Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite CBE | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Stephen Alan Lillywhite |
Born | 15 March 1955 |
Origin | Egham, Surrey England |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Record producer |
Years active | 1977–present |
Stephen Alan Lillywhite,
Career
Early years
Lillywhite entered the music industry in 1972, when he worked as a tape operator for PolyGram. He produced a demo recording for Ultravox!, which led to them being offered a recording contract with Island Records. Lillywhite soon joined Island as a staff producer, where he worked with many of the leading new wave musicians, including his brother's band, The Members, and guitarist Johnny Thunders, for whom he produced a solo album, So Alone. His first commercial success came in August 1978 as the producer of "Hong Kong Garden", the debut single from Siouxsie and the Banshees which peaked at number 7 in the UK Singles chart. He was soon hired to produce Siouxsie and the Banshees' debut album The Scream which was certified silver in the UK. He also produced "Ku Klux Klan", the first single that
1980s
In February 1980, the Psychedelic Furs' self-titled debut album was released, produced by Lillywhite. He also produced Peter Gabriel's critically acclaimed third solo album Peter Gabriel (also known as III or Melt), which was released in May 1980 and topped the UK album chart. It established Gabriel as "one of rock's most ambitious, innovative musicians" and "raised considerably" Lillywhite's profile.[2][3] During the recording of the album, he pioneered (with Gabriel and engineer Hugh Padgham) the gated reverb drum sound which became a hallmark of Phil Collins' solo career.[4] Later in the year, Boy, the debut album of U2, was released, produced by Lillywhite. Lillywhite's collaboration with U2 continued with the albums October and War. He moved on to produce work by Bruce Foxton (of The Jam), Big Country, XTC, The Chameleons, Toyah, Talking Heads, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Morrissey, The Rolling Stones and the Shine album by the former ABBA vocalist Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Lillywhite was also hired by Rush to produce their 1984 album, Grace Under Pressure but, much to their frustration, withdrew from the project to work with Simple Minds. Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart referred to Lillywhite as a man not of his word for not following through on what had already been scheduled.[5]
In 1987, Lillywhite worked with the Pogues, producing "Fairytale of New York". His wife, Kirsty MacColl, provided the lead female vocal for the song, which became the band's biggest hit. The single narrowly missed being the UK Christmas number one single, but was still one of the biggest selling records that year, and has frequently returned to the holiday charts. MacColl also provided additional vocals during Lillywhite's production of Talking Heads' final album, 1988's Naked. [6]
The song "Cotton Fields", from the Pogues' 1989 album Peace and Love (also produced by Lillywhite), includes a reference to "Steve Lillywhite's drunken mix".
1990s
During the 1990s, Lillywhite produced the
Lilywhite was featured as the subject for a BBC Radio 1 documentary series on record producers. In 1999, he produced the US band Guster's Lost and Gone Forever.
2000s
In 2000, Lillywhite was fired from the fourth album by the Dave Matthews Band after band members cited creative differences. In 2001, a number of their recordings emerged on a bootleg album, known now as The Lillywhite Sessions; many of the songs from those recordings followed later, on the Dave Matthews Band's album Busted Stuff. The unfinished tracks appeared online, and the majority of the tracks were re-recorded, without Lillywhite, with Stephen Harris as the preferred choice by the band.[8]
In 2002,
In September 2005, Lillywhite joined
In late 2006, he worked with Chris Cornell on his album Carry On, and also produced two songs on Switchfoot's album, Oh! Gravity.. In February 2007, Lillywhite began work with Crowded House on tracks for Time on Earth, the band's first studio album in fourteen years. The majority of the album was produced by Ethan Johns, but Lillywhite produced four songs with the full touring line-up, including new drummer Matt Sherrod as well as studio guest guitarist Johnny Marr. Lillywhite's next project was working with Matchbox Twenty on an EP that comprised a portion of Exile on Mainstream, a two-disc album that entered the US charts at No. 3 and Australian charts at No. 1. In 2008, Lillywhite again worked alongside Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois on U2's No Line on the Horizon. He also worked on Blue October's Approaching Normal, and rejoined Flood to work with Thirty Seconds to Mars on This Is War.
In 2008, Lillywhite produced a number of recordings for the World Cafe radio show on
In November 2009, he began presenting his own weekly radio show on East Village Radio called "The Lillywhite Sessions".[9]
2010s
On 25 May 2010, the official
In 2011,
In 2012, Lillywhite was appointed
On 16 July 2012, the Irish Examiner reported that Lillywhite was attached to a new television show entitled ’'The Hit.[15]
Lillywhite reunited with Thirty Seconds to Mars in 2012, co-producing the band's fourth studio album Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, alongside Jared Leto.
In 2015, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, Lillywhite was awarded his sixth Grammy Award for his work on Juanes's album Loco De Amor. That same year, he was credited as a producer on Amy Lee's cover of Chris Isaak's "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" for her Recover, Vol. 1 EP. The track was originally recorded for Evanescence's original third album produced by Lillywhite in 2010 but it was rejected by their label.[16]
In 2016, Lillywhite produced an album by Thai rock band Slot Machine.
