Andy Hill (composer)
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Andrew Gerard Hill (born 1957 in
Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies to the east of Reading, south of Maiden ...
, Berkshire, England) is an English record producer and songwriter who worked with
Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and compr ...
and
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
during the 1980s and 1990s. On many of his compositions he was partnered by lyricist
Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...
, who had formerly worked with
King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
. He has been nominated for an
Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been ...
on seven occasions, and has won the award twice in the category "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" and once for "Songwriter of the Year". He also composed the winning song in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest.


Career

Hill experienced his earliest success when he co-wrote and produced the UK's winning 1981 Eurovision Song Contest entry for
Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and compr ...
, "
Making Your Mind Up "Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the , and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut sing ...
". Hill took part in the 1981
A Song For Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
contest, alongside his partner (and later his wife, now ex-wife) Nichola Martin, with their band Gem, performing "Have You Ever Been in Love?" This was released as a single under the name Paris but did not chart.
Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...
took his version of the single into the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. The song been
covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...
by many other musicians. For much of the decade, Hill concentrated on carving a successful career for Bucks Fizz and following their Eurovision chart-topper, he went on to write and produce two further UK number 1's " The Land of Make Believe" and "
My Camera Never Lies "My Camera Never Lies" is a 1982 single by pop group Bucks Fizz. It became the group's second consecutive (and third overall) UK number-one in April 1982. The song was written by Andy Hill and Nichola Martin, and was featured on Bucks Fizz's seco ...
". By 1986 he was responsible for (either writing or producing) all 11 of the band's UK Top 20 hits. Since then, he has also written for
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...
,
The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldwide contract to ...
,
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
,
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million ...
,
Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career s ...
,
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
,
Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...
,
Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...
,
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
, Johnny Hallyday, and
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. These writing credits include Celine Dion's " Think Twice" (1994), which reached number one in the charts of Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the UK, the song topped the chart for seven weeks in 1995, and went on to sell over a million copies. It remains Hill's biggest hit to date. He subsequently wrote "
Call the Man "Call the Man" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her fourth English-language album, ''Falling into You'' (1996). It was released as the fifth and last single outside of North America on 9 June 1997. "Call the Man" was written ...
" for Celine Dion's album
Falling into You ''Falling into You'' is the fourth English-language and fourteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 11 March 1996 by Columbia/Epic Records. The follow-up to her commercially successful album '' The Colour of My Love'' (1 ...
which, with sales in excess of 32 million, is one of the biggest selling albums of all time. He also gained success in the US, when he partnered with
Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His ...
for his ''
World Falling Down ''World Falling Down'' is the fourth solo album for music artist Peter Cetera, released in July 1992, and his third album since leaving the group Chicago. The making of ''World Falling Down'' Released four years after his previous album, ''One ...
'' album. From this, the single "
Restless Heart Restless Heart is an American country music band established in 1984. The band's members are Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dave Innis (piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals), and Greg J ...
" reached number 1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart for 10 consecutive weeks. More recently he has written songs for
Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included baritone ...
on their debut album, and collaborated with
Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...
on
Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Rejoice''. He wrote "
Proud Proud may refer to: Music * ''Proud'' (Heather Small album), the debut album by Heather Small ** "Proud" (Heather Small song), a song by Heather Small that was the official song for the London 2012 Olympic bid * ''Proud'' (compilation album), ...
" on
Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the Britain's Got Talent (series 3), third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'', singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from '. Bo ...
's 2009 album, ''
I Dreamed a Dream "I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the 1980 musical ''Les Misérables''. It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron. The English lyric ...
'', and has written songs for
Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...
, Johnny Hallyday and
Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...
.


