Craig Leon (born 7 January 1952) is an American-born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England.''International Who's Who in Classical Music 2005'', Routledge, 2005. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many recording artists including

the Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

and Blondie. Active in

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

production from 1974 to 1998, Leon has focused on classical composition, orchestration, arrangement and recording from 1998 to the present. His work appears on many classical recordings with artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Andreas Scholl, Sir James Galway, Joshua Bell, The London Chamber Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra, Sinfonietta Cracovia, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The London Symphony Orchestra.

Career

Craig Leon was born in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and raised in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

. After opening his own recording studio in Miami, Florida, In 1973, he moved to New York when he was hired as assistant to producer

Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born June 12, 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. His career began as a Brill Building songwriter in the 1960s. His first number one record as a songwriter and producer was " My Boyfr ...

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

. There he was responsible for the discovery and early development of the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

, amongst other artists. In New York, Leon also produced recordings by Blondie, Richard Hell,

and many other artists connected with the burgeoning New York scene. Leon has produced over 150 LP's & CD's of alternative pop music over the years. In 1981, Leon produced his own first recorded work, "Nommos", which was released on John Fahey's Takoma Records later that year. This was followed by "Visiting" in 1982, recorded for

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...

. After relocating to the UK in late 1983, Leon continued producing pop and alternative recordings, and also wrote and recorded "Klub Anima" for the Kosh Dance Theatre piece. In 1998, Leon produced the comeback '' No Exit'' by Blondie. Since 1998, Leon had been exclusively producing, orchestrating and recording classical projects including work with

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

, Andreas Scholl and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Elysium, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and Sir James Galway. In 2011 Leon completed the Sony Classical recording of ''Midwinter's Eve: Music For Christmas'' featuring his orchestrations and arrangements of Christmas music performed by The London Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christopher Warren-Green. In 2012 he also completed writing, production and arrangement work on the new album by noted Irish folk artist Méav which was released in September 2013 on Atlas Réalisations through

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the gl ...

in Ireland and reached number 3 on the Irish national pop album charts. Worldwide releases to follow in 2014. As well as numerous UK and foreign television programmes Leon's work has featured in major films including ''

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

'', '' The Karate Kid''(2010), '' Ghost River'', '' Ladies in Lavender'', ''

200 Cigarettes ''200 Cigarettes'' is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Risa Bramon Garcia and written by Shana Larsen. The film follows multiple characters in New York City on New Year's Eve 1981. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of brothers ...

'', '' Sid and Nancy'' and '' Revenge of the Nerds'' amongst many others. Leon has also turned to work combining audio and visual imagery. In 2012 he has completed work as an audio/visual producer and musical director/composer of the PBS broadcast ''Quest Beyond The Stars'' which was filmed in the UK and commenced broadcasting in June 2012 and the U.K. produced Discovery Network broadcast "Orbit:Journey to the Moon" which was viewed on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing. In 2013, ''Nommos'', an avant-garde electronic album that was originally released on Takoma Records in 1981, was reissued as a vinyl-only limited edition paving the way for the full release of both early electronic works written by Leon, "Nommos" and "Visiting", in April 2014. Leon has been performing both works at selected venues in the U.S. and Europe in 2014–16 including Moogfest, the CTM Festival and the

Unsound Festival Unsound Festival, also known as Unsound, is an annual music festival that takes place in Kraków, Poland, dealing with evolving and mutating forms of music, as well as related visual arts. Apart from the main festival, Unsound regularly takes plac ...

. He has also completed the production of the opening and closing ceremony for the Dubai World Cup 2014 which was broadcast on 29 March 2014. An album, '' Bach to Moog'', featuring works of J.S. Bach arranged for the newly reissued Moog model 55 modular synthesizer and performed by Leon with the Sinfonietta Cracovia, was issued on 4 May 2015 by Sony Classical. The recording celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Moog modular synthesizer. The arrangements are for synthesizer, violin and orchestra incorporating the synthesizer as a solo instrument, a member of the ensemble and a processor of the music played by the acoustic instruments. 2016 saw the release of the 40th Anniversary Edition Box Set of the first

album by

which was produced by Leon. A French album of Leon's instrumental arrangements of Christmas music performed by the L'Orchestre d'Auvergne conducted by Craig Leon was released in November 2016 by Harmonia Mundi. The latest project released on his Atlas Réalisations label distributed through PIAS Classics is ''The Film Scores and Original Orchestral Music of George Martin'', performed by The Berlin Music Ensemble and conducted by Craig Leon which was released on 10 November 2017. Leon's ''The Canon: The Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Volume 2'', is an electronic album released on 10 May 2019 on RVNG Intl.

