound and enforced strict rules in the studio, and this resulted in a more commercially and audibly pleasing record, which went on to achieve great success and lift Babyshambles onto a higher platform and to gain new fans and much desired radio play.
Street helped transform Blur from a tentative, obscure London outfit into international rock stars. He produced some of their best known songs to date, including ("There's No Other Way
", "Girls & Boys", "Country House
", "Beetlebum
", and "Song 2
") and some of their arguably most popular albums, Parklife
, The Great Escape and Blur.
Stephen Street is sometimes referenced by the artists he works with in their songs. In the song "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" from Strangeways, Here We Come
, Morrissey
's final words are, "OK Stephen? Do that again?" Also, the Blur song "Death of a Party" from Blur is, according to some, a reply to the Smiths song "Death of a Disco Dancer". Both songs were produced by Street and have comparable qualities.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
music 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...
best known for his work with The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
in the 1980s, as well as Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
and The Cranberries
The Cranberries
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...
in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs. As a producer, Street has served more as a musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
than as an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, thereby significantly influencing the sound of the groups he has worked with. More recently he collaborated extensively with the Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
on their first two albums.
Early career
Street started his musical career in the late seventies playing in various bands around London. He played bass in a ska/pop group, BIM, which also featured future Neneh CherryNeneh Cherry
Neneh Mariann Cherry is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, and occasional DJ and broadcaster...
/Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
producer, Cameron McVey
Cameron McVey
Cameron Andrew McVey is a British music producer, best known for his work with Neneh Cherry, Massive Attack, Portishead, All Saints, and Sugababes.-Family:...
. Street started at Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
' Fallout Shelter Studio in 1982 firstly as an "in-house assistant" and then as an "in-house engineer".
The Smiths and Morrissey (1984-1989)
One of Street's first jobs as in-house engineer was for a session for the The SmithsThe Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
's "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a single by The Smiths that reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1984 before its inclusion on the compilation album, Hatful of Hollow...
". He was well aware of the band and excited by the prospect of engineering the session, saying in a HitQuarters
HitQuarters
HitQuarters is an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It is noted for in-depth interviews with industry figures, with past subjects including Simon Cowell, Martin Kierszenbaum, Jason Flom, Diane Warren, Peter Edge, Ron Fair and RedOne, as well as its A&R...
interview, "I’d seen them just shortly beforehand on Top Of The Pops doing ‘This Charming Man’, and like most other people around that time who were into music I was really excited by them." Street says his enthusiasm must have rubbed off on Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
and Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
because they took his name and number. Although not contacted for the subsequent recording "William, It Was Really Nothing
William, It Was Really Nothing
"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by British band The Smiths. It was released as a single on 24 August 1984, featuring the B-sides "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" and "How Soon Is Now?", and reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart...
", he was asked to engineer their next album, Meat Is Murder
Meat Is Murder
Meat Is Murder is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released in February 1985 and became the band's sole number one album in the UK charts during the band's lifetime, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. It reached number 110 in the US...
, with Morrissey and Marr producing for the first time.
During this time he also engineered for reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
artists including Black Uhuru
Black Uhuru
Black Uhuru are a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru . The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Duckie Simpson always maintaining group control and ownership...
and Linton Kwesi Johnson
Linton Kwesi Johnson
Linton Kwesi Johnson is a UK-based dub poet. He became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British...
, and for juju musician King Sunny Ade
King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been classed as one of the most influential musicians of all time.-Background:...
. He also helped produce Stephen Duffy
Stephen Duffy
Stephen Anthony James Duffy is an English singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was a founding member and vocalist/bassist of Duran Duran. He went on to record as a solo performer under several different names, and is the singer and songwriter for The Lilac Time with his older brother...
's first two albums, The Ups and the Downs in 1985 and Because We Love You in 1986. Twelve years later, he would again work with Duffy on his 1998 album I Love My Friends.
