John L Sayers (d. 14 September 2021) was a New Zealand-born Australian recording engineer, producer and studio designer who engineered and/or produced many classic Australian rock and pop albums and singles from 1969 to the present. Sayers is one of a number of producer-engineers who are associated with the Melbourne popular music scene of the 1960s and 1970s and in particular with the renowned

Armstrong's Studios Armstrong Studios, also known as Bill Armstrong's Studio and later renamed AAV (Armstrong Audio Video), is an Australian commercial recording studio located in Melbourne, Victoria. During the decade from 1965 to 1975, Armstrong Studios in Sout ...

, the venue where many of the most successful Australian pop/rock recordings of the period were recorded. He created the leading studio acoustics Forum ''Recording Studio Design'', and designe
Enmore Audio
in Sydney.

Recording credits

Sayers' recording credits as either engineer or producer or both include:

1960s

Liv Maessen Liv Maessen is an Australian pop singer who had hits in the early 1970s with " The Love Moth", "Knock, Knock Who's There?" and "Snowbird". In 1969, Maessen had finished second in the ''New Faces'' talent show. Her prize included a recording con ...

- "Snowbird", "Knock Knock Who's There?" * Matt Flinders - "Picking up Pebbles", "Butterfly" *

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

- "One" *

Max Merritt and the Meteors Maxwell James Merritt (30 April 1941 – 24 September 2020) was a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who was renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors, his best known hits are " Slipp ...

- '' Western Union Man'' album : * John Williamson - "

Old Man Emu "Old Man Emu" is a song written and recorded by the Australian country singer John Williamson. In 1970, Williamson performed the song on TV talent show, ''New Faces'', winning first place. Williamson signed with Fable Records after the win. "O ...

" *

Russell Morris Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recog ...

- "

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

", "

Part Three into Paper Walls "Part Three into Paper Walls" is a song by Australian pop singer Russell Morris. It was co-written by Morris and Johnny Young and produced by Ian "Molly" Meldrum. It was released as a double A-sided single, with "The Girl That I Love", in July 19 ...

", "The Girl That I Love", "

Sweet, Sweet Love "Sweet, Sweet Love" is a song written and recorded by Australian singer Russell Morris and produced by Howard Gable. It was released as the lead single from his debut album '' Bloodstone''. It peaked at number 7 on the Australian Go-Set chart in Ju ...

", Bloodstone (album) *

The Masters Apprentices The Masters Apprentices (or The Masters to fans) were an Australian rock band fronted by Jim Keays on lead vocals, which originally formed as The Mustangs in 1964 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne, Victoria in February 1967 a ...

- " Turn up Your Radio", "5:10 Man" *

Ross D. Wyllie Ross D. Wyllie (born 21 November 1944) is an Australian pop music singer, television presenter and producer from the 1960s and 1970s. Wyllie had a top 20 hit with his cover of Ray Stevens' song "Funny Man" and an Australian No. 1 with ...

- "The Star", "Funny Man" *

Lionel Rose Lionel Edmund Rose MBE (21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 1964 to 1976. He held the undisputed WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' bantamweight titles from 1968 to 1969, becoming the first Ind ...

- "I Thank You". * The Group - "Such a Lovely Way". * Axiom - "Arkansas Grass", "

A Little Ray of Sunshine "A Little Ray of Sunshine" is a song by Australian country rock band Axiom. The track was co-written by band members, Brian Cadd and Don Mudie. It was released as a single in March 1970 and peaked at number 5 on the ''Go-Set'' National T ...

". * Robin Jolley - "Marshall's Portable Music Machine". * Ronnie Burns - "

Smiley A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

" * Spectrum - "I'll Be Gone", ''Milesago'' album *

Indelible Murtcepts ''Indelible'' is the fourth book in the Grant County series by author Karin Slaughter. It was originally released in hardback in 2004. Previous books in the series are ''Blindsighted'', ''Kisscut'', and ''A Faint Cold Fear''. These books star Sara ...

- ''Warts up your Nose'' (Album) *

Ted Mulry Martin Albert Mulry (2 September 19471 September 2001) professionally known as Ted Mulry, was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, bass player and guitarist. As a solo artist, his second single, "Falling in Love Again" (February 1971 ...

- "Julia" * Zoot - ''Just Zoot'' (Album), "Strange Things", "1 x 2 x 3 x 4" * Fraternity - "Seasons of Change" * The Valentines - "Nick Nack Paddy Wack"

1970s

Brian Cadd Brian George Cadd AM (born 29 November 1946) is an Australian singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer and record label founder, a staple of Australian entertainment for over 50 years. As well as working internationally throughout Europe and the ...

- ''Gingerman'' (album) *

- Marcia * Chain - Towards the Blues album * Chain - "Grab A Snatch & Hold It" * Chain - Judgement *

Sings the Shows, Together (with Alison Durbin) * Matt Taylor - Straight as a Die (Album) - I Remember when I was Young *

Wendy Saddington Wendy June Saddington (26 September 194921 June 2013), also known as Gandharvika Dasi, was an Australian blues, soul and jazz singer, and was in the bands Chain, Copperwine and the Wendy Saddington Band. She wrote for teen pop newspaper ''Go ...

