Hugh Padgham

Hugh Charles Padgham (born February 15, 1955 in Chalfont St Giles , Buckinghamshire ) is a British sound engineer and music producer . He was best known for his productions for Genesis , Peter Gabriel , Phil Collins , The Police and Sting . His “trademark” is the so-called gated reverb sound, which he developed on the third album for Peter Gabriel with Phil Collins on drums and which dominated the sound of the drums on recordings he produced in the 1980s. His best-known songs include In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins and Every Breath You Take by The Police.

Life

Padgham began his career at Advision Studios in 1974 as a tape machine operator. In the Lansdowne Studios he rose from 1975 to 1977 from assistant engineer to studio engineer. During this time he supervised recording sessions for prog bands such as Gentle Giant , Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Yes , but also The Sweet and Mott the Hoople . In 1978 he moved to the Townhouse Studio belonging to Virgin Records . There he supervised the first albums as a sound engineer for the artists who were under contract with Virgin. Early productions included work for XTC , Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins .

When recording the song Intruder in Studio 2 of Townhouse Studios , the "gated reverb" sound was created. Intruder was a song for the third solo album by Peter Gabriel (also III or Melt ). The mixer for Studio 2, an SSL console, had a new intercom system and compressors and gates for each channel. To communicate with Padgham, Phil Collins had a room microphone over his drum kit. When Padgham activated the intercom with the gate accidentally switched on to make contact with the playing Collins, he heard the drum sound of the microphone installed not directly on the heads, but above the kit with an envelope curve cut by the gate and was immediately impressed by this sound.

“One day, Phil was playing the drums and I had the reverse talkback on because he was speaking, and then he started playing the drums. The most unbelievable sound came out because of the heavy compressor. I said, 'My God, this is the most amazing sound! Steve, listen to this. '”

“One day Phil was on the drums and I had the intercom on because he was talking and then started playing. Because of the heavy compression, the most incredible sound came out. I said, 'My God, that's the most amazing sound! Steve [Lillywhite] listen to this. '"

- Hugh Padgham : Interview with Robyn Flans

Because the sound could not be recorded that way, Padgham had the mixer modified overnight. Six months later, Padgham co-produced Collins' debut album Face Value and the single In the Air Tonight , on which this drum sound was refined and targeted. The success of In the Air Tonight established Padgham's reputation as a specialist in drum sound recording and became his sonic trademark. In 1981 he started his own business.

From the mid-1980s onwards, many artists tried to get a production with Padgham, and he subsequently became a very sought-after producer and worked with numerous artists on commercially very successful albums.

He has been running the Sofa Sound Studio in west London since 2005 , which has been part of the Miloco Group since 2007.

Awards

Many of his productions have been awarded music prizes and certifications.

In 1985 he and Phil Collins received the Grammy as Producer of the Year (Non-Classical).

In 1986 and 1987 he was nominated for the BRIT Award for Best British Producer, but lost both times to Dave Stewart .

In 1992 Mix magazine declared him one of the ten most influential producers of his time worldwide.

For Sting's Ten Summoners Tales , he received the 1994 Grammy for the best mix on an album.

Discography (excerpt)

• 1979: Drums and Wires , XTC (Virgin) - as a sound engineer and mixer
• 1980: Drama , Yes (Atlantic)
• 1980: Peter Gabriel (III / Melt) , Peter Gabriel (Virgin) - as sound engineer with Steve Lillywhite as producer
• 1980: Black Sea , XTC (Virgin) - as a sound engineer and mixer
• 1981: Face Value , Phil Collins (Virgin)
• 1981: Abacab , Genesis (Virgin)
• 1981: Ghost in the Machine , The Police (A&M)
• 1982: The Call , The Call (Band) (Mercury)
• 1982: Time and Tide , Split Enz (Mushroom)
• 1982: English Settlement , XTC (Virgin)
• 1982: Hello, I Must Be Going! , Phil Collins (Virgin)
• 1983: Genesis , Genesis (Virgin)
• 1983: Synchronicity , The Police (A&M)
• 1983: Conflicting Emotions , Split Enz (Mushroom)
• 1984: Tonight , David Bowie (Virgin)
• 1984: Hysteria , The Human League (Virgin)
• 1985: No Jacket Required , Phil Collins (Virgin)
• 1986: Invisible Touch , Genesis (Virgin)
• 1986: Press to Play , Paul McCartney (EMI)
• 1986: Between Two Fires , Paul Young (CBS)
• 1987: Nothing Like the Sun , Sting (A&M) - as a mixer
• 1989: ... But Seriously , Phil Collins (Virgin)
• 1991: The Soul Cages , Sting (A&M) - as a sound engineer
• 1993: Ten Summoner's Tales , Sting (A&M)
• 1993: Yes I Am , Melissa Etheridge (Iceland)
• 1995: Your Little Secret , Melissa Etheridge (Iceland)
• 1996: Dance Into the Light , Phil Collins (Virgin)
• 1996: Mercury Falling , Sting (A&M)
• 2000: Little Kix , Mansun (EMI)
• 2004: Room on the 3rd Floor , McFly (Island)
• 2005: Wonderland , McFly (Iceland)

Web links

• Hugh Padgham at Allmusic (English)
• Hugh Padgham in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Video interview at recordproduction.com
• Interview at soundonsound.com October 1996

Individual evidence

1. ^ Hugh Padgham, Esq., Authorized Biography. (No longer available online.) In: debretts.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013 ; accessed on September 16, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ^ ^{A b} Hugh Padgham Interview. In: milocostudios.com. Retrieved September 17, 2011 . 
3. ↑ Robyn Flans: Classic Tracks: Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight . (No longer available online.) May 1, 2005, archived from the original on March 17, 2007 ; accessed on September 15, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Hugh Padgham producer of The Calls debut album The Call ( Memento of the original from April 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.