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Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with
The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus ...
. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from rock and pop acts such as U2,
Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...
, Travis,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
The Beautiful South The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group The Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members throughout the band's exi ...
, and
Everything but the Girl Everything but the Girl (occasionally referred to as EBTG) are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, producer and singer Ben Wat ...
, to cult-indie band
The Cooper Temple Clause The Cooper Temple Clause was an English alternative rock band, formed in Wokingham, Berkshire in 1998. The band released three albums before announcing their split on 24 April 2007, following the departure of Daniel Fisher. After signing a re ...
and classically oriented projects, The Priests and Sarah Brightman. His creative input and influence dramatically impacted the trajectories of bands such as the Cure, The Associates,
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus ...
, and Travis.


Young life

Hedges was born in
Nottingham, England Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin ...
in 1953 and grew up in
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
(specifically Northern Rhodesia), where he attended a Jesuit school. He comes from a Catholic family.


Career

Hedges returned to the UK in 1969 and was working in Haywards Heath as a squash coach when he was offered a job as a
tape op A tape operator or tape op, also known as a second engineer, is a person who performs menial operations in a recording studio in a similar manner to a tea boy or gopher. They may act as an apprentice or an assistant to a recording engineer and dut ...
at London's
Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by such notable artists as Jethro Tull, the Kinks, Paul McCartney, ...
. His first engineer credit came in the form of Heatwave's ''
Central Heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...
''. In 1981, he left Morgan Studios to become a freelancer and start Playground Studios in Camden Town, then moved on to work at Abbey Road Studios for ten years. Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Associates, and
Wah! Peter James Wylie (born 22 March 1958) is an English singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of the band variously known as Wah!, Wah! Heat, Shambeko! Say Wah!, JF Wah!, The Mighty Wah! and Wah! The Mongrel. Career Early b ...
were among some of his earliest clients. Hedges lived in the
Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...
area of London near Morgan Studios. In 1990, he purchased Chateau de la Rouge Motte, a home in
Domfront en Poiraie Domfront en Poiraie (, literally ''Domfront in Pear Orchard'') is a commune in the department of Orne, northwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 by merger of the former communes of Domfront (the seat), La Haute-Cha ...
in the
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
countryside, and retired for less than a month in 1992. He renovated the chateau to act as a new studio and outfitted it with a 16 channel
EMI TG12345 The EMI TG12345 was a mixing console designed by EMI for their Abbey Road Studios, which was used to mix several influential albums, including The Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' and Pink Floyd's ''The Dark Side of the Moon''. Overview The TG12345 was i ...
Mark IV mixing desk, which he bought directly from Abbey Road Studios in 1983. The desk was originally installed in Abbey Road Studios, and had been used to record ''
The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...
'' by Pink Floyd and John Lennon's single "
Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
." Among the albums recorded there were Lush's ''
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...
'', Manic Street Preachers' '' Everything Must Go'' (
BRIT Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
recipient) and ''
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours ''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 14 September 1998 by record label Epic. Like its 1996 predecessor '' Everything Must Go'', ''This Is My Tru ...
'', and Travis' '' The Man Who''(partially).
James Dean Bradfield James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. Biography Early life B ...
of the
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus ...
recalled that Hedges greeted them with a hand covered in Normandy brandy and lit on fire, which is how Hedges claimed to welcome every new band. 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. 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. Hedges has also worked as part of the musical team for a number of films including '' Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' and '' The Doom Generation''. In 2009, he was working in an A&R role at Sony BMG, where he signed The Priests. He also discovered Friar Alessandro in Italy in 2012. Hedges retired in 2017.


Personal life

He has 4 sons, Michael, Ethan, Aengus and James


Selected discography


References


External links

* Allmusic.com discography {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Mike British record producers British audio engineers Living people 1953 births People from Nottingham White Zambian people