Robert Sargeant (20 November 1947 – 13 July 2021) was a British musician and record producer.

Life and career

Born in

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

, Sargeant played keyboards in various local bands before joining regional R&B band the Junco Partners in 1966. He left in 1970 to become a

studio musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

in London, and in the early 1970s played live with

Mick Abrahams Michael Timothy Abrahams (born 7 April 1943) is an English guitarist and band leader, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the frontman for Blodwyn Pig. Jethro Tull Abrahams was born in Luton, ...

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, and the band

Curved Air Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and f ...

, appearing on the band's album '' Airborne'' (1976). In the summer of 1974, Seargeant began working on a solo album, ''First Starring Role'', and met

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

who "was immediately impressed with Bob as both a songwriter and a performer". The

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

album was recorded at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

, with Ronson co-producing it with Sargeant and Dennis Mackay. It features a number of well-known musicians such as

Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky. Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John ('' Tumblew ...

, Walt Monaghan,

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Brookl ...

and

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, ...

. All the songs were written, arranged and sung by Sergeant, who also played electric guitars, keyboards and various percussion. It was released on 16 May 1975 on

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

and three singles were also released, but it found little success.Biography by Jason Ankeny, ''Allmusic''
Retrieved 9 March 2022 He became a regular producer of sessions on

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

's radio shows on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

in the late 1970s and 1980s, especially on

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

and new wave acts, including

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after att ...

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Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the D ...

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The ...

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

, and

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

. He also produced several successful records for bands including the Fall ('' Live at the Witch Trials''),

the Ruts The Ruts (later known as Ruts DC) are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regularly pla ...

, the Monochrome Set, and the Beat. For the Beat, he produced three successful albums and several hit singles including " Tears of a Clown", " Mirror in the Bathroom", and " Can't Get Used to Losing You". Later in the 1980s, Sargeant worked successfully as a producer for

Haircut 100 Haircut One Hundred (also Haircut 100) were a British new wave group formed in 1980 in Beckenham, London by Nick Heyward, Les Nemes and Graham Jones. In 1981 and 1982, the band scored four UK top 10 hit singles: " Favourite Shirts (Boy Meet ...

, A Flock of Seagulls,

the Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lyn ...

the Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley ...

, the Damned, the Woodentops, and many more. His final successes came in the late 1980s with the band Breathe, for whom he produced the hit singles " Hands to Heaven" and " How Can I Fall?".Clive Young, "Bob Sargeant, Top Post-Punk/New Wave Producer, Passes", ''Mix Online'', 14 July 2021
Retrieved 9 March 2022 Sargeant also made a habit of playing on the records he produced, particularly the

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbr ...

in the 1980s. A notable example of this is on "

Love Plus One "Love Plus One" is a 1982 single by the British new wave band Haircut One Hundred from their debut album '' Pelican West''. It was the band's biggest hit in their native UK, where it reached No. 3 and was certified gold by the BPI for sales in ...

" by Haircut One Hundred. His activities after the early 1990s were less prominent. He died in

Kilburn, London Kilburn is an area of north west London, England, which spans the boundary of three London Boroughs: Camden to the east, City of Westminster, Brent to the west. There is also an area in the City of Westminster, known as West Kilburn and sometim ...

, in 2021, at the age of 73.Funeral notice: Bob Sargeant, ''Evening Chronicle Newcastle'', 17 July 2021
Retrieved 9 March 2022

Selected production credits

* ''24 Hours'' – The Transmitters (1978) * '' Live at the Witch Trials'' – The Fall (1979) * ''

The Crack ''The Crack'' is the debut album by English punk rock band The Ruts, released in 1979. The album contains the UK hit singles "Babylon's Burning" (number seven on the UK chart in June 1979) and "Something That I Said" (number 29 in September 1 ...

'' –

The Ruts The Ruts (later known as Ruts DC) are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regularly pla ...

(1979) * ''Frustration Paradise'' –

The Carpettes The Carpettes are an English punk rock band from Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, England, formed in 1977, who released two albums on Beggars Banquet Records and recorded two Peel sessions. They split up in 1981, but reformed in 1996. Hist ...

(1979) * ''Jellied Eels to Record Deals'' – The Buzzards (1979) (only "Baby If You Love Me Say Yes If You Don't Say No") * '' Strange Boutique'' – The Monochrome Set (1980) * '' I Just Can't Stop It'' – The Beat (1980) * ''Q-Tips'' – Q-Tips (1980) * '' Wha'ppen?'' – The Beat (1981) * ''

Pelican West ''Pelican West'' is the debut studio album by British new wave band Haircut One Hundred, released in February 1982 by Arista Records. It peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 31 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and was certified platinum by ...

'' – Haircut One Hundred (1982) * ''

Special Beat Service ''Special Beat Service'' is the third studio album by British ska band the Beat, released on 1 October 1982 by Go-Feet Records. Like the rest of their material, it was released in the US under the name "the English Beat". It peaked at No. 39 o ...

'' – The Beat (1982) * '' Mummer'' – XTC (1983) (only "Great Fire") * '' Paint and Paint'' – Haircut One Hundred (1984) * '' No Sense of Sin'' – The Lotus Eaters (1984) * ''Trapped and Unwrapped'' – Friends Again (1984) * '' Theodore and Friends'' – The Adventures (1985) (only "Send My Heart") * ''

Phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or semi-t ...

'' – The Damned (1985) (only "

Grimly Fiendish "Grimly Fiendish" is a single by English rock band the Damned, released on 18 March 1985. The band was offered a deal by a major label, MCA, and moved further in the direction of goth music under the influence of guitarist/keyboardist Roman ...

") * ''Face Another Day'' – The Monroes (1985) * ''

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

'' – The Woodentops (1986) * '' All That Jazz'' – Breathe (1987) * '' Ultra Modern Nursery Rhymes'' – Terry, Blair & Anouchka (1990) * ''Witness'' –

Halo James Halo James were a British pop group active from 1988 to 1991. They are best known for their hit single, "Could Have Told You So", which reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in 1990. Career Formation Halo James formed in London. Named aft ...

(1990) * '' Peace of Mind'' – Breathe (1990) * ''Your Beauty'' – Grethe Svensen (1995) * ''Here We Go Love!'' – The Beat Starring

Dave Wakeling David Wakeling (born 19 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and General Public. Career Wakeling began his professional career ...

(2018) (executive producer)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sargeant, Bob 1947 births 2021 deaths English record producers English keyboardists English male singer-songwriters People from North Shields Musicians from Tyne and Wear RCA Records artists