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Mike Hedges

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For the Welsh politician, seeMike Hedges (politician).

Mike Hedges
Born1954 (age 69–70)
Nottingham,England
Occupation(s)Producer, audio engineer
Years active1969—present

Mike Hedges(born 1954) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work withthe Cure,Siouxsie and the Banshees,andManic Street Preachers.[1][2]During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from rock and pop acts such asU2,Dido,Travis,Texas,the Beautiful South,andEverything but the Girl,to cult-indie bandthe Cooper Temple Clauseand classically oriented projects,the PriestsandSarah Brightman.[3]His creative input and influence dramatically impacted the trajectories of bands such as the Cure,the Associates,Manic Street Preachers,andTravis.[4][5][6]

Early life

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Hedges was born inNottingham,England in 1954 and grew up inNorthern Rhodesia(nowZambia), where he attended aJesuitschool.[7][8][9]He comes from a Catholic family.[9]

Career

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Hedges returned to the UK in 1969 and was working inHaywards Heathas a squash coach when he was offered a job as atape opat London'sMorgan Studios.[9][8]His first engineer credit came in the form ofHeatwave'sCentral Heating.[8]In 1981, he left Morgan Studios to become a freelancer and start Playground Studios inCamden Town,then moved on to work atAbbey Road Studiosfor ten years.[8][9]Siouxsie and the Banshees,the Associates,andWah!were among some of his earliest clients.[8]Hedges lived in theWillesdenarea of London near Morgan Studios.[10]

In 1990, he purchased Chateau de la Rouge Motte, a home inDomfront en Poiraiein theNormandycountryside, and retired for less than a month in 1992.[8][10]He renovated the chateau to act as a new studio and outfitted it with a 16 channelEMI TG12345Mark IV mi xing desk, which he bought directly from Abbey Road Studios in 1983.[11][12][10]The desk was originally installed inAbbey Road Studios,and had been used to recordThe Dark Side of the MoonbyPink FloydandJohn Lennon'ssingle "Imagine".[12][10]Among the albums recorded there wereLush'sSplit,Manic Street Preachers'Everything Must Go(BRIT Awardrecipient)[13]andThis Is My Truth Tell Me Yours,andTravis'The Man Who(partially).[14][10][15][16]James Dean Bradfieldof the Manic Street Preachers recalled that Hedges greeted them with a hand covered inNormandy brandyand lit on fire, which is how Hedges claimed to welcome every new band.[17]

There were four floors in the chateau: Hedges and his family lived on the top floor; the ten bedrooms on the first floor are for visiting musicians; and the ground floor and basement are control rooms and recording studios.[10]Hedges moved the Mark IV desk back to London in the early 2000s, where it resided in the front room of a studio, and in 2017 was auctioned off for £1.4 million.[18][9][19]

Hedges has also worked as part of the musical team for a number of films includingHarry Potter and the Goblet of FireandThe Doom Generation.[20][21]

In 2009, he was working in anA&Rrole atSony BMG,where he signedthe Priests.[9]He also discoveredFriar Alessandroin Italy in 2012.[22]

Personal life

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He has four sons, Michael, Ethan, Aengus and James.[23][24][25]

Selected discography

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Main article:Mike Hedges production discography
Year Title Artist Label References
1983 The Sin of Pride The Undertones EMI Records [26]
1988 Peepshow Siouxsie and the Banshees Wonderland [27]
1989 Welcome to the Beautiful South The Beautiful South Go! Discs [8]
1996 Everything Must Go Manic Street Preachers Epic Records [28][10]
1997 White on Blonde Texas Mercury Records [8][29]
1999 The Man Who Travis Independiente [30][2]
2000 All That You Can't Leave Behind U2 Universal Music Group [31][32]
2001 Listen and Learn Screaming Orphans Warner Music Group
2003 Life for Rent Dido Cheeky Records [33]

