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CMU Playlists
Playlist: Martin Rushent Tribute
By CMU Editorial | Published on Saturday 11 June 2011
For this week’s playlist, we’re taking a look back through the career of record producer Martin Rushent, who died last weekend, aged 63.
Having entered the music business as a sound engineer in the early 1970s, working with artists as diverse as T Rex, Fleetwood Mac, Yes, David Essex and Shirley Bassey, Rushent came to wider attention at the end of that decade as the producer behind many of the key releases of the British punk scene, including the first three Stranglers albums, and records by Buzzcocks, Generation X and XTC
As the 80s dawned, he became even more prolific, setting up his own record label and helping hone the then emerging new romantic scene, signing acts like Visage, Ultravox and Spandau Ballet. One of the peaks of his career was producing the 1981 breakthrough album from The Human League ‘Dare’, a project that also resulted in one of the earliest remix albums, 1982′s ‘Love And Dancing’.
In many ways that was the peak of Rushent’s career. He subsequently resigned as The Human League’s producer and sold off his label, working as a consultant to Virgin Records for a time before basically retiring from the music business. However, other occasional music projects did follow in later years, and Rushent had been working with a number of newer artists in recent years.
MARTIN RUSHENT’S TEN
Click here to listen to our Martin Rushent playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about our selections.
01 T Rex – Jeepster
Rushent began his career working for Advision Studios alongside producer Tony Visconti. Although his role was minor, he worked with many big name artists (or artists who would go on to become big names), including T Rex on their 1971 album ‘Electric Warrior’, which saw them transform into the glam band they are best remembered as.
02 The Stranglers – (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
In December 1976, Rushent began recording ‘Rattus Noveticus’ with The Stranglers, their debut album and the first of three that Rushent would produce for them. Although the first single from the album, ‘Grip’, did not trouble the top 40 on release, the album went on to become one of the highest selling of the punk era.
03 Generation X – Ready Steady Go
Fronted by a young Billy Idol, Generation X were another band to benefit from the Martin Rushent touch on their eponymous debut album. This was the first single taken from it.
04 The Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)
One of the best-known Rushent productions, ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ is taken from The Buzzcocks’ second album, ‘Love Bites’ (Rushent also produced their debut, ‘Another Music In A Different Kitchen’, and the follow-up to this album, ‘A Different Kind Of Tension’).
05 The Human League – Love Action (I Believe In Love)
Probably the album Rushent is most remembered for, The Human League had already begun work on their third album, ‘Dare’, when the producer came on board. Presented with an early version of ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’, he reportedly told the band “we’re going to start again and do it a lot better”. The album went on to become one of the defining albums of 80s synth-pop. The second single from it, ‘Love Action’, was the band’s first to make the top ten.
06 Altered Images – Pinky Blue
Having produced their biggest hit, ‘Happy Birthday’, for their debut album of the same name, Altered Images hired Rushent to produce the whole of the follow-up, ‘Pinky Blue’. Although critically not as well-received as their debut, this did become the band’s highest charting album.
07 The Go-Go’s – Head Over Heals
The Go-Go’s third album, ‘Talk Show’, was released in 1984. Although a critical success, it did not match the sales of their earlier albums. However, ‘Head Over Heals’ hit number eleven in the US top 40. A year later, the band split and at this point Rushent’s output also began to slow.
08 Mr Fogg – Stung
Although in the 90s Rushent completely retired from production, he returned in the latter part of the last decade, mainly working with new acts. One such artist was Mr Fogg, for whom Rushent produced an earlier version of this track and a number of demos after the pair met in a local pub.
09 The Pipettes – Stop The Music
One of Rushent’s most recent releases was the second album from The Pipettes, ‘Earth Vs The Pipettes’, which saw them move away from the 60s girl group sound of their debut towards something more 80s-influenced. Released in January 2010, ‘Stop The Music’ was the first single from the album.
10 Does It Offend You, Yeah? – We Are The Dead
Rushent’s son James has grown in prominence in recent years both as a member of Does It Offend You, Yeah? and as a producer in his own right, having co-produced two tracks on The Prodigy’s ‘Invaders Must Die’ album. Released in March, DIOYY’s second album ‘Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You’ credited Martin as executive producer.
