Big Mick
Encyclopedia
"Big" Mick Hughes is the live audio engineer for Metallica
, a position he has held since 1984.
He was born in 1960 and grew up in Birmingham
, England. While an apprentice at British Steel
, he studied electronics at a local technical college and also gained experience on the thriving Midlands music scene including working as a roadie for Judas Priest
. In the early 1980s, working for the PA company Techserve he engineered for bands including UB40
, Dennis Brown
, Yellowman
, and Jungle Man before becoming the touring sound engineer for The Armoury Show
, who featured ex The Skids
singer Richard Jobson
and ex Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist John McGeoch
.
The Armoury Show's management company QPrime then asked Mick to engineer a band they had just signed called Metallica
(prompting Mick to ask "What's heavy metal?" when told the genre of music they played ) starting a relationship that has lasted over 20 years.
Big Mick has mixed Metallica at every one of the more than 1500 shows they have performed since their November 1984 tour of Europe. His contract with Metallica supposedly states that he has to be called by his moniker, although amongst the band themselves he is known as Full Roar.
The live mixing technique he is often credited with is adding a high mid "click" to the bass drum, which evolved early on with Metallica as a means of lifting Lars Ulrich's bass drums out of the bottom heavy sound. A more recent crusade is to encourage engineers to start soundchecks with ambient microphones (such as vocal microphones) working through to close-miked or gated instruments such as drums. This is in direct opposition to the usual soundcheck which starts with the kick drum and ends with the vocals, but actually makes a lot of sense since the final sound of any instrument is going to be the combination of the ambient and close microphones it can be heard through.
When not busy with Metallica, he has also worked with Halford
, Ozzy Osbourne
, Def Leppard
, Queens of the Stone Age
and Steve Vai
. He produced the album 'World Service' for rock band Radio Moscow in 1991. He managed The Wildhearts
in the 1990s and has worked with them live and in the studio since their reunion in 2002. After Metallica, the band he is most strongly associated with is Slipknot
who he has worked with between Metallica tours since 2001. He has even done sound for a Slipknot tribute act, Slip-not.
In 2007, he was asked to mix the FOH
sound for the Led Zeppelin
reunion concert at London's O2 Arena
in conjunction with Robert Plant
's personal vocal mixer Roy Williams. They used the facilities of the Midas XL8
digital mixing console
to allow them to do this on a single desk. He consciously did not use the clicky Metallica bass drum sound, preferring instead to update John Bonham
's ambient and reverberant drum sound by using a mix of close and ambient drum microphones on Jason Bonham
's kit, brought into phase using a 3 or 4ms delay, and finished with a small amount of digital reverb.
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, a position he has held since 1984.
He was born in 1960 and grew up in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England. While an apprentice at British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
, he studied electronics at a local technical college and also gained experience on the thriving Midlands music scene including working as a roadie for Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
. In the early 1980s, working for the PA company Techserve he engineered for bands including UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
, Dennis Brown
Dennis Brown
Dennis Emmanuel Brown was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a sub-genre of reggae...
, Yellowman
Yellowman
Yellowman is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, widely known as King Yellowman...
, and Jungle Man before becoming the touring sound engineer for The Armoury Show
The Armoury Show
The Armoury Show was a New Wave band formed in 1983 by Richard Jobson on vocals, Russell Webb on bass guitar, John McGeoch on guitar and John Doyle on drums. Each member was known for being in a previously acclaimed band, as Jobson and Webb were in The Skids and McGeoch and Doyle in Magazine. The...
, who featured ex The Skids
The Skids
Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson...
singer Richard Jobson
Richard Jobson (television presenter)
Richard Jobson is a Scottish singer-songwriter and film-maker, best known as a television presenter, film director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
and ex Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist John McGeoch
John McGeoch
John Alexander McGeoch, , was a Scottish guitarist who played with a number of bands of the post-punk era, including Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Visage and Public Image Ltd....
.
The Armoury Show's management company QPrime then asked Mick to engineer a band they had just signed called Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
(prompting Mick to ask "What's heavy metal?" when told the genre of music they played ) starting a relationship that has lasted over 20 years.
Big Mick has mixed Metallica at every one of the more than 1500 shows they have performed since their November 1984 tour of Europe. His contract with Metallica supposedly states that he has to be called by his moniker, although amongst the band themselves he is known as Full Roar.
The live mixing technique he is often credited with is adding a high mid "click" to the bass drum, which evolved early on with Metallica as a means of lifting Lars Ulrich's bass drums out of the bottom heavy sound. A more recent crusade is to encourage engineers to start soundchecks with ambient microphones (such as vocal microphones) working through to close-miked or gated instruments such as drums. This is in direct opposition to the usual soundcheck which starts with the kick drum and ends with the vocals, but actually makes a lot of sense since the final sound of any instrument is going to be the combination of the ambient and close microphones it can be heard through.
When not busy with Metallica, he has also worked with Halford
Halford
Halford may refer to:Places:*Halford, Shropshire, England*Halford, Warwickshire, England*Halford Island, Nunavut, CanadaPeople:* Alison Halford , Welsh former senior police officer and politician...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
and Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
. He produced the album 'World Service' for rock band Radio Moscow in 1991. He managed The Wildhearts
The Wildhearts
The Wildhearts are a British rock group originally formed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as The Beatles and 1980s-era Metallica...
in the 1990s and has worked with them live and in the studio since their reunion in 2002. After Metallica, the band he is most strongly associated with is Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
who he has worked with between Metallica tours since 2001. He has even done sound for a Slipknot tribute act, Slip-not.
In 2007, he was asked to mix the FOH
Front of House
Front of house is primarily a theatrical term, referring to the portion of the building that is open to the public. In theatre and live music venues, it typically refers to the auditorium and foyer, as opposed to the stage and backstage areas...
sound for the Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
reunion concert at London's O2 Arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
in conjunction with Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
's personal vocal mixer Roy Williams. They used the facilities of the Midas XL8
Midas XL8
The Midas XL8 is the first audio console by Midas to feature fully digital operation. The introduction of the console came after a long time of console competition by Yamaha's PM1D, Digidesign's D-show, and the DiGiCo D5....
digital mixing console
Digital mixing console
In professional audio, a Digital Mixing Console , is an electronic device for combining, routing, and changing the dynamics of digital audio samples. The digital audio samples are summed to produce a combined output. A professional digital mixing console is a dedicated desk or control surface...
to allow them to do this on a single desk. He consciously did not use the clicky Metallica bass drum sound, preferring instead to update John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
's ambient and reverberant drum sound by using a mix of close and ambient drum microphones on Jason Bonham
Jason Bonham
Jason John Bonham is an English drummer. Jason's parents are Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and his wife Pat Phillips. After his father's death in 1980, he has played with Led Zeppelin on different occasions, including the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London in...
's kit, brought into phase using a 3 or 4ms delay, and finished with a small amount of digital reverb.