Vic Maile (1943 – 11 July 1989) was a British

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 ...

. After starting his career as

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

with Pye mobile

studios A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery ( ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

for

the Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

on their song "

We Gotta Get Out of This Place "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", occasionally written "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place", is a rock song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded as a 1965 hit single by the Animals. It has become an iconic song of its type and was ...

", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

, such as

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

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Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

, the Pirates,

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

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the Godfathers The Godfathers are an English rock band from London, England, with strong influences from R&B and punk. Career The Godfathers were formed by Peter and Chris Coyne (vocals and bass, respectively) after the demise of The Sid Presley Experienc ...

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, the Inmates, Dr. Feelgood, the Screaming Blue Messiahs,

the Lords of the New Church The Lords of the New Church were an English/American supergroup with a line-up originally consisting of four musicians from 1970s punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators (ex- the Dead Boys), guitarist Brian James (ex- the Da ...

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and Michael Moorcock & the Deep Fix.

Career

Maile was partly responsible for the recording of the 1970

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

Live at Leeds ''Live at Leeds'' is the first live album by English rock band The Who. It was recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970, and is their only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and p ...

'' by

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, although the production is credited to the band. He produced the 1980 album ''

Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades (also known as the Spadille and Death Card) is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the deck of playing cards in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. Design The orn ...

'' by

, followed by their chart-topping live album, ''

No Sleep 'til Hammersmith ''No Sleep 'til Hammersmith'' is the first live album by English rock band Motörhead, released on 22 June 1981 via Bronze Records. It peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by the release of the single " Motorhead" (backe ...

''. He also produced albums such as ''

Birth, School, Work, Death ''Birth, School, Work, Death'' is the second studio album by the alternative rock band the Godfathers, released in February 1988 by Epic. It peaked at number 80 in the UK Albums Chart in February 1988. ''Birth, School, Work, Death'' was reis ...

'' and ''

More Songs About Love and Hate ''More Songs About Love and Hate'' is the third studio album by alternative rock band the Godfathers, released in May 1989 by Epic Records. It reached number 49 on the UK Albums Chart. The UK album cover shows Richard Burton and Elizabeth Tayl ...

'' by

, ''

Bikini Red ''Bikini Red'' is the third release by The Screaming Blue Messiahs and the follow-up to '' Gun-Shy''. The album, which was notable for being one of the last recordings by renowned producer Vic Maile, well known for his work with Jimi Hendrix, Led ...

'' by the Screaming Blue Messiahs, and the single "

2-4-6-8 Motorway "2-4-6-8 Motorway" is a song by Tom Robinson. It was released as a single in 1977 by British punk rock/ new wave group the Tom Robinson Band, and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Song information The music and lyrics were written by T ...

" by Tom Robinson. He produced ''Action Replay'' with

Masterswitch Masterswitch was an English rock band active in the late 1970s. Band members The band consisted of four members: *Jimmy Edwards (vocals, guitar) *Stephen Wilkin (guitar) *Mark Steed (bass guitar) *Martin Lee (drums) Formation (1976) Lifelong f ...

in 1978. Maile also worked with the Inmates and

the Vibrators The Vibrators are a British punk rock band that formed in 1976. Early career The Vibrators were founded by Ian ' Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice ...

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and

. He also helped produce the

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

Japan-exclusive release " Live from the Jungle", having recorded the American rockers at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In Chris Coyne's (bass player of the Godfathers) words: "When we were looking for a producer, we remembered "Dirty Love", the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the "

" single. The sound was just incredible, so we rang up Vic expecting this

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

-like biker figure but he turned out to be a quiet, unassuming sort of bloke - a real diamond geezer." Motörhead's

also said "Vic's strength was that he understood

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

. He wasn't like a lot of producers who simply rely on the readings from the meters on the desk - he was instinctive and he had the same sense of humour as me. Basically he was a c**t!!". Peter Gunn of the Inmates recalls that just before he died, Maile phoned him to say that he had been listening to his productions and concluded that "Shot in the Dark" by the Inmates was his best work. "Vic kept his illness a secret so the true significance of this remark was only realised after his sad and untimely death - he is very much missed as a friend and a great producer". Maile's song, "6.10 Phoenix", appeared on

Don Fardon Don Fardon (born Donald Arthur Fardon, 19 August 1940, Coventry, Warwickshire, England) is an English pop singer. Fardon is best known for his cover of the song "Indian Reservation" (1968), a UK number 3 hit and global million selling disc. ...

's 2000 album ''Indian Reservation & I've Paid My Dues'' on Edsel Records. Maile died, at the age of 45, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 11 July 1989.

Discography

Singles

*1981 - "Not Fade Away"/"It's the Same Old Thing" (Bronze BRO 129 UK)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maile, Vic 1943 births 1989 deaths English record producers English audio engineers Deaths from cancer