Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

most active with various

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

acts since the 1980s.

Early life

Hague was born in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

in 1960.

Early career

Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session keyboardist. He soon became a member of the band

Jules and the Polar Bears Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single "All Through the Night (Jules Shear song), All Through the Night" and The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and ...

and produced (with Jules Shear) the two albums and one EP, released between 1978 and 1980, by that band. He then branched out into producing work by other artists, including 1980s Sparks offshoot band

Gleaming Spires Gleaming Spires was an American new wave pop group in the 1980s. Background Performing as Bates Motel, they were enlisted by brothers Ron and Russell Mael to be a part of the 1981–85 incarnation of their band, Sparks. After completing demo ...

, their first album being recorded on Hague's home 4-track tape recorder. This 1981 album spawned the Los Angeles radio hit "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" on the Posh Boy label, a recording subsequently featured in Hollywood features ''

The Last American Virgin ''The Last American Virgin'' is a 1982 American sex comedy film written and directed by Boaz Davidson. It is a remake of Davidson's 1978 Israeli film '' Eskimo Limon (Lemon Popsicle)''. After the success of the original film and its sequels in ...

'' and ''

Revenge of the Nerds ''Revenge of the Nerds'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley, and Bernie Casey. The film's plot chronicles a group of nerds at the fictional Adams College trying ...

''. Hague and Shear teamed up to produce both albums by new-wavers

Slow Children Slow Children is an American new wave pop group consisting of Pal Shazar and Andrew Chinich. They released two albums on a major label, Ensign, in 1981 and 1982, and a third self-released album in 2016. Discography Albums *'' Slow Children'' ( ...

in 1981 and 1982; Hague also co-produced

Elliot Easton Elliot Easton (born Elliot Steinberg, December 18, 1953) is an American guitarist. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals for The Cars, and his guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. Easton has also recorded music as a so ...

's (The Cars) 1985 solo album ''Change No Change''.

Commercial successes

Hague's first noted UK production was on Malcolm McLaren's "Madam Butterfly" single. He later worked with

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboar ...

Public Image Ltd. Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

, New Order,

Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and sou ...

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (12 January 1974 - 25 December 2022), better known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer-songwriter and media personality. She is best known as one of the five members of the Spice Girls, during which time she was ni ...

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

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 ...

Dubstar Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo,Note: An American indie hip hop artist has released some tracks and video via the Internet under the name "Dubstar", but is not connected to the band in any way. performing songs with hints of Britpop, dre ...

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: * The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (le ...

, Blur,

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...

, Robert Palmer,

a-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

, Tom Jones and

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

, producing the hits "

So In Love "So in Love" is a popular song, written by Cole Porter, from his musical ''Kiss Me, Kate'' (opening on Broadway in 1948), which was based on Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew''. It was sung in the show by Patricia Morison, reprised by Al ...

", "

West End Girls "West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were in ...

", "

It's A Sin "It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, ''Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's se ...

", " Go West", " True Faith", "

Regret Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision were unfavorable. Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decision, in regard ...

", "

Bizarre Love Triangle Bizarre may refer to: *Bizarre (rapper) (born 1976), an American rapper and member of hip hop group D12 *Bizarre (band), a Spanish rock band * ''Bizarre'' (TV series), a Canadian sketch comedy television series * ''Bizarre'' (magazine), a sister ...

", and " A Little Respect" among many others.

Production credits

1980s

1990s

2000-present

References

External links

Biography on MP3.com
(archived on 12 February 2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hague, Stephen Record producers from Maine Musicians from Portland, Maine Living people 1960 births Businesspeople from Portland, Maine