Discography

Classical records produced, composed or arranged

* The Berlin Music Ensemble conducted by Craig Leon -

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

: The Film Scores and Original Orchestral Compositions- Atlas Realisations/PIAS * L'Orchestre d'Auvergne conducted by Craig Leon - Célébration: 10 siècles de musique de Noël Aparte/Harmonia Mundi, 2016 * Craig Leon - Bach to Moog Sinfonietta Cracovia (Orchestra) Jennifer Pike ( Violin) Sony Classical * Various Artists- "Quest Beyond The Stars" Original Soundtrack - Atlas Realisations/

* The London Chamber Orchestra / Christopher Warren Green - Craig Leon: Midwinter's Eve: Music For Christmas - Sony Classical * Joshua Bell / Academy of St Martin in the Fields - ''Romance of the Violin'' - Sony Classical 2003 * James Galway /

- Wings of Song - Deutsche Grammophon * Charles Tomlinson Griffes Roman Sketches, Op. 7 No. 3 'The Fountain of the Acqua Paola' arranged by Craig Leon / Erich Korngold - Symphonic Serenade op. 65 -

conducted by S. Pittau - ASV/Universal * Andreas Scholl and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra - Wayfaring Stranger - Decca * Ophelié Gaillard and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Dreams Aparte / Harmonia Mundi * Elysium - Decca * Various Artists - Cinema Italiano: A New Interpretation Of Italian Film Music - Decca * Natasha Marsh /

- Amour - EMI Classics * Julia Thornton - Harpistry - EMI Classics * Isobel Cooper - Izzy - Decca * Isobel Cooper - Izzy - Ascolta/ EMI Classics * Isobel Cooper - Izzy - New Dawn - EMI Classics *Jos Slovick - I Am A Poor Wayfaring Stranger from

(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Sony Classical

Contemporary records produced or co-produced

– ''

'' - Sire (1976) * Blondie – '' Blondie'' - Chrysalis * Blondie - '' X Offender'' (Single) - Private Stock *

– ''

'' - Red Star * Richard Hell & The Voidoids – ''Blank Generation'' ''EP'' - Stiff (UK) * Various Artists – ''Live At

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

's - The Home Of Underground Rock'' - Atlantic, 1976 * Martha Veléz & The Wailers – ''Escape From Babylon'' - Phonogram * Chilliwack – '' Rockerbox'' - Sire * Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band – MCA * Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band – ''Meanwhile... Back in the States'' – MCA * DMZ—Bomp * The Weirdos – ''Life of Crime'' - Bomp * The Zeros- ''Wimp'' - Bomp * Sir Douglas Quintet - ''Border Wave'' -Chrysalis * Sir Douglas Quintet – ''Live'' - Chrysalis *

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

- ''What Will The Neighbours Think'' – Warner Bros. *

Moon Martin John David "Moon" Martin (October 31, 1945 – May 11, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Early years Born in Altus, Oklahoma, United States, he was originally a rockabilly artist as a member of the Oklahoma-based band The ...

- ''Escape From Domination'' – Capitol * Moon Martin - ''Shots From A Cold Nightmare'' – Capitol *

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff ...

- ''Heartbroke'' (single)- Warner Bros. * Dwight Twilley - ''Twilley'' - Arista *

The Roches The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey. Career In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry" ...

- ''Keep On Doing'' – Warner Bros. *

The Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds is an American blues rock band formed in 1974. Singer Kim Wilson is the only constant member through the band's entire history. Their 1986 album ''Tuff Enuff'' sold over a million copies, and spawned two minor hit singl ...

- ''"Tex" Soundtrack'' – Disney *

The Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...

- '' Bangles EP'' -

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...

* 45 Grave - ''Sleep In Safety'' – Enigma * The Fibonnaccis - ''Tumour'' ''EP'' – Enigma * Arthur Brown And Craig Leon – ''The Complete Tapes Of Atoya'' - Plexus,1984 *

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

- ''Pleasure Victim (remix)'' – Geffen * Berlin - ''Sex (I'm A...) / The Metro (Craig Leon Remix)'' - Geffen, 1984 *

The Beat Farmers The Beat Farmers are an American rock band that formed in San Diego, California, United States, in August 1983, and enjoyed a cult following into the early 1990s before the death of drummer and sometime lead singer Country Dick Montana. Thei ...

- ''Van Go'' - MCA * Jeffrey Lee Pierce - ''Wildweed'' — Statik * Jeffrey Lee Pierce – ''Flamingo EP'' - Statik * The Sound - Live-Mix * Flesh for Lulu - ''Blue Sisters Swing'' ''EP'' - Statik * Flesh for Lulu - ''Big Fun City'' - Statik * Doctor & the Medics - ''Laughing at The Pieces'' -

* Doctor & the Medics – ''Spirit in the Sky'' -

The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

- ''Haunted'' - Sid & Nancy Soundtrack - MCA * The Men They Couldn't Hang - ''Ghosts of Cable Street'' - MCA * Andy Pawlak - '' Shoebox Full of Secrets'' — Fontana * The Go Betweens - ''Tallulah'' - Beggars Banquet * Spy vs Spy – '' Trash the Planet'' – WEA *Snakeman Show / Sheena & The Rokkets – Snakeman Show In The '90s (The

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques to other forms ...

Remix) / Sheena & The Rokkets In The '90s (The Craig Leon Remix) - Alfa Records, 1991 *Gamine - ''Dream Boy'' - Barclay (France) *

The Primitives The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash (The Primitives song), Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throu ...

