Vic Coppersmith-Heaven is an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
sound engineerAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
and
record producerA 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 production work with
The JamThe Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
.
Career
Smith worked in the
recording studioA recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
s at
PolydorPolydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
after leaving school in 1961. By 1967 he worked as the engineer on
Cat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
'
albumAn 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...
Matthew and Son, and on
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
',
Let It BleedLet It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...
. Smith then engineered other hits such as "
Honky Tonk Women"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.-Inspiration and Recording:...
" and
Joe CockerJohn Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
's "
With a Little Help from My Friends-Joe Cocker version:Joe Cocker's version was a radical re-arrangement of the original, in a slower, 6/8 meter, using different chords in the middle eight, and a lengthy instrumental introduction...
".
He produced a number of
artistsA 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....
including
SunforestSunforest was a short-lived psychedelic folk band formed in 1969 by Terry Tucker, Erika Eigen and Freya Hogue. They have recorded only one studio album, Sound of Sunforest under the Decca Records label. They are best known for their instrumental "The Overture to the Sun" and song "Lighthouse...
for Nova,
Deram RecordsDeram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...
's short-lived
prog rockProgressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in 1969 and
Tinkerbells FairydustTinkerbells Fairydust was a British pop group in the late 1960s, who hailed from east London. They recorded three singles and one album for the Decca label.-Personnel:Signed to manager Don Arden, the band members were:...
. Sunforest was a
psychePsychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
-
folkFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
all female
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trioTrio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
, two tracks of which, "Overture to the Sun" and "Lighthouse Keeper", later emerged in a re-recorded form on the
soundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to
Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's
filmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
,
A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
. Smith also produced
Peter SarstedtPeter Eardley Sarstedt is an Anglo-Indian singer-songwriter.-Career:Sarstedt was born in India and attended Victoria Boys' School in Kurseong, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. His family relocated to England in 1954...
’s third
United ArtistsUnited Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
albumAn 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...
,
Every Word You Say (Is Written Down), in 1971.
With Smith at the helm,
Gravy TrainGravy Train were a progressive rock group from Lancashire, England, formed by vocalist and guitarist Norman Barratt in 1969. Together with J.D. Hughes , Lester Williams and Barry Davenport they recorded four studio albums. The first two were released on the Vertigo label, and the latter two by...
recordedSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
their fourth album,
Staircase to the Day.
Dawn RecordsDawn Records was a subsidiary of Pye Records. Active from 1970 to 1975, it was set up largely as Pye's 'underground and progressive' label, a rival of the EMI and Phonogram equivalents, Harvest and Vertigo....
released it in 1974.
Since the mid 1970s Smith had worked at Polydor's old studios in
Stratford PlaceStratford Place is a small road in London, off Oxford Street, next to Bond Street underground station. The road is a cul-de-sac.Number 7 Stratford Place was the London home of Martin van Buren....
,
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and was pleased to get involved with The Jam's recordings. "I remember that first
gigA concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
Chris Parry took me to" said Smith. "It was a period of real excitement and although there were only between 15 and 20 people there, it was a great show with amazing spirit and energy".
Later when The Jam slimmed their team of two producers down to one, the then-renamed Coppersmith-Heaven had developed the group's sound with harmonised guitars and acoustic textures. The Jam released their third LP,
All Mod ConsAll Mod Cons is a 1978 album by the British band The Jam, their third full-length LP. The title, a British idiom one might find in housing advertisements, is short for "all modern conveniences" and is a pun on the band's association with the mod revival.The album was more commercially successful...
in November 1978.
The VaporsThe Vapors were a New Wave and power pop band from England, that existed between 1979 and 1981. They had a hit with the song "Turning Japanese" in 1980, which reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart, and #36 in the U.S...
track, "
Turning Japanese"Turning Japanese" is a song released by the English band The Vapors from their album New Clear Days, and the song for which they are known best. The song's lyrics consist mainly of the singer talking about pictures of his love...
", was produced by Coppersmith-Heaven and hit the Top Three in the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, at the same time that The Jam's "
Going Underground"Going Underground" is the first British number-one chart single by The Jam, released in March 1980. It went straight in at number one, a rare feat at the time, and spent three weeks at the top...
" was at number one. In September 1980, when "
Start!"Start!" is the eleventh UK single release by punk rock band, The Jam and their second number-one, following "Going Underground"/"Dreams of Children". Upon its release on 15 August 1980, it debuted at number three, and two weeks later reached number one for one week...