Street continued to work with The Smiths, working as an engineer on their album The Queen Is Dead
The Queen Is Dead
The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records and released in the United States on 23 June 1986 through Sire Records. The album reached #2 on the UK Albums Chart, maintaining...
before assuming a producer role for their final album, Strangeways, Here We Come
Strangeways, Here We Come
-Band:* Morrissey – vocals, piano on "Death of a Disco Dancer"* Johnny Marr – guitar, keyboards, harmonica, autoharp , synthesized strings and saxophone arrangements* Andy Rourke – bass guitar* Mike Joyce – drums-Additional musicians:...
.
After the Smiths broke up, Street was contacted by lead singer Morrissey, who offered him the position of producer and co-songwriter for his forthcoming album, which came to be titled Viva Hate
Viva Hate
Viva Hate is Morrissey's debut solo album, released on 14 March 1988 by HMV Records. The album was considered a very strong foray into Morrissey's solo career, as he utilised his traditional lyrical style and retained the basic sound that The Smiths had developed by the time they broke up. It...
. Street accepted and this album reached #1, spawning two top-ten hits in the United Kingdom
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...
. Street and guitarist on Viva Hate
Viva Hate
Viva Hate is Morrissey's debut solo album, released on 14 March 1988 by HMV Records. The album was considered a very strong foray into Morrissey's solo career, as he utilised his traditional lyrical style and retained the basic sound that The Smiths had developed by the time they broke up. It...
, Vini Reilly
Vini Reilly
Vincent "Vini" Gerard Reilly is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group The Durutti Column.-Biography:...
, had a dispute over songwriting credits - Reilly claimed to have written the majority of the tracks on the album, which Street dismissed and claimed that he wrote all of the tracks on the album and Reilly had no part to play in this. Street was credited as producer, 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...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, and bass guitarist on the album. Street went on to co-write and produce two more top ten singles for Morrissey which appeared on Bona Drag
Bona Drag
- 2010 re-release :The 2010 re-release features the following additional tracks:* "Happy Lovers at Last United" * "Lifeguard on Duty"...
before the singer ended their association apparently because of disputes regarding the royalties and alleged conversations between Street and author of controversial Morrissey texts, Johnny Rogan
Johnny Rogan
Johnny Rogan is an author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He has written influential biographies of The Byrds, The Smiths and Van Morrison. His writing is characterised by "an almost neurotic attention to detail", epic length and a sometimes hostile...
.
Blur (1990-1997) and Graham Coxon (2003-present)
After hearing BlurBlur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
's first single, "She's So High", Street contacted their manager. Soon after he was called in and produced their establishing hit, "There's No Other Way
There's No Other Way
"There's No Other Way" is a song by Blur and was released 15 April 1991 as their second single. The song was the band's first top ten and top 40 hit and was also featured on the band's debut album Leisure. The single was also a minor hit in the United States, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot...
", although he did not produce the album as a whole. Street went on to produce Blur's second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish
Modern Life Is Rubbish
Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour...
.
Stephen Street was a key force behind Blur's involvement in the Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
movement. He produced one of the earliest and most influential creative works in Britpop, Blur's 1994
1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
album Parklife
Parklife
Parklife is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish , Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a...
. The album became Blur's best-selling ever and included the massive hit "Girls & Boys". Street later produced the #1 hit "Country House
Country House (song)
"Country House" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single from the band's fourth album The Great Escape on 14 August 1995...
" and Blur's follow-up album The Great Escape, the song that won "The Battle of Britpop" for Blur by outselling rival band Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
's single "Roll with It" from (What's the Story) Morning Glory in a Battle of the Bands fueled by massive coverage by the mainstream British media. After the Britpop movement waned, Street produced Blur's overdue chart-topping eponymous album, Blur, a totally different work very influenced by American lo-fi indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
that showed that the band could continue evolving. This album included the #1 hit "Beetlebum
Beetlebum
"Beetlebum" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single for the band's eponymous fifth album, Blur...