References

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  1. ^"'Father Ted had Eurovision ambitions - ours are global'".The Independent Ireland. 18 November 2008.Retrieved9 August2021.
  2. ^ab"Mike Hedges".Stephen Budd Music Management. n.d.Retrieved9 August2021.
  3. ^"Mike Hedges".AllMusic. n.d.Retrieved9 August2021.
  4. ^"Album Review: Manic Street Preachers – 'Everything Must Go 20' (20th Anniversary Reissue)".Live 4ever. 20 May 2016.Retrieved9 August2021.
  5. ^"CLASSIC TRACKS: The Cure 'A Forest': Producers: Robert Smith, Mike Hedges • Engineers: Mike Hedges, Mike Dutton".Soundonsound.Retrieved16 August2020.
  6. ^O'Hare, Peter (2008). "Microphone/Amplification".Approaching Sound: A Sonicological Examination of the Producer's Role in Popular Music(PDF)(Masters). University of Glasgow. p. 41.Retrieved9 August2021.
  7. ^"The singing priests".Irish Central. 21 October 2008.Retrieved9 August2021.
  8. ^abcdefghThompson, Dave.Alternative Rock: Third Ear - The Essential Listening Companion.p. 777.
  9. ^abcdef"Mike Hedges".issuu.Resolution Magazine. 2009.Retrieved9 August2021.
  10. ^abcdefgTingen, Paul (1998)."MIKE HEDGES: Recording Manic Street Preachers, The Audience & Pure Essence".Sound on Sound.Retrieved9 August2021.
  11. ^Kreps, Daniel (4 March 2017)."Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' Recording Console Heads to Auction".Rolling Stone.Retrieved9 August2021.
  12. ^abTingen, Paul (10 April 2011)."Mike Hedges: That's what I call a home studio".Manics.rawkstar.net.Retrieved22 February2017.
  13. ^Hendicott, James (9 November 2015)."Manic Street Preachers announce 'Everything Must Go' 20th anniversary stadium gig in Swansea".NME.Retrieved9 August2021.
  14. ^Valish, Frank (29 April 2015)."Lush - Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson on Their 1994 Album" Split "".Under the Radar Magazine.Retrieved9 August2021.
  15. ^Eringa, Dave (1999)."Recording The Manic Street Preachers' 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next'".SOS.Retrieved9 August2021.
  16. ^"Writing To Reach You: Travis Reflect On 'The Man Who'".Clash Music. 19 June 2019.Retrieved9 August2021.
  17. ^Price, Simon (2 June 2016)."And If You Need An Explanation: Manic Street Preachers interviewed".The Quietus.Retrieved9 August2021.
  18. ^"Abbey Road console used by Pink Floyd sells for £1.4m".ITV. 28 March 2017.Retrieved9 August2021.
  19. ^Blistein, Jon (28 March 2017)."'Dark Side of the Moon' Recording Console Sells for $1.8 Million ".Rolling Stone.Retrieved9 August2021.
  20. ^Wyatt, Stephan (11 June 2019)."Lush's 'Split' Turns 25 - Anniversary Retrospective".ALBUMISM.Retrieved9 August2021.
  21. ^"Recording and Production in the News".Prism Sound. 2005.Retrieved9 August2021.
  22. ^Burns, Julie (14 December 2012)."Interview with Friar Alessandro, The Voice of Christmas".Italy Magazine.Retrieved9 August2021.
  23. ^"Interview"(PDF).World Radio History.Studio Sound. 1996. p. 52.Retrieved9 August2021.
  24. ^"Legendary Producer Mike Hedges To Produce The Priests".editorial today. n.d.Retrieved9 August2021.
  25. ^"Blue Touches Blue".Noa. 1 June 2014.Retrieved9 August2021.
  26. ^Murphy, John L. (23 April 2018)."Revisit: The Undertones: The Undertones".Spectrum Culture.Retrieved9 August2021.
  27. ^"Siouxsie and the Banshees – Peepshow – Classic Pick on The Homestretch".KXCI. 16 September 2015.Retrieved7 August2021.
  28. ^Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (17 May 2016)."How we made Manic Street Preachers' Everything Must Go".The Guardian.Retrieved7 August2021.
  29. ^"White on blonde".muziekweb. n.d.Retrieved8 August2021.
  30. ^Sillitoe, Sue (1999)."MIKE HEDGES: Recording Travis 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?'".Sound on Sound.Retrieved7 August2021.
  31. ^""All That You Can't Leave Behind" - U2 ".U2 Songs. n.d.Retrieved7 August2021.
  32. ^"James Sanger".broadjam. n.d.Retrieved9 August2021.
  33. ^"Dido Life for Rent".AllMusic. n.d.Retrieved9 August2021.
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