Andy Wright (music producer)

Andy Wright
Background information
Also known as Pop, classical, soul, rock, dance
Occupation(s) Music producer, songwriter
Years active 1984–present
Website www.andywrightmusic.com

Andy Wright (born 1962, Nottingham[1]) is a London-based music producer, songwriter and arranger notable for his work with international artists such as [2]Mick Hucknall and Simply Red, Luciano Pavarotti, Eurythmics, Jeff Beck, Dave Stewart,[3] Toše Proeski,[4]Simple Minds, The KLF, Atomic Kitten,[5]Natalie Imbruglia, Annie Lennox, Shakespear's Sister, Gianna Nannini, Imelda May, Gibboni and [6]Andreas Vollenweider. Active since the mid 1980s, he has been involved as a programmer, musical arranger and producer on projects spanning all music genres.

The early years

In the mid-1980s,[1] chasing up a job advertisement in The Melody Maker, Wright started working for a keyboard hire company in London, delivering and setting up studio equipment for recording sessions. This was at a time when keyboard and drum programming technology was advancing, although few people really knew how to operate the equipment. A gifted musician as well as tech-head, Wright studied the instruction manuals of synthesisers, drum machines etc., making himself useful in recording sessions so that soon he was attracting offers of programming work.

In the 1990s, Wright set up his own recording studio and despite difficult market conditions due to the UK being in economic recession, the projects soon started to pour in. Working as a musician/producer/programmer, he worked on The KLF hit "America:What Time Is Love?" This was followed up by a programming stint with Massive Attack on their seminal album Protection. 1995 also saw the beginning of Wright's [7] long and successful working relationship with Simply Red on the album Life. The number one hit "Fairground" which featured on the record owed plenty to Wright's musical vision of blending Brazilian rhythms and trance house keyboards. Since Life, Wright has worked on every Simply Red and Mick Hucknall album, including eight records over eighteen years.

The 1990s

By 1996, Wright's career had really started picking up. Friendly with Curve vocalist Toni Halliday and her producer husband, Alan Moulder, he was introduced by them to Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame. This led to successful collaborations on pop records for Shakespear's Sister, Imogen Heap, Sinead O'Connor and Alisha's Attic. A co-production credit for Tom Jones on the album The Lead and How To Swing It with Alan Moulder and U2 producer, Flood, came soon after.

Working with Stewart was an exciting time for Wright:

“I still maintain that that the 2-3 years I spent working with Dave Stewart was probably the most fun I had in my working life. Dave was unpredictable, always coming up with some idea, project, adventure and often in some far flung destination, the most notable being a recording/ songwriting trip on the Amazon”.[1]

"Dave always surrounds his projects with huge positivity which is something I have sought to inject into my production style because it seems to create an environment that brings the best out of performers.”

In 1999 Wright was involved with the production of the Eurythmics album [8]Peace which contained the hit singles "I Saved the World Today", "17 Again" and the title track "Peace".

2000 onwards

In 2000 Wright began [9][10] working with guitar legend Jeff Beck. The resulting album, You Had It Coming, produced a Grammy award winning track "Dirty Mind" in the best rock instrumental performance category.

Also in 2000 he provided additional production on S Club 7's singles "Reach" and "Bring It All Back", as well as co-production for Eurythmics "Peace Is Just A Word".

2001 saw Wright score a UK number one single with [11]Atomic Kitten's "Eternal Flame", this was followed by production of Gianna Nannini's album Aria' in 2002.

In 2003 Wright and Jeff Beck worked together again on the eponymously titled album Jeff.[12] This too, produced a Grammy winning track, "Plan B", also in the category best rock instrumental performance. Wright's output in 2003 also included the hit "Sunrise", the first track off the album Home by Simply Red, work on "A Thousand Beautiful Things" for Annie Lennox, plus the song "Ti Adoro" for the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

2004 saw Wright working with Shakespear's Sister and Turkish star Sertab Erener. 2005 involved extensive work for Simply Red including co-production of the album Simplified.

