Christopher Merrick Hughes (born 3 March 1954, London, England), also known as Merrick, is a British music producer, songwriter, and drummer for

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

. Best known as producer of

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wav ...

' ''

Songs from the Big Chair ''Songs from the Big Chair'' is the second studio album by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records. The album peaked at number two in the UK and at number one in the US, becoming a multi-platinum s ...

'', and as the co-writer of "

Everybody Wants to Rule the World "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears. It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes and produced by Hughes. The song was first released on 22 March 1985 by Phonogram, Mercury, ...

", Hughes has a joint background as a musician, songwriter and producer. His career began with Adam and The Ants as drummer and producer of the "

Cartrouble "Cartrouble" is a song by Adam and the Ants, released as a single in March 1980 on Do It Records. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. Though usually stylised as one word, the title has also appeared as two separate words (for example ...

" and "

Kings of the Wild Frontier ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' is the second album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 7 November 1980 by CBS Records in the UK and Epic records internationally. The album was the UK number 1 selling album in 1981 (a ...

" singles, then the ''

'' album. Yielding three hit singles, the album earned Hughes ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

''s 'Producer of the Year Award'.

Life and career

Hughes was educated at

Emanuel School Emanuel School is an independent, co-educational day school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded in 1594 by Anne Sackville, Lady Dacre and Queen Elizabeth I and occupies a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site close to Clapham Junction ra ...

in London, and was a member of Adam and the Ants, also producing their albums, ''

'' and ''

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, incl ...

''. Hughes was awarded ''

''’s "Producer of the Year" award for his work on the album, ''Kings of the Wild Frontier''. He co-wrote

' hit song "

", and produced their first two albums, the platinum-selling ''

The Hurting ''The Hurting'' is the debut studio album by British new wave band Tears for Fears, released on 7 March 1983. The album peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week of release, and was certified Gold by the BPI within three weeks o ...

'' and the multi-platinum ''

''. He began working with the band again on their third album, ''

The Seeds of Love ''The Seeds of Love'' is the third studio album by British pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 September 1989 by Fontana Records. It retained the band's epic sound while incorporating influences ranging from jazz and soul to Beatlesque ...

'', but left the project due to creative differences. Hughes also produced

The Electric Soft Parade The Electric Soft Parade are an English psychedelic pop band from Brighton, comprising brothers Alex and Thomas White, the creative core of the band, as well as a number of other musicians with whom they record and perform live, most recently ...

's debut album, ''

Holes in the Wall ''Holes in the Wall'' is the debut studio album by The Electric Soft Parade, released on 4 February 2002. The album was released by db Records and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. The album features a wide array of sounds, ranging from ...

'', which was nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

, and

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

's ''

1234 Year 1234 ( MCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Canute II (the Tall) dies after a 5-year reign. His rival, Eric XI (the Lisp and ...

''. Hughes was also a member of

Dalek I Love You Dalek I Love You were a synthpop group from the Wirral, England. At various points in their existence, the band was also known as Dalek I. Record executives at Phonogram shortened the band's name without telling them for the "Freedom Fighter ...

and co-produced Peter Gabriel's " Red Rain". In February 1994, Hughes released ''Shift'', his first solo album, which was re-released in July 2008. ''Shift'' was a tribute to American

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

composer,

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

. In 1972, Hughes' father took him to London to see Reich's performance of ''

Drumming Drumming may refer to: * the act of playing the drums or other percussion instruments * Drummer, a musician who plays a drum, drum kit, or drums * ''Drumming'' (Reich), a musical composition written by Steve Reich in 1971 for percussion ensemble ...

''. Hughes credits Reich as a driving influence in his career. ''Shift'' uses fragments of Reich's work and "subjects it to subtle manipulations using the technology of recorded sound". At db records, Hughes worked on the early development of

Tom McRae Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall (born 19 March 1969), better known by his stage name Tom McRae, is an English singer-songwriter. Career The son of two Church of England vicars, McRae sang in the church choir and as a teen experimented with his m ...

and

, producing debut albums that were both nominated for a

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

. Hughes has worked with many artists including: Adam and the Ants,

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...

, Wang Chung, Tom McRae, The Electric Soft Parade,

, Howard Jones,

Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer and songwriter. He was lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He grew up in ne ...

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

(Eithne Ní Bhraonáin),

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

(Máire Ní Bhraonáin) the voice of

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including f ...

, Crybaby, Stackridge and Sam Brookes. His latest album, ''Eirenic Life'' was released on Helium Records on 14 July 2017.

References

External links

Official websitewebsite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Chris Living people Adam and the Ants members English rock drummers British male drummers English record producers English songwriters English new wave musicians Musicians from London New wave drummers 1954 births People educated at Emanuel School