Stephen Hague (born 1960)
is an American
record producer
A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
most active with various
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
acts since the 1980s.
Early life
Hague was born in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...
, in 1960.
Early career
Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session keyboardist.
He soon became a member of the band
Jules and the Polar Bears and produced (with Jules Shear) the two albums and one EP, released between 1978 and 1980, by that band. He then branched out into producing work by other artists, including 1980s
Sparks offshoot band
Gleaming Spires, their first album being recorded on Hague's home 4-track tape recorder. This 1981 album spawned the Los Angeles radio hit "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" on the
Posh Boy label, a recording subsequently featured in Hollywood features ''
The Last American Virgin'' and ''
Revenge of the Nerds''. Hague and Shear teamed up to produce both albums by new-wavers
Slow Children in 1981 and 1982; Hague also co-produced
Elliot Easton's (The Cars) 1985 solo album ''Change No Change''.
Commercial successes
In 1983, Hague produced the
Rock Steady Crew's worldwide hit single "
(Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew". He then primarily worked with British artists.
Hague's first noted UK production was on
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...
's "Madam Butterfly" single. In 1985 he produced
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...
's album ''
Crush
Crush may refer to:
* Infatuation or limerence, the romantic attraction to another person
* Puppy love, feelings of love, romance, or infatuation felt by young people
Crush may also refer to:
Film
* Crush (1972 film), ''Crush'' (1972 film), a H ...
'' and
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
debut album ''
Please'', on which he also got a song writing credit for the song "
Love Comes Quickly" which was a top 20 hit in the UK.
Hague has also worked with
Public Image Ltd.,
New Order,
Jimmy Somerville,
Melanie C
Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...
,
James,
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
,
Dubstar,
,
Pretenders
Pretenders may refer to:
Film
* ''Pretenders'' (2018 film), an American drama film
* ''The Pretenders'' (1916 film), a lost American silent film
* ''The Pretenders'' (1981 film), a Dutch film Literature
* ''Cemetery Girl – Book One: The P ...
,
Blur,
Pere Ubu,
Robert Palmer,
a-ha
A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...
,
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
,
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...
,
Tom Jones and
Robbie Robertson
Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...
, producing the hits "
So In Love", "
West End Girls", "
It's A Sin", "
Go West", "
True Faith", "
Regret", "
Bizarre Love Triangle
"Bizarre Love Triangle" is a song by English rock band New Order, released as a single in November 1986 from their fourth studio album, '' Brotherhood'' (1986), which reached the top five on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, an ...
", and "
A Little Respect
"A Little Respect" is a song written and recorded by British synth-pop duo Erasure (duo), Erasure, released in September 1988 by Mute Records, Mute. It was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell (singer), Andy Bell. The lyrics are a plea to a love ...
" among many others.
Production style
Hague's production style has been described as a lush, layered sound with occasional jagged edges.
He cites the
Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...
,
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...
and experimental German
krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...
-bands as some influences.
Production credits
1980s
1990s
2000-present
References
External links
Biography on MP3.com(archived on 12 February 2005)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hague, Stephen
Record producers from Maine
Musicians from Portland, Maine
Living people
1960 births
Businesspeople from Portland, Maine