- Looking Through a Window *

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

Speak to the Sky "Speak to the Sky" is the debut single by Rick Springfield. It reached No. 6 in Australia, No. 8 on the Canadian adult contemporary chart, No. 10 on the Canadian pop chart, No. 14 on the U.S. pop chart, and No. 16 on the U.S. Adult Contempora ...

Kerry Biddell Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

- You've got a Friend (Album) *

Max Merritt Maxwell James Merritt (30 April 1941 – 24 September 2020) was a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who was renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors, his best known hits are " Slipp ...

And The Meteors - Stray Cats (Album) *

Billy Thorpe William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", " Poison Iv ...

/Warren Morgan - Thumping Pig And Puffing Billy (Album) * Lobby Lloyd and the Coloured Balls - Ball Power (Album) * McKenzie Theory - Out of the Blue (Album) *

Jimmy Little James Oswald Little, AO (1 March 19372 April 2012) was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales. Little started his profess ...

- Baby Blue *

Ted Mulry Gang Martin Albert Mulry (2 September 19471 September 2001) professionally known as Ted Mulry, was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, bass player and guitarist. As a solo artist, his second single, "Falling in Love Again" (February 1971 ...

- Jump in my Car (Album), My Little Girl, Dark Town Strutters Ball *

Jackie Orszaczky Miklós József "Jackie" Orszáczky (8 May 1948, Budapest, Hungary 3 February 2008, Sydney, Australia) was a Hungary, Hungarian-Australian musician, arranger, vocalist and record producer. His musical styles included jazz, blues, R&B, funk and p ...

- Morning in Beramiada (Album) * Sherbet - Life (Album) - Child's Play *

Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi * ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...

- Boney Moroney, Glad all Over *

Jon English Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for S ...

and Renee Geyer - Every Beat Of My Heart *

Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene ...

- Marcia Shines (Album) - Fire and Rain/You, From The Inside (Album). * Chariot - (Album) * Southern Cross - Southern Cross (Album) * Pantha - Dway Do Dway Do (Album) *

Greg Quill Gregory Raymond Quill (18 April 19475 May 2013) was an Australian-born musician, singer-songwriter and journalist. He lived in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and was an entertainment columnist at the ''Toronto Star'' newspaper from the mid-1980s unt ...

- The Outlaws Reply (Album) * Benjamin Hugg - What's Been Happening (Album) * Jeff St John - So Far So Good (Album) * Australia - Maiden Australia (Album) * Ray Burton - Dreamers and Nightflyers (Album) * Coolangatta Gold - Film Soundtrack. *

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth. Hist ...

- Burn My Eye (EP) * Radio Birdman - Radios Appear (Album) *

Mi-Sex Mi-Sex (also styled as MiSex) is a New Zealand new wave band originally active from 1978 to 1986, and led for much of its existence by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter, Murray Burns as keyboardist and songwri ...

Space Race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...

(Album) * Mark Gillespie - Only Human (Album)

1980s

Australian Crawl Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David R ...

- ''

Phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly use ...

'' -

Live Album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizards of the genus '' Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous reptiles ranges ...

- Oceania (Album) - Common Ground * DD Smash - ''The Optimist'' * The Motivators - ''The Motivators'' (Album) *

Jim Keays James Keays (9 September 194613 June 2014) was a Scottish-born Australian musician who fronted the rock band The Masters Apprentices as singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica-player from 1965 to 1972 and subsequently had a solo career. He ...

- "Lucifer Street" - ''Red on the Meter'' (Album) * Mark Gillespie - ''Sweet Nothing'' (Album) *

Mondo Rock Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool. Guitarist Eric McCusker, who joined in 1980, wrote man ...

- "

Come Said the Boy "Come Said the Boy" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in November 1983 as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album '' The Modern Bop'' (1984). The song became the band's highest-charting single, peaking at numbe ...

" - ''The Modern Bop'' (Album) *

Mi-sex Mi-Sex (also styled as MiSex) is a New Zealand new wave band originally active from 1978 to 1986, and led for much of its existence by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter, Murray Burns as keyboardist and songwri ...

- ''

Shanghaied! Shanghaied! is the third studio album by New Zealand New wave music, new wave band Mi-Sex, released in October 1981. The album peaked at number 28 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Reception Ian McFarlane described the album as "arguably th ...

'' (Album) - Falling In And Out, Shanghaied

1990s

* Troy Cassar Daley - Beyond The Dancing (ARIA winner) * Cam Fletcher - Kickin Up Dirt * Jimmy Little - Yorta Yorta Man * Jade Hurley - Life - Wouldn't Be Dead For Quids * Tracey Fogarty - Playing to Win * Kerry McInerney - Fools Game * Spot The Dog - Drunk On The Moon * Olivia Newton-John - Ghia * The Spencer Band - This is Now * Rough Red - Living in Australia

2000s

* Kerry Leigh & Expresso Lane * Dave Cavanagh & Cavo

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sayers, John L Year of birth missing Australian audio engineers Australian record producers