" as well as the hit "Song 2
Song 2
"Song 2" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, the second track on and second single released from their fifth album Blur in April 1997...
".
After Graham Coxon
Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
left Blur, he and Street aligned and went to produce Coxon's most commercially successful album up to date — Happiness in Magazines
Happiness in Magazines
Happiness in Magazines is the fifth solo album by Graham Coxon. It was produced by Stephen Street who also produced Blur's second, third, fourth and fifth albums and is Coxon's most commercially-successful album to date...
(May 2004). Street's work with Coxon continued with, Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
Love Travels At Illegal Speeds is the sixth solo album by Graham Coxon. It was released 13 March 2006 in the United Kingdom, the day after Coxon's 37th birthday...
, released in March 2006 and his latest effort The Spinning Top
The Spinning Top
The Spinning Top is the seventh studio album by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon on new record label Transgressive Records. The album is produced by Stephen Street and was released on May 11, 2009...
released on May 11, 2009.
The Cranberries (1992-1994; 2001-2002; 2011-present)
In 1992, Street started working with the Irish band The CranberriesThe Cranberries
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...
on their debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? is the debut album by Irish rock band The Cranberries. Released in 1993, it was their first full-length album after having released four EPs, and is also their first major label release. The album was written entirely by the band's lead singer Dolores...
. The album turned out to be a huge success in America (singles Dreams and Linger
Linger (song)
"Linger" is a song composed by Irish musicians Dolores O'Riordan and Noel Hogan of the rock band The Cranberries. The song, which has an acoustic arrangement featuring a string section, became the band's first major hit, peaking at #3 in the Republic of Ireland, #8 in the US and #14 in the UK.In...
), and is one of only 5 albums to completely drop out of the British charts only to return at number 1. In 1994, they released their No Need to Argue
No Need to Argue
No Need to Argue is the second studio album by Irish rock band The Cranberries, released in 1994. It was the band's most successful album, and has sold about 17 million copies worldwide. It contains the band's most successful single to date, "Zombie". The album's mood is darker than that on...
album, also produced by Street. This became their best selling album (over 20 million copies worldwide). After this album, lead singer of the band, Dolores O'Riordan
Dolores O'Riordan
Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. She led The Cranberries to worldwide success and fame for 13 years before the band took a hiatus in 2003. Her first solo album Are You Listening? was released in May 2007...
, was stressed and burned out, and she wanted to do a more hardcore album. They supposedly had some differences, but after two albums not produced by Street (To the Faithful Departed
To the Faithful Departed
To the Faithful Departed is the third studio album by Irish rock band The Cranberries, released in 1996. This album was made in memory of Denny Cordell who signed the band to Island Records and Joe , who had both died that year.In the U.S., the album has sold 1.7 million copies as of April 2007...
produced by Bruce Fairbairn
Bruce Fairbairn
Bruce Earl Fairbairn was a Canadian musician and international record producer from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999 and is considered one of the best of his era...
and Bury The Hatchet
Bury the Hatchet (album)
Bury the Hatchet is the fourth studio album by Irish rock band The Cranberries, released in 1999. In the US, the album has sold 377,000 copies as of April 2007 and received its Gold® RIAA certification on June 2, 1999....
produced by Benedict Fenner) they worked with him yet again on their 2001 album Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
Wake up and Smell the Coffee
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee is the fifth studio album by The Cranberries. Released in 2001, the album has sold 170,000 copies in the US as of April 2007. Worldwide, the album has sold 1,300,000 copies by 2002....
and the two extra tracks that were recorded for their 2002 best of album Stars: "Stars" and "New New York".