" reached
number one it was Coppersmith-Heaven's second production credit on a chart topping
hit singleA hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
.
By the end of 1980 Coppersmith-Heaven's term with The Jam ended. "
Funeral Pyre"Funeral Pyre" is The Jam's thirteenth single released on 6 June 1981. Backed by the B-side "Disguises", a cover of a Who track, it reached #4 in the UK Singles chart....
" was their first single to be produced by Pete Wilson instead of Coppersmith-Heaven, and was also unique in giving the writing credits to the band.
Kenny YoungKenny Young is an American songwriter who has been an active writer, artist, and producer from 1963 to the present. His most famous song was "Under the Boardwalk," co-written with Arthur Resnick and recorded by The Drifters in 1964 and by The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and many other artists;...
has been concerned about environmental issues for years and in the 1980s he co-founded the
rainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
conservation organization, Earth Love Fund, with colleagues Coppersmith-Heaven and
Nick Glennie-SmithNick Glennie-Smith is a film composer whose most prominent work is a collaboration with Hans Zimmer on the score to the 1996 action film The Rock as well as work on the 1993 drama Point of No Return...
. By 1987 Coppersmith-Heaven was working with
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
for the second time, producing their album
The Eternal IdolThe Eternal Idol is the thirteenth studio album by Black Sabbath, released in December 1987. It is the first of several Black Sabbath albums to feature longtime vocalist Tony Martin. It spent six weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at 168. It was also the last full album of new material by...
. A year later, he produced a single for the Kent based indie band,
The ClaimThe Claim were a British band from Cliffe, Kent, England.-Biography:They formed around 1980, as part of an independent scene around the nearby Medway Valley towns of Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham and influenced by classic acts such as The Kinks, The Jam, The Clash and The Smiths...
, entitled "Wait And See", at the ex-Jam
drummerA 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...
Rick BucklerRick Buckler , is the former drummer of The Jam, an English rock band that enjoyed considerable success in the United Kingdom from 1977 until disbanding in 1982...
's
studioA recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
.
IrritantIrritant were a progressive rock / heavy metal band from Gloucester, England, UK, formed in 2002. They originally described themselves as an "independent hard rock band", and flirted with rap, but developed a blend of progressive metal and hard rock...
's 2007
singleIn 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...
"Voice of the Siren", described by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as a "gargantuan rock classic", was produced by Coppersmith-Heaven.
In 2008 Coppersmith-Heaven produced four tracks for The Q's debut
EPA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
Issues, which was released as a limited edition vinyl on Time For Action Records on 20 November.
Credits
- Matthew and Son - Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
(1967)
- Skip Bifferty
-Track listing:Side 1#Money Man [Bell/Turnbull/Gallagher/Gibson/Jackson]#Jeremy Carabine [Bell/Turnbull/Gibson]#When She Comes to Stay [Turnbull/Bell]#Guru [Turnbull/Gibson]#Come Around [Bell/Gallagher/Turnbull]#Time Track [Bell/Turnbull/Gibson]...
- Skip BiffertySkip Bifferty was an English psychedelic rock band formed in early 1966. The band featured future members of Ian Dury and The Blockheads.-History:...
(1968)
- Tinkerbells Fairydust - Tinkerbells Fairydust
Tinkerbells Fairydust was a British pop group in the late 1960s, who hailed from east London. They recorded three singles and one album for the Decca label.-Personnel:Signed to manager Don Arden, the band members were:...
(1969)
- Heavy Blues - Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
(1969)
- Sound of Sunforest
Sound of Sunforest is the first and only studio album by psychedelic folk group Sunforest.Two tracks from the album, "The Overture to the Sun" and "Lighthouse Keeper" were re-recorded by the band to be used in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. The soundtrack album credits the tracks to Terry...
- SunforestSunforest was a short-lived psychedelic folk band formed in 1969 by Terry Tucker, Erika Eigen and Freya Hogue. They have recorded only one studio album, Sound of Sunforest under the Decca Records label. They are best known for their instrumental "The Overture to the Sun" and song "Lighthouse...
(1969)
- Peter Wyngarde - Peter Wyngarde
Peter Paul Wyngarde is an Anglo-French actor best known for playing the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist turned sleuth, in two British television series in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Department S and Jason King .-Biography:He was born Cyril Goldbert in Marseilles, France, the...