Compositions

His songs include; *"Give a Little Bit More" (
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million ...
, ''
I'm No Hero ''I'm No Hero'' is the 23rd studio album by Cliff Richard, released in 1980. The album includes three hit singles, of which " Dreamin'" and " A Little in Love"were top 20 hits in both the UK and the US. Background Following the success of his ...
'', 1980) *"
Making Your Mind Up "Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the , and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut sing ...
" (Bucks Fizz, 1981) *" Piece of the Action" (Bucks Fizz, 1981) *" The Land of Make Believe" (Bucks Fizz, 1981) *" Have You Ever Been in Love" (Leo Sayer, 1982) *"
My Camera Never Lies "My Camera Never Lies" is a 1982 single by pop group Bucks Fizz. It became the group's second consecutive (and third overall) UK number-one in April 1982. The song was written by Andy Hill and Nichola Martin, and was featured on Bucks Fizz's seco ...
" (Bucks Fizz, 1982) *"
Now Those Days are Gone "Now Those Days Are Gone" is a single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It became a UK top ten hit in July 1982 and featured on the group's album ''Are You Ready''. The song was nominated for an Ivor Novello award the following year. Overview Bac ...
" (Bucks Fizz, 1982) *" If You Can't Stand the Heat" (Bucks Fizz, 1982) *" Run for Your Life" (Bucks Fizz, 1983) *"One Touch Too Much" (Katz, 1985) *" Two Strong Hearts" (
John Farnham John Peter Farnham AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...
, 1988) *" Heart of Stone" (Cher, '' Heart of Stone'', 1989) *"
Restless Heart Restless Heart is an American country music band established in 1984. The band's members are Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dave Innis (piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals), and Greg J ...
" (
Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His ...
, 1992) *" Peace in Our Time" (Cliff Richard, '' The Album'', 1993) *" Think Twice" (Celine Dion, ''
The Colour of My Love ''The Colour of My Love'' is the third English-language and twelfth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released by Columbia Records/550 Music on 9 November 1993. The songs were produced mainly by David Foster, Ric Wake, Guy Roch ...
'', 1994) *"
Call the Man "Call the Man" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her fourth English-language album, ''Falling into You'' (1996). It was released as the fifth and last single outside of North America on 9 June 1997. "Call the Man" was written ...
" (Celine Dion, ''
Falling into You ''Falling into You'' is the fourth English-language and fourteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 11 March 1996 by Columbia/Epic Records. The follow-up to her commercially successful album '' The Colour of My Love'' (1 ...
'', 1996) *"Real World" (
D-Side D-Side were an Irish boy band established in 2001 by twins Rory and Eoghan MacSweeney, and signed to Edel Records. Edel brought in Kim Glover to manage the band after her success with New Kids on the Block, Ant & Dec (as PJ & Duncan), B*Witched ...
, 2003) *" Reaching Out" (
Queen + Paul Rodgers Queen + Paul Rodgers (sometimes referred to as Q+PR or QPR) was a collaboration between Queen ( Brian May and Roger Taylor) and Paul Rodgers; formerly of Bad Company, Free, The Firm and The Law. Guitarist May had previously performed with ...
, 2005) *"I'll See You Again" (
Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...
, 2009) *" Beautiful" (Eminem, 2009) *"
Proud Proud may refer to: Music * ''Proud'' (Heather Small album), the debut album by Heather Small ** "Proud" (Heather Small song), a song by Heather Small that was the official song for the London 2012 Olympic bid * ''Proud'' (compilation album), ...
" (
Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the Britain's Got Talent (series 3), third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'', singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from '. Bo ...
, 2009) *"
Walks like Rihanna "Walks Like Rihanna" is a song by the British-Irish boy band The Wanted. It was released in Australia on 10 May 2013, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 23 June 2013, as the third single from their third studio album ''Word of Mouth'' (201 ...
" (
The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldwide contract to ...
, 2013) *"" ( Johnny Hallyday, 2014) Other musicians for whom he wrote album songs: *
Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...
*
Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...
*
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*
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*
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*
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*
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*
Vanessa Mae Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the Uni ...
* Barbara Dickson *
Nick Berry Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in '' Heartbeat'' from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart sin ...
*
Albert Hammond Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Diane Warren, Holly Knight ...
*
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Producer

As a producer, Hill produced many of Bucks Fizz's biggest hits, as well as UK top ten hits "
One Step Further "One Step Further", written by Simon Jefferis, was the 's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, performed by the duo Bardo, comprising Sally Ann Triplett and Stephen Fischer. Background Bardo were chosen to perform at the 1982 Eurovision S ...
" by
Bardo In some schools of Buddhism, ''bardo'' ( xct, བར་དོ་ Wylie: ''bar do'') or ''antarābhava'' (Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese: 中有, romanized in Chinese as ''zhōng yǒu'' and in Japanese as ''chū'u'') is an intermediate, transitio ...
; "Real World" by D-Side and the US AC number one "
Restless Heart Restless Heart is an American country music band established in 1984. The band's members are Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dave Innis (piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals), and Greg J ...
" by Peter Cetera.


Performer

As a performer he played guitar, and performed backing vocals, on many of his own productions. He also sang lead vocals for his short-lived early 1980s band, Paris. The group originally took part in the 1981 Song for Europe under the name Gem, with "Have You Ever Been in Love". Paris started out as a quartet of Hill, Nicola Martin (keyboards, backing vocals), Graham Broad (drums, backing vocals) and
Ian Bairnson Ian Bairnson (born 3 August 1953 as ''John Bairnson'') is a Scottish musician, best known for being one of the core members of The Alan Parsons Project. He is a multi-instrumentalist, who has played saxophone and keyboards, although he is best ...
(guitars). Bairnson left the group after the first single and they remained a three-piece. Paris released four singles in total: Of these, only "No Getting Over You" made the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 49.


Other work

From 2001 to 2006, Hill owned the Nyetimber vineyard in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
, a sparkling wine producer.


References


External links


Andy Hill fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Andy 1957 births Living people English songwriters English record producers Ivor Novello Award winners Eurovision Song Contest winners People from Bracknell