After the Cranberries went on hiatus in 2003, guitarist Noel Hogan
Noel Hogan
Noel Anthony Hogan is the guitarist and co-songwriter of The Cranberries.With The Cranberries on hiatus from 2003–2009, Noel turned to focus on his own music. He began working with programmer Matt Vaughan, who had already done work on unreleased Cranberries songs and Dolores O'Riordan's solo...
began working on a solo work then titled Mono Band. Street worked with Hogan in producing the album of the same name released in 2005.
Street has produced their sixth studio album Roses
Roses (album)
-Recording sessions:The Cranberries worked on 19 tracks for the Roses album in Toronto and London between April and June 2011 with producer Stephen Street, who previously collaborated with the band on Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, No Need to Argue and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee....
, to be released in 2012. Recording of the album began at mid April and finished on May.
Kaiser Chiefs and The Ordinary Boys (2004-2007)
Street produced EmploymentEmployment (album)
Employment is the debut album by English indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs, released in March 2005 on B-Unique Records. Employment takes its inspirations from the Britpop and New Wave movements, 70s'-era punk rock and Beach Boys-esque West Coast music...
, the debut album by Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
. Coincidently, like 15 years before when he heard Blur's "She's so High", he was in the same way involved with Kaiser Chiefs. Street heard one of their early demos and contacted the band with a view to producing them. As they were heavily influenced by, and fans of, his recordings with Blur they agreed. At one point Street brought Blur guitarist Graham Coxon
Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
into the studio to rev his moped for a sound effect. This can be heard on the track "Saturday Night". Street also produced the band's second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob. Kaiser Chiefs did not use Street for production duties on their third album, "Off With Their Heads", and replaced him with celebrity producer Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
and assistant Eliot James. Street also produced the first two albums for ska-influenced British indie band The Ordinary Boys
The Ordinary Boys
The Ordinary Boys are an English indie rock band from Worthing, in West Sussex, England. Originally named Next in Line, they were influenced by mod revival and Britpop music, as well as the bands Madness, The Specials, The Kinks and The Smiths...
, also on the B-Unique label, Over The Counter Culture
Over the Counter Culture
Over the Counter Culture is the first studio album by Worthing, England band The Ordinary Boys. The album received critical praise and spawned the singles "Maybe Someday", "Week In Week Out", "Talk Talk Talk", and "Seaside". On its initial release in the UK, there was an ordinary version and...
in 2004 and Brassbound
Brassbound
Brassbound is The Ordinary Boys' second studio album, released in 2005. It contains the singles "Boys Will Be Boys" and "Life Will Be The Death Of Me"...
in 2005, to high critical acclaim.
Babyshambles (2007-present) and Peter Doherty (2008-present)
Street produced Shotter's NationShotter's Nation
Shotter's Nation is the second album by English rock band Babyshambles and was released in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2007 by Parlophone to generally favourable reviews. In the United States the album was released on October 23, 2007 by Astralwerks...
, the second album by Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
's band Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
. The recording of the album was said to have been a hard process, due to Street's lack of co-operation with Pete Doherty. Doherty learnt to abide by Street's ruling and the rest of the band found the sessions with Street the most productive yet. Street later said in the NME: "Pete wasn’t in a very good state for the first couple of weeks of making the record for the reasons that people know about. It was a bit worrying to be honest with you. There were a couple of times I had to fire warning shots across his bow, say ‘Listen, you’ve got to sort yourself out here because if you don’t I can’t work with you’. I felt like I was going to let down the rest of the band if I walked away from things. I think the guy has got a lot of talent but for me it was hidden under this fog of addiction and I was desperately trying to get through to that young man that’s still there underneath it all who’s a very sharp, well-read, artistic person that’s let his less clever addictions get in the way. Sometimes I had to sit down with Pete and have really good heart-to-hearts with him to get through all of that and connect with the real musician and artist that’s underneath..I wanted to prove to those people that he can make a decent record."
Doherty told the NME that Street gave the band an ultimatum of "if you carry on like this, I’m going home” in reference to Pete's drug addiction at the time. Doherty also was quoted as saying, about Stephen Street: "It’s important to have someone who knew what he wanted, we worked 11 to eight with no weekends. It was a contradiction to how we would have chosen to work."