(1970)
- Every Word You Say (Is Written Down) - Peter Sarstedt
Peter Eardley Sarstedt is an Anglo-Indian singer-songwriter.-Career:Sarstedt was born in India and attended Victoria Boys' School in Kurseong, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. His family relocated to England in 1954...
(1971)
- Black Sabbath Vol. 4 - Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
(1972)
- Rock 'n Roll Gypsies - Vinegar Joe
Vinegar Joe were a British R&B band. They issued three albums on Island Records, but were best known for their live shows and launching the solo careers of Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer.-History:...
(1972)
- SNAFU
Snafu is the first album by Snafu.An unusual funky tone for what is essentially an R&B band. Cover art by Roger Dean.-Track listing:# Long Gone# Said He The Judge# Monday Morning...
- SnafuSnafu was a British rhythm and blues/rock band of the 1970s featuring vocalist Bobby Harrison and the talented slide guitarist Micky Moody.-History:...
(1973)
- Rocka Rolla
Rocka Rolla is the debut album by the British heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in 1974. It was produced by Rodger Bain, who had made a name for himself as the producer of Black Sabbath's first three albums....
- Judas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
(1974)
- In the City - The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
(1977)
- This Is the Modern World
This Is the Modern World is the second studio album by British band The Jam, released in November 1977, less than seven months after their debut....
- The Jam (1977)
- All Mod Cons
All Mod Cons is a 1978 album by the British band The Jam, their third full-length LP. The title, a British idiom one might find in housing advertisements, is short for "all modern conveniences" and is a pun on the band's association with the mod revival.The album was more commercially successful...
- The Jam (1978)
- The Jolt
The Jolt were a Scottish band formed in Glasgow in 1976.They started out playing 1960s covers and then sped up their music, playing a mix of punk rock and power pop. The lineup was Robbie Collins, Jim Doak and Iain Shedden. The band built up its following playing at the Crown Hotel, Wishaw. They...
- The Jolt (1978)
- Setting Sons
Setting Sons is the fourth studio album by British band The Jam. The group's critical and commercial favour, begun with their third album, All Mod Cons, continued through this album...
- The Jam (1979)
- Hour Glass - Johnny Warman
Johnny Warman is an English singer-songwriter best known for his 1981 album Walking Into Mirrors and the hit single "Screaming Jets".-Early life:Warman was born in Bethnal Green, east London...
(1979)
- Sound Affects
Sound Affects is the fifth studio album by British rock band The Jam. The cover art is a pastiche of the artwork used on various Sound Effects records produced by the BBC during the 1970s.-Influences:...
- The Jam (1980)
- Playing in the City
-Side one:# "The Only One" # "Not the Way" # "Your Love" # "Playing in the CIty" # "Coming of the Man" -Side two:# "Bad Mean World"...
- Barratt BandThe Barratt Band was formed in 1980 by Norman Barratt, formerly of Gravy Train and the Alwyn Wall Band, and in its initial stages consisted of Barratt , Dave Morris , Tim Hatwell and Russ Caldwell . The band recorded their first album Playing in the City in 1981 at Chapel Lane Studios just outside...
(1981)
- Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the debut album of British New Wave group Europeans. It was released on LP in September 1983; no CD version is available yet.-Track listing:All tracks written by Dugmore/Harper/Hogarth/Woore.#"The Animal Song" – 3:50...
- The EuropeansThe Europeans were a British group formed in 1981. They released three albums, none of which achieved much in terms of chart position. The band are perhaps best known for their lead vocalist and keyboard player, Steve Hogarth, who went on to greater things as vocalist with Marillion...
(1983)
- Step Off The Edge - The Venetians
The Venetians were an Australian synthpop act that had several hit records in Australia during the middle 1980's.-Biography:The Venetians formed in late 1982, when Rik Swinn arrived in Australia with a 24-track master demo of a song he'd recorded in England. He read a newspaper advert placed by...
(1985)
- The Eternal Idol
The Eternal Idol is the thirteenth studio album by Black Sabbath, released in December 1987. It is the first of several Black Sabbath albums to feature longtime vocalist Tony Martin. It spent six weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at 168. It was also the last full album of new material by...
- Black Sabbath (1987)
- Island of Ghosts - Rossy (1991)
- The Gate - Joji Hirota (1998)
- Issues - The Q (2008)