- ''Lovely'' - RCA * Adult Net - ''The'' ''Honey Tangle'' - Phonogram, 1989 *

Intastella Intastella were an English alternative rock band from Manchester, England, who evolved from the earlier band Laugh. They had four top-75 hits in the UK during the 1990s. History Laugh was formed in 1980 by graphic designer Tim Gudgeon and medica ...

- ''Intastella And The Family Of People'' - MCA *

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of bassist and vocalist Mark Burgess (now known as Vox), guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer Jo ...

- ''Script of The Bridge'' - Statik * The Sound - Live - Statik * The Records - ''Crashes'' - Atlantic * The Records – ''Teenarama'' – Remix - Atlantic * John Trubee - ''Blind Man's Penis'' - Enigma * Brave Combo - ''Urban Grown-ups'' ''EP'' - Four Dots *

Shawn Phillips Shawn Phillips (born February 3, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s. His work is rooted in folk rock but straddles other genres, including jazz fusion and funk. Phillips has reco ...

- Live -RCA *

Mark Owen Mark Owen (born 27 January 1972) is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2024, the group have sold 14.4 million albums and 14 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he h ...

- '' Green Man'' – BMG, 1996 * Mark Owen - ''Child'' (single) – BMG * Mark Owen - ''Clementine'' (single) - BMG * Cowboy Junkies - ''Miles From Our Home'' tring Arrangements - Craig Leon- Geffen * Martin Phillipps & The Chills - ''Sunburnt'' — Flying Nun, 1996 * Cobalt 60 (Front 242) - ''Elemental'' CD - Edel * Psyched Up Janis - ''Swell'' - Replay Records * Angel Corpus Christi - ''Candy 12" Remix'' - Almo * Angel Corpus Christi - ''White Courtesy Phone'' - Almo * Eugenius - ''Mary Queen of Scots'' - Atlantic * Giorgia Fumanti -'' From My Heart'' – EMI *

Kid Creole and the Coconuts Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created by August Darnell with Coati Mundi (musician), Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin ...

- ''KC2 Plays K2C'' - Sony (Japan) *

Front 242 Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they influenced the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation Front 242 were for ...

- ''06:21:03:11 Up Evil'' - PIAS/Epic (1993) * The Fall - '' Code: Selfish'' - Phonogram * The Fall - '' Shiftwork'' - Phonogram, 1991 * The Fall - '' Extricate'' - Phonogram, 1990 * New F.A.D. (Fast Automatic Daffodils) - ''Body Exit Mind'' — PIAS/Elektra * Jesus Jones - ''Liquidizer'' - EMI *

Shonen Knife Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional ...

- ''Let's Knife'' - Virgin * Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub - ''Helios'' - Polydor (Germany) * Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub - ''Boaphenia'' - Polydor (Germany) * Blondie - '' No Exit'' – BMG (1999) * Blondie - ''Maria'' (single) - BMG * The Cesarians – '' Cesarians 1'' – Imprint *

Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956), also known as "h", is an English musician. Since 1989, he has been the lead singer of the rock band Marillion, for which he also performs additional keyboards and guitar. Hogarth was f ...

– ''Ice Cream Genius'' – Poison Apple, 1997 * Bell'aria - ''Little Italy'' - EMI * The Thought – ''The Thought'' – MCA * Méav – ''The Calling'' – Atlas Realisations/ Warner

Recordings performed

* Craig Leon - ''The Canon: The Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 2'' - RVNG Intl., 2019 *Berlin Music Ensemble conducted by Craig Leon - ''

: The Film Scores And Original Orchestral Music Of George Martin -'' Atlas Realisations/PIAS, 2018 * Orchestre d’Auvergne / Craig Leon (arrangements & direction) - ''CÉLÉBRATION: 10 siècles de musique de Noël'' -

Aparté Aparté is a French classical music record label founded in 2010 by Nicolas Bartholomée, director of Little Tribeca recording studios. Bartholomée had earlier founded the recording studio Musica Numeris in the late 1980s, and the Ambroisie label ...

/ Harmonia Mundi, 2016 * Craig Leon - ''Bach To Moog (A Realisation For Electronics And Orchestra) , '' Sinfonietta Cracovia (Orchestra), Jennifer Pike (Violin) - Sony Classical, 2015 * Craig Leon - ''Early Electronic Works-Nommos/Visiting'' - Atlas /

/ Harmonia Mundi * Craig Leon - ''Nommos/Visiting'' - The Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 1 - RVNG Intl. * Craig Leon - ''Nommos'' - Takoma * Craig Leon - ''Visiting'' - Arbitor/Enigma * Craig Leon - Klub Anima Sound Track-Psi * Cassell Webb - ''Llano'' - Virgin * Cassell Webb - ''The'' ''Thief of Sadness'' - Venture * Cassell Webb - ''Songs of a Stranger'' -

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

* Cassell Webb - ''Conversation At Dawn'' -

* Cassell Webb - ''House of Dreams'' - China Records

References

External links

* * Downtown Music Publishing Roster {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Craig 1952 births Living people Record producers from Florida 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American classical composers American male classical composers American expatriates in the United Kingdom Musicians from Miami 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Takoma Records artists