Monday, June 06, 2011

RIP Martin Rushent


Via BBC: Music producer Martin Rushent, who worked with bands including the Human League and the Stranglers has died, aged 63. Rushent started as an engineer in the 1970s, working on records by T-Rex and Fleetwood Mac among others. He produced the Human League's hit album Dare, which contained the classic "Don't You Want Me?".

From a 1982 interview with Rushent... Hat tip to Nabeel for this...

"On a recent trip to New York City, I had an opportunity to interview the infamous Martin Rushent. Martin has produced countless bands (Human League, Altered Images, Yachts…) over the years, as well as being the Buzzcock’s primary producer. At present, he is working incredibly hard with launching Pete Shelley’s solo career, as well as his newly formed Genetic Records label. I found him to be honest, genuinely nice, and most of all, enthusiastic. I have no doubts that he’ll achieve all he sets out to do. Having long been my “idol,” I felt it time to get some personal remarks from him.

FFanzeen: How did you get into the field of producing?
Martin Rushent: Around 10 or 11 years old, I got my first record player. I used to listen to a lot of records; Buddy Holly – and I noticed that some records had an exciting edge to them, some sounded better than others. I think after that I began to pick up on names; Spector and the like. By 12 or so, I was in a school band and learning to work equipment… and I started to find it more interesting than actually performing. The result was my working toward becoming a producer in the end. Now, after all this time, I find myself drifting into a more artistic vein.

Read it in full here.

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