In 2006 Wright began his collaboration with Macedonian superstar, Toše Proeski on songs for the album The Hardest Thing. Toše was killed in a road accident in October 2007 - he was twenty-six years old. He was given a state funeral on 17 October in 2007 in his home town of Krusevo. The Hardest Thing was released posthumously in January 2009 and reached the top of the charts all over the Balkan region.

Also in 2006 Wright worked with Soho Dolls, chart-topping Icelandic popsters, Nylon, plus further projects for Simply Red.

In 2007 Wright was kept busy on Stay, the final Simply Red album.

Following this, in 2008 Wright worked on production of Mick's first solo album post-Simply Red: Tribute to Bobby.

Highlights from recent projects

2015 - Co-produced Simply Red's warmly received 30 year anniversary album Big Love which entered [13] the UK album charts at number [14] four.

2014 - [15][16] Co-produced the critically acclaimed album Big Music with Simple Minds

2014 - produced and co-wrote album 'Magnetic' for international solo artist Miel - due for release in 2015.

2014 - produced and co-wrote debut album for Purdy, retro-style songstress with a modern approach.

2013 - Saw the release of 20th Century Man, an album produced for Croatian rock music legend, Gibonni.

2012 - Produced and co-wrote vocalist Peter Grant's album Too Close

2011 - Worked on a second solo album project for Mick Hucknall,[17] American Soul, making that their 8th studio collaboration. The record achieved double gold status in the UK and garnered both 'Single of the week' and 'Album of the week' accolades on BBC Radio 2

2010 - Also saw Wright working on a couple of charity records. One in aid of the Haiti earthquake, a cover of "I Put a Spell on You", the Screamin' Jay Hawkins track. The line-up included Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream, Paloma Faith, Chrissie Hynde, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, Mick Jones of The Clash and actor Johnny Depp on guitar. The other track for charity was put together for Oxfam to use in conjunction with film at the G8 Summit. Jim Kerr from Simple Minds and Martha Wainwright recorded "Promised You A Miracle", a classic Simple Minds track.

2010 - Imelda May - worked with the rising rockabilly star on her breakthrough album Mayhem.

2009 - Produced classical musician Diana Yukawa's album The Butterfly Effect. The album was a pop classical hybrid recorded at Wright's regular haunt for live music recordings, Abbey Road Studios.

Credits

An extensive list of Wright's work is catalogued on AllMusic[18] and Discogs.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 McNair, James. "Biography". Andy Wright (Music Producer). Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  2. ↑ "Andy Wright Interview". Roland Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Live in The Mix. "Andy Wright interview". Live In The Mix Music. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Simple Minds Behind The Scenes". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Taylor, Chuck (March 21, 1998). "Radio Programming". Billboard.
  6. ↑ "The Andreas Vollenweider Story". http://www.vollenweider.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  7. ↑ BBC interview. "Interview with Simply Red". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kOVi966BHA. Retrieved 8 January 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  8. ↑ Sound on Sound. "Recording Eurythmics 'I Saved The World Today'". http://www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2015-01-08. External link in |website= (help)
  9. ↑ James, McNair. "Jeff Beck interview" (PDF). Andy Wright Music. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  10. ↑ "Biography". Jeck Beck Official.
  11. ↑ Ink 19. "Atomic Kitten Review". http://www.ink19.com. External link in |website= (help)
  12. ↑ Tarquin, Brian (2012). Recording Techniques of the Guitar Masters. Chapter 1: Cengage Learning 2012. pp. 11–13. ISBN 9781435460171.
  13. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33040596
  14. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/albums
  15. ↑ Record Collector Mag. "Simple Minds Big Music Review". http://recordcollectormag.com. Diamond Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 8 January 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  16. ↑ Mettler, Mike. "Did Simple Minds Fast Forward Or New Bands Rewind? Big Music Sounds Fresh Either Way". http://www.digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  17. ↑ "Mick Hucknall on American Soul Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "producer". All Music.com. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  19. ↑ Discogs. "Artist page". http://www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-01-08. External link in |website= (help)
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