Mike Chapman (record producer)
Encyclopedia
Mike Chapman is an Australian born record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit single
s for artists
including Sweet
, Suzi Quatro
, Smokie
, Mud
and Racey
with co-writer and co-producer Nicky Chinn
, creating a formularised sound that became identified with the "Chinnichap" brand. He later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie
and The Knack
.
while working as a waiter at a London nightclub, Tramp. The pair struck up a song-writing partnership, and began working with high-profile producer Mickie Most
on his RAK Records
label, which quickly became home to a roster of artists including Suzi Quatro
, Smokie
, and Mud
.
Chinn recalled:
s, with just the Chinn-Chapman writing or production credit seemingly enough to propel a song on to the airwaves and up the charts. From 1973 to 1974 alone the pair had 19 hits in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart
, including five number ones. The pair’s dominance of the chart
s in Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand outlasted the decline of Glam rock
, and waned in line with the fading fortunes of Smokie and Suzi Quatro. The success of the Chinn-Chapman production partnership was challenged in the late 1980s by the Stock Aitken Waterman
team.
Interviews with bands suggest Chapman was the more energetic and creative of the pair and the more flamboyant and outspoken. He exerted a tight grip on the output of the bands whose works he produced, determining the content of all albums. Some resented the level of control: The Sweet, whose interests lay in heavy rock
, chafed at the teenybopper
material Chapman gave them to perform, finally baulking at some songs which did not fit in with their new direction and seeking success on their own; Chapman would later make the curious decision of offering "Some Girls" to Blondie
; the song was eventually given to featherweight popsters Racey
instead. Deborah Harry
has referred to Chapman as a dictator, and for the photo shoot for one magazine interview he insisted on dressing up as US wartime General George S. Patton, Jr.
The pair continued to write hits, including Exile
’s "Kiss You All Over
" (1978) and Toni Basil
’s "Mickey
" (1981, a reworked version of "Kitty", a song they had written for Racey
in 1980). They formed the Dreamland record label in 1979. Chapman later said that the label was an attempt to keep some of the partnership together. " I wanted Nicky Chinn to show me what he could do without me. So we started the label and put him in charge.The company folded after just 18 months.' Chapman was free to go it alone without the burden of the partnership." Those were difficult years, 1973 to 1978, I really didn't need a partnership and tried desperately to get away from it." It's a long story.
’s City Nights album in 1978 (which yielded the "Hot Child in the City
" hit) with Peter Coleