Derek John Lawrence (16 November 1941 – 13 May 2020) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

record producer, famous for his work for

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

's Outlaws,

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

, Machiavel and

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included ''Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), ''Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and '' ...

. Lawrence came in contact with Meek circa at the end of 1963, when he managed a group, Laurie Black and the Men of Mystery, that won a recording session at Joe Meek's studio. He continued working for him until 1965. He brought him Merseybeaters

Freddie Starr and the Midnighters Freddie Starr (born Frederick Leslie Fowell; 9 January 1943 – 9 May 2019) was an English stand up comedian, impressionist, singer and actor. Starr was the lead singer of Merseybeat rock and roll group the Midniters during the early 1960s, a ...

. In the late 1960s, he worked for Harold Shampan at

Film Music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

(part of

Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...

) and as freelance producer (inspired by Meek) for

The Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

The Zephyrs The Zephyrs are an Edinburgh, Scotland-based indie band. They have released five albums and two EPs containing their shoegazing folk-rock style. Band history Brothers Stuart (vocals, guitar) and David Nicol (bass) had been playing music toge ...

, The V.I.P.'s, The Nocturnes etc. He produced Jethro Tull's debut single "

Sunshine Day "Sunshine Day" is a song recorded by British progressive rock group Jethro Tull and released as the A-side of the group's debut single. It was recorded on 6-7 January 1968 at CBS Studios in London, and the single released on 16 February 1968 ...

" (1968).

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...

, whom he had known from previous work, invited him to work with Blackmore's new band, and as a result Lawrence produced Deep Purple's first three albums, the first at

Pye Studios Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

in London and the next two at

De Lane Lea Studios Warner Bros. De Lane Lea Studios is a recording studio, based in Dean Street, Soho, London. Although the studios have mainly been used for dubbing feature films and television programmes, major artists such as the Animals, the Beatles, Soft M ...

, Kingsway, London. He produced Flash's first two albums, ''Flash'' (1972) and ''In The Can'' (1973), both at De Lane Lea. After struggling with Flash's ex- Yes guitarist, Peter Banks, he recommended that the band replace Banks, and suggested several top names. It was advice that they failed to heed, which led to the band's abrupt break up while on tour after the release of their third self-produced album, ''Out Of Our Hands'' (1973). He produced Wishbone Ash's first three albums ''

'' (1970), ''

Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

'' (1971) and '' Argus'' (1972), and returned to produce their ninth album ''

No Smoke Without Fire ''No Smoke Without Fire'' is the ninth studio album by English Rock music, rock band Wishbone Ash. It was the first album since 1972's ''Argus (album), Argus'' to be produced by Derek Lawrence. The album peaked at No. 43 in the UK Albums Chart. ...

'' (1978). In 1974, Lawrence partnered with noted session musician

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English musician whose career started in 1958. He was best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of t ...

to form the record label Retreat Records, also the home for Sullivan's ''Big Jim's Back'' (1975). Lawrence co-produced Sullivan's new band Tiger, featuring future

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

vocalist Nicky Moore, who released three albums before splitting up. Stateside, Lawrence and Sullivan co-produced the first two albums by the

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

championed

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...

signing

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

, ''

'' (1975) and ''

Helluva Band ''Helluva Band'' is the second album by the rock band Angel. Track listing #"Feelin' Right" – 4:42 (Frank DiMino, Punky Meadows, Gregg Giuffria) #"The Fortune" – 8:40 (DiMino, Meadows, Giuffria) #"Anyway You Want It" – 2:52 (DiMino, Meado ...

'' (1976), respectively. Lawrence also helmed

Legs Diamond Jack "Legs" Diamond (possibly born John Thomas Diamond, though disputed; July 10, 1897 – December 18, 1931), also known as Gentleman Jack, was an Irish American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during the Prohibition era. A bootle ...

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

1976 debut. At the turn of the decade, he oversaw the MCA debuts by a pair of

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term ...

contenders,

Fist A fist is the shape of a hand when the fingers are bent inward against the palm and held there tightly. To make or clench a fist is to fold the fingers tightly into the center of the palm and then to clamp the thumb over the middle phalanges; in ...

's ''Turn the Hell On'' and ''Stand Up and Fight'' by

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

, both issued in 1980. Returning to his home country in 1979, Lawrence reduced his involvement, but worked with both

Carl Wayne Carl Wayne (born Colin David Tooley; 18 August 1943 – 31 August 2004) was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s. Early days Wayne was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, and grew up in ...

and

Hot Chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder o ...

in the 1980s. Along with Sullivan in 1992 he produced ''Survival'', the debut album by British band ''Little Brother'' for Line Records. Lawrence died from cancer on 13 May 2020, at the age of 78.

References

External links

Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Derek 1941 births 2020 deaths English record producers British audio engineers People from the London Borough of Barnet