In April 2017, musician and writer Jon Regen wrote an article for The New York Times profiling Lillywhite and his work bundling recorded CDs with fried chicken in Indonesian KFC restaurants.[17]
Lillywhite worked with a Japanese act for the first time when he co-produced Luna Sea's 2019 album Cross. In interviews about the album, the producer has stated that he is semi-retired living in Jakarta for the past five years and now only works with select artists.[18]
Personal life
Lillywhite was born in
Selected works
- Beady Eye – Different Gear, Still Speeding
- Big Country – The Crossing, Wonderland, Steeltown
- Bruce Foxton – Touch Sensitive
- Blue October – Approaching Normal
- Chris Cornell – Carry On
- Climie Fisher – some songs from Everything
- Counting Crows – Hard Candy
- Crowded House – Time on Earth
- Darius Danesh – Dive In
- Dark Star – Twenty Twenty Sound
- Dave Matthews Band – Under the Table and Dreaming, Crash, Before These Crowded Streets, The Lillywhite Sessions (unreleased), Away from the World
- Elwood – The Parlance of Our Time
- Frida – Shine
- Gigi – Setia Bersama Menyayangi dan Mencintai
- Guster – Lost and Gone Forever
- Iwan Fals – SATU
- Mr. A-Z
- Sleight of Hand
- Johnny Thunders – So Alone
- Loco de Amor
- Kirsty MacColl – Kite, Electric Landlady
- Luna Sea – Cross
- Marshall Crenshaw – Field Day
- Matchbox Twenty – Exile on Mainstream
- Morrissey – Vauxhall and I, Southpaw Grammar, Maladjusted
- Noah – Second Chance
- Ours – Distorted Lullabies
- Penetration – Coming Up for Air
- Peter Gabriel(aka Peter Gabriel III or Melt)
- Phish – Billy Breathes, Joy
- Rearview Mirror – All Lights Off
- Simple Minds – Sparkle in the Rain
- Siouxsie and the Banshees – The Scream
- Slank – Palalopeyank
- Switchfoot – Oh! Gravity.
- Talking Heads – Naked
- The Adventure Babies – Laugh
- The Killers – Battle Born
- The La's – The La's
- The Members – At the Chelsea Nightclub
- If I Should Fall From Grace with God, Peace and Love
- The Psychedelic Furs – The Psychedelic Furs, Talk Talk Talk
- Dirty Work
- The Sam Willows – Glasshouse (Lillywhite edition)
- The Smiths – mixed the "Ask" single (The World Won't Listen)
- Thirty Seconds to Mars – This Is War, Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams
- Thompson Twins – Set
- Tom Robinson – Sector 27
- Toyah – The Changeling
- Travis – Good Feeling
- U2 – Boy, October, War, and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb; as well as some songs on The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All That You Can't Leave Behind, No Line on the Horizon and Songs of Experience
- Ultravox – Ultravox!, Ha!-Ha!-Ha!
- Urban Verbs – Early Damage
- World Party – Bang!
- XTC – Drums and Wires, Black Sea
References
- ^ "Past Winners". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Peter Gabriel biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Steve Lillywhite biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ Howell, Steve (March 2005). "Q. How do I set up a gated reverb?". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ Elliott, Paul (24 June 2016). "The History of Rush by Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson: Moving Pictures and the 1980s". TeamRock.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Talking Heads' 'Naked' at 30: Chris Frantz & Producer Steve Lillywhite Look Back on Band's Swan Song". Billboard.
- ^ Daniel Kreps (17 March 2009). "Phish Add 12 Shows to Reunion Tour, Plot Return to the Studio". RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ Halperin, Shirley (29 August 2012). "Steve Lillywhite's Full Slate: Albums by Dave Matthews Band, The Killers and 30 Seconds to Mars on Deck (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "The Lillywhite Sessions Archives". Eastvillageradio.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (2 March 2010). "Evanescence Go Electro As Lee Has "Fun With Music" on Next LP". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Weiss, David (21 May 2010). "MSR Studios Hosts Kid Cudi, Evanescence, Lloyd Banks, + Cast Recordings". Sonicscoop.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ Goodman, William (13 April 2011). "Interview: Amy Lee Talks Evanescence's Comeback LP". Spin.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ Baccigaluppi, John (2013). "Steve Lillywhite: U2, Peter Gabriel, XTC". Tapeop.com. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ "No. 60009". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2011. p. 7.
- ^ Kelleher, Lynne (16 July 2012). "Whitmore to front show tapped for global success". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ Lee, Amy (15 December 2015). "Cover #: Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ "U2 Producer's Other Job: Selling CDs in Indonesia's KFCs". The New York Times. 3 April 2017. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017.
- ^ "U2、ストーンズらを手掛けた名プロデューサー、スティーヴ・リリーホワイトが語るLUNA SEAの新作『CROSS』". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "In search of truth for Kirsty". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ Halperin, Shirley (31 December 2011). "Producer Steve Lillywhite Honored With Commander of British Empire (CBE) Title". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "No. 60009". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 December 2011. p. 7.
External links
- Steve Lillywhite discography at Discogs
- Steve Lillywhite at IMDb