Mark Wirtz

Not to be confused withMark Weitz.

Mark Wirtz
Wirtz pictured inSavannah, Georgia,2007
Born	Mark Philipp Wirtz (1943-09-03)3 September 1943 Strasbourg,France
Died	7 August 2020(2020-08-07)(aged 76)
Spouse	Amanda Wirtz
Partner	Jeff Janning
Website	www.markwirtz.com

Mark Philipp Wirtz(3 September 1943 – 7 August 2020)was a German-French pop music record producer, composer, singer, musician, author, and comedian. Wirtz is best known for the never-completedA Teenage Operaconcept album, a project he devised while working under contract toEMIatAbbey Road StudioswithBeatlesengineerGeoff Emerick.The first single from the planned album, "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera"byKeith West,was a number 2 hit on theUK Singles Chartin September 1967 and encapsulates Wirtz's signature style, described byMojomagazine as "Phil SpectorscoringCamberwick Green".Another track produced and arranged by Wirtz, the 1966 single" A Touch of Velvet - A Sting of Brass "credited to The Mood-Mosaic featuringthe Ladybirds,became well-known in Germany as the theme tune for the Radio Bremen television showMusikladen,and was used by some radio stations and DJs in the United Kingdom as anident,notablyDave Lee TravisonRadio Caroline.

Biography

Early life

Wirtz was born inStrasbourg,and raised inCologne,Germany. He moved to England in 1962.

Early career (1960s)

Mark Wirtz began his music career while studying art at London'sFairfield College of Arts and Sciences.According to a former flatmate, "Three things already stood out in him at the age of seventeen: his prodigious talent as an artist – he could paint original work in the style of any of the grand masters; his natural ability as a musician – he could pick out any tune on the piano by ear; and his zany sense of humour – he idolized the comedianJerry Lewis."

He was studying drama at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Artwhen his college rock band, The Beatcrackers, were signed to a recording contract in 1963 as Mark Rogers and the Marksmen byEMIproducerNorman Newell.They recorded a single, "Bubble Pop". By 1965 Wirtz had started his first independent production company, and worked withMarlene Dietrichas well as releasing his own instrumentals under various pseudonyms.In 1966, he wrote and produced the single "A Touch of Velvet - A Sting of Brass", an orchestral production credited to The Mood-Mosaic with vocals bythe Ladybirds,which became a popular theme tune onpirate radiostations.

In 1967, Wirtz accepted EMI veteran producer/A&R chiefNorrie Paramor's offer to join EMI Records as in-house producer. Working atAbbey Road Studiosalongsidethe BeatlesandPink Floyd,often with engineerGeoff Emerick,Wirtz wrote and produced landmark recordings by artists such asKeith West,Tomorrow,andKippington Lodge.He reached global success with his production of "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera"(also known as" Grocer Jack "), recorded by Keith West. Though never completed or released as an entire work, the idea of arock operabecame influential.

Wirtz was married to singerRoss Hannamanfor a period of time. Together, they wrote and recorded the song "Barefoot and Tiptoe" under the name The Sweetshop, erroneously believed to have been fromA Teenage Opera.Wirtz and Hannaman divorced in 1969, at which time Wirtz teamed up with poetry writer Maria Feltham to record Wirtz's concept album,Philwit and Pegasus,for composerLes Reed's Chapter One label.

In 1969, his creative freedom restricted by drastic changes inA&Rpolicy, Wirtz resigned his post at EMI Records to return to independent production. Associations withLarry Page'sPenny Farthinglabel,Samantha Jones,andKris Ifefollowed, during which Wirtz formed a co-writing partnership ( "Learning 2 Live With Love", MWET/Spyderbaby (2005); "One Night Stand", MWET/Anthony Rivers (2005), and theCooking For Cannibalssoundtrack album (2007).

1970s

In 1970, Wirtz moved to Los Angeles to accept an invitation by his fellow expatriate producer and friendDenny Cordellto work with him at Hollywood'sShelter Records.In 1973, Wirtz signed a writer/artist/producer contract withCapitol Recordsfor whom he recorded two albums,BalloonandHothouse Smiles.Both were released under the name "Marc Wirtz".

In 1975, dropped by Capitol for his refusal to tour or perform publicly, he signed with producer Tom Catalano and veteran publisher Dan Crewe's RCA-distributed TomCat label, a short-lived association because of the label folding only weeks after Wirtz's first single release, "We Could Have Laughed Forever". Having become a parent in the same year, Wirtz dropped his "loose cannon" career pursuits and, under the name of Marc Peters, became a freelance session arranger/conductor in partnership with several producers, includingKim FowleyandJimmy Bowen.He subsequently created numerous pop, R&B and country songs that featured an array of artists as diverse asHelen Reddy,Leon Russell,Vicky Leandros,Kim Carnes,Dean Martin,andAnthony Newley.

In 1979, signed byRuss Reganto Interworld Music/CBS Records as writer and producer, Wirtz produced his third solo album,Lost Pets,sequentially joined by guitaristsRichard Bennettand John Beland, keyboard players Alan Lindgren and Tom Hensley, drummers Billy Thomas and Denny Seiwell, and bassistsDavid Hungateand Les Hurdle. However, the production was never finished due to Wirtz's decision to concentrate on his family, leading to a 20-year hiatus from the music business.

Hiatus from music

During those years, after savings had run out and royalties had dwindled, Wirtz took on a gamut of jobs, including telemarketer, waiter, maître d', bloodstock agent, interpreter, voice-over artist, seminar leader and eventually sales manager for a Geneva merger and acquisition firm.

While taking acting classes during off-times and in the pursuit of a new career as a novelist, Wirtz also realized a lifelong ambition to be a comedian by studying and performing at Hollywood's Groundlings Improv Theater, to eventually take his first steps onto the stages of Hollywood's comedy clubs, includingThe Comedy StoreandThe Improv.

In 1996, Wirtz moved toSavannah, Georgia,where he became an award-winning freelance magazine columnist/critic, writing about food and drama, while publishing his first novels,Sisyphus RocksandLove Is Eggshaped,as well as selling paintings in a Savannah gallery.

Later years and death

In 2004, giving in to the plea from his daughter Nicole (by now resident in Spain) to produce her rock-band-leader boyfriend's debut album, Wirtz flew to Barcelona and returned to the studio for the first time in many years to produceLes Philippes'Philharmonic Philanthropy.Before year's end, the band's album was No. 1 in the independent label charts. Wirtz continued his rebounded studio activities by subsequently producing his own Mark Wirtz Eartheatre solo albumLove Is Eggshaped,SpyderbabyUK'sGlassblowerCD, andAnthony Rivers'Marked Confidential.

In January 2006, Wirtz found a path back into comedy by collaborating withJacksonville,Florida's "Jax Comics" group of working comedians, initially working out at the Comedy Zone, then moving on by touring thesoutheast'scomedy clubsin the development of his stand-up comedy act. In 2010, Wirtz produced an all-new solo studio album,Lost Pets 2,scheduled for international release by PoppyDisc Records in October 2010.

Wirtz died on the morning of 7 August 2020 fromPick's disease.

External links

• Official website
• Mark Wirtz,"The Story Behind “The Teenage Opera” ", 2000
• Mark Wirtzdiscography atDiscogs