Street also produced Doherty's solo album Grace/Wastelands
Grace/Wastelands
Grace/Wastelands is the debut solo album from Babyshambles frontman/The Libertines co-frontman Peter Doherty. It was released in the UK on 16 March 2009, with the single "Last of the English Roses" preceding it by one week...
(2009) and also will produce the next Babyshambles record.
The Courteeners (2007-2008)
Street approached Manchester indie band The CourteenersThe Courteeners
The Courteeners are a rock band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England in 2006 by Liam Fray , Michael Campbell , Daniel Conan Moores , Mark Cuppello -Formation:...
after hearing demos and offered to produce the album. The album was recorded in London over a six week stretch and was named St. Jude
St. Jude (album)
St. Jude is the debut album by British indie rock band The Courteeners, which was released on 7 April 2008. There is also a special edition album which includes a second disc of acoustic versions of songs which feature on the actual album...
. The album reached No. 4 in the British UK Album Charts but was subject to mixed reviews. Street described iconic singer Liam Fray as "the best vocalist he's ever worked with".
Liam Fray recounted some apprehension at recording with such a high profile producer who has recorded some of his favourite work, and explained how "We were a little nervous, but then we remembered we were there on our own merit and just got on with it", and that "We were going in hungover some days and were really worried about whether Stephen would be bothered, but then he told us he'd had Babyshambles in the month before us, so we must have looked like right fairies compared to that lot". Courteeners drummer Campbell praised Street, explaining how Street "was an absolute legend". Campbell also explained how Street came to produce the album, saying that "He came to see us play live a few times, and the live tracks he heard then have transcended really well on to the album. He was really approachable, and he wasn't overbearing, or saying 'this is how the record's going to sound'. On one of the days he got out some of the B-sides of bands he'd worked with for us to listen to and he was really proud of it - and so he should be."
Morrissey, for whom Stephen Street produced for a number of years and eventually formed a songwriting partnership with, has also cited himself as a strong fan of the band. Street also produced the standalone single "That Kiss", released on 6 October 2008. "That Kiss" saw a departure from the traditional Courteeners sound of the debut whilst expanding on ballads on the debut album such as "Please Don't" and "Yesterday, Today and Probably Tomorrow" but more heavy on production, for instance the addition of a strings section.
Other work
In 1988 Street, along with journalist Jerry Smith, set up the Foundation Label. The label was home to artists including BradfordBradford (band)
Bradford were a skinhead indie band from Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The band is best known for being liked by Morrissey, who proclaimed them heirs to the Smiths throne.-History:...
and Spin. However, the label wasn't a commercial success and folded in 1991.
In 1989 Street produced and engineered "The Black Swan" which was the last album prober by The Triffids
The Triffids
The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
,
Street produced the 1990 Danielle Dax
Danielle Dax
Danielle Dax is an experimental musician and producer most active from the late-1970s to the mid-1990s. She was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.- Biography :...
album Blast the Human Flower
Blast the Human Flower
Blast the Human Flower is an album by British experimental musician Danielle Dax. It was her first album recorded while signed to Sire Records....
, released on Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
, along with a subsequent remix EP.
Street also worked with Lloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989, and for his subsequent solo work.-Early life:...
, produced Shed Seven
Shed Seven
Shed Seven are an English indie rock band from York and were one of the groups which contributed to the Britpop music scene that evolved during the 1990s, yet never received the degree of mainstream success achieved by bands such as Oasis and Blur...
's 1998 album Let it Ride and more recently worked with New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
. In addition to this, he also produced several tracks on the Longpigs second album Mobile Home in 1999.
Street worked with The Darling Buds
The Darling Buds
The Darling Buds were an indie band from Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".-Career:Influenced...
