Steve Lillywhite

Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big Country, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Simple Minds, the Psychedelic Furs, Toyah, David Byrne, Talking Heads and Kirsty MacColl, as well as U2, the Rolling Stones, the Pogues, Blue October, Steel Pulse, the La's, Peter Gabriel, Morrissey, the Killers, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Counting Crows and Joan Armatrading. He has won six Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2006. In 2012, he was made a Commander of the Order of The British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to music.

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 Steel Pulse released on Island Records in 1978. In 1979, he scored two hits for Virgin Records with The Members: the Surrey anthem "Sound of the Suburbs" and protest reggae classic "Offshore Banking Business". Lillywhite along with engineer Hugh Padgham began working with the band XTC in June and July 1979 at Townhouse Studios in London for Virgin Records. The resulting album, '' Drums and Wires'', was released on 17 August 1979 and "Making Plans for Nigel", the single taken from the album, reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart in the fall of that year.

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. 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. 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.

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 the Talking Heads' final album, 1988's ''Naked''.

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 multi platinum albums '' Under the Table and Dreaming'', ''Crash'', and ''Before These Crowded Streets'' by the Dave Matthews Band. In 1991, he continued to produce Morrissey and co-produced songs from U2's '' Achtung Baby'', working alongside Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Flood. That same year he returned to Dublin to produce Engine Alley's debut album entitled ''A Sonic Holiday'', and Kirsty MacColl again provided additional vocals, this time for the single "Song for Someone". He also produced albums by Travis and the debut (and only album) by The La's. In 1996, he produced Phish's '' Billy Breathes'', and he returned to produce '' Joy'' in 2009.

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.

In 2002, Universal Music Group head Lucian Grainge invited Lillywhite to become managing director. Lillywhite signed singer-songwriter Darius Danesh and served as executive producer for his debut album '' Dive In'', which spawned three Top 10 hits, and Mercury Records' first number one in eighteen years. He also signed Razorlight, and also produced Jason Mraz's '' Mr. A-Z''.

In September 2005, Lillywhite joined Columbia Records as a Senior Vice-president of A&R. During his tenure he signed MGMT. He left the label at the end of 2006. Lillywhite collected consecutive Grammy Awards for Record of the Year with U2's " Beautiful Day" and "Walk On". In 2006, Lillywhite won three more Grammys: Producer of the Year (Non-Classical), Best Rock Album also with U2's '' How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb''; and a partial win for Album of the Year, also for ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb''.

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 NPR. This included sessions at Avatar Studios in New York with Fleet Foxes, She & Him, Bell X1, Dr. Dog, and Mercury Rev

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