' on their third and fourth albums Crawdaddy
Crawdaddy (album)
Crawdaddy was The Darling Buds' third album. It was released on Epic Records in 1990 and featured the singles "Tiny Machine" and "Crystal Clear".The album's sound was more accomplished than on the band's debut album Pop Said......
(1990) and Erotica
Erotica (The Darling Buds album)
Erotica was the final album from the British indie band The Darling Buds. It was released on Epic Records in 1992. The album shares a name with, and a similar cover to, the Madonna album, which was released only one week later....
(1992).
In 2001-2002, Street worked from Jacobs Studios in Farnham, England to produce The Promise Ring
The Promise Ring
The Promise Ring is an American emo band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In their early years, their music was usually classified as emo, but their later albums could be described more accurately as indie pop. They split up in 2002 and temporarily reunited in 2005...
's final album, Wood/Water
Wood/water
-Personnel:*Davey von Bohlen – vocals, acoustic guitar*Jason Gnewikow – electric guitar*Scott Schoenbeck – bass guitar*Dan Didier – drums, percussion*Ryan Weber – piano...
, released by ANTI-
ANTI-
ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records.While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from country , hip hop , reggae , Soul , folk , rap-rock , indie rock...
in 2002.
Street produced The Magic Treehouse
The Magic Treehouse
The Magic Treehouse is the debut album from Ooberman, released in October 1999 on Independiente Records. The album was produced by Stephen Street, famous for his work with The Smiths and Blur, among others....
, the debut album from Ooberman
Ooberman
Ooberman are a band with strong indie, folk and progressive influences first formed in 1997. They split up in 2003, shortly after the release of their second album Hey Petrunko, but announced their reformation in April 2006 and began releasing music again soon thereafter.-Early years:Ooberman...
and Tired of Hanging Around
Tired of Hanging Around
Tired of Hanging Around is the second album by British indie rock band The Zutons, released in the UK on April 17, 2006. Produced by Stephen Street, the album was recorded at Townhouse and Olympic Studios in 2005...
, the second album by The Zutons
The Zutons
The Zutons are an English indie rock band from Liverpool. They were formed in 2001 but did not release their first album, Who Killed...... The Zutons?, until May 2004. They achieved their biggest hits with "Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?" and "Valerie", both taken from their second studio album...
, released in the UK on April 17, 2006. He also stepped in on production duties for The Caretaker Race
The Caretaker Race
The Caretaker Race were an indie pop band formed in East London in 1986 when singer/guitarist Andy Strickland left The Loft. Strickland recruited Dave Mew , Henry Hersom , and Sally Ward . The band's name came from a Star Trek paperback adventure...
's album Hangover Square in 1990. The band, formed by ex-Loft
The Loft (band)
The Loft were a British indie band, whose debut single was one of the earliest releases on Creation Records.- History :Formed in 1980 as The Living Room by Peter Astor , Bill Prince , Andy Strickland and Dave Morgan , the band changed its name when they discovered a local music venue also called...
guitarist Andy Strickland and roving drummer Dave Mew, had recorded a number of singles previously, some produced by John Parrish. For Hangover Square, the band added a number of new tracks including "Man Overboard" and "2 Steel Rings", both released as singles.
It was confirmed in 2006 that Street would be producing the next album by Feeder
Feeder
-Technology:* Feeder , any of several devices used in apiculture to supplement or replace natural food sources* Feeder , another name for a riser, a reservoir built into a metal casting mold to prevent cavities due to shrinkage...
, which was released in 2008. Street also co-produced the tracks "Save Us
Save Us
"Save Us", is a single from UK rock band Feeder. Taken from their compilation The Singles, it is one of the three new songs on the album....
" and "Burn the Bridges" from the band's The Singles album with lead singer Grant Nicholas
Grant Nicholas
Grant Nicholas is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock band Feeder, along with bassist Taka Hirose and drummer Karl Brazil.-Early years:...
, released in 2006. An exclusive mix of this track, done entirely by Street, was available from iTunes upon release.
Street also worked with alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band White Lies
White Lies (band)
White Lies is an English indie rock band from Ealing, London. Formerly known as Fear of Flying, the band consists primarily of Harry McVeigh , Charles Cave , and Jack Lawrence-Brown...
when they were known as Fear Of Flying, producing "Routemaster" and "Three's A Crowd".
Street has completed recording a 4-track EP with London-based 5-piece Exlovers.
In late 2009 Street began recording with Funeral Suits whose debut album is due to be completed by the end of 2010.
In August 2010 Street produced the debut EP for Dublin based band The Vagabonds.
It was confirmed in late 2010 that he is working with The Subways
The Subways
The Subways are an English alternative rock / indie rock band. Their debut album, Young For Eternity, was released on 4 July 2005 in the UK and February 14, 2006 in the U.S. Their second album, All or Nothing, was released on 30 June 2008 and their third album Money and Celebrity debuted on the...
on their third album, set to be released in 2011.
During 2011 he will also work with Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
revivalist Viva Brother
Brother (UK band)
Viva Brother are an English Britpop band from maidenhead/burnham they claim to be from Slough to get a more 'street' look. Previously known as Brother, they were signed to major global record label Geffen Records in October 2010 and to EMI Publishing in November 2010...
Influence
Street has a reputation for producing commercially viable music. As his role became increasingly prominent on the Smiths' studio albums, their sound evolved from the relatively cheap production of their Street-less eponymous debutThe Smiths (album)
Before their debut album, single "What Difference Does It Make?" was released in January 1984. The track peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Released in February 1984, The Smiths debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart....
) to the polished sound of Strangeways, Here We Come
Strangeways, Here We Come
-Band:* Morrissey – vocals, piano on "Death of a Disco Dancer"* Johnny Marr – guitar, keyboards, harmonica, autoharp , synthesized strings and saxophone arrangements* Andy Rourke – bass guitar* Mike Joyce – drums-Additional musicians:...
. This also worked to the advantage of Babyshambles, who had struggled to achieve wide mainstream success due to lack of tight production on their debut album, from Clash guitarist Mick Jones, and lack of discipline in the studio - Street tightened the sound and enforced strict rules in the studio, and this resulted in a more commercially and audibly pleasing record, which went on to achieve great success and lift Babyshambles onto a higher platform and to gain new fans and much desired radio play.
Street helped transform Blur from a tentative, obscure London outfit into international rock stars. He produced some of their best known songs to date, including ("There's No Other Way
There's No Other Way
"There's No Other Way" is a song by Blur and was released 15 April 1991 as their second single. The song was the band's first top ten and top 40 hit and was also featured on the band's debut album Leisure. The single was also a minor hit in the United States, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot...
", "Girls & Boys", "Country House
Country House (song)
"Country House" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single from the band's fourth album The Great Escape on 14 August 1995...
", "Beetlebum
Beetlebum
"Beetlebum" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single for the band's eponymous fifth album, Blur...
", and "Song 2
Song 2
"Song 2" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, the second track on and second single released from their fifth album Blur in April 1997...
") and some of their arguably most popular albums, Parklife
Parklife
Parklife is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish , Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a...
, The Great Escape and Blur.
Stephen Street is sometimes referenced by the artists he works with in their songs. In the song "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" from Strangeways, Here We Come
Strangeways, Here We Come
-Band:* Morrissey – vocals, piano on "Death of a Disco Dancer"* Johnny Marr – guitar, keyboards, harmonica, autoharp , synthesized strings and saxophone arrangements* Andy Rourke – bass guitar* Mike Joyce – drums-Additional musicians:...
, Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
's final words are, "OK Stephen? Do that again?" Also, the Blur song "Death of a Party" from Blur is, according to some, a reply to the Smiths song "Death of a Disco Dancer". Both songs were produced by Street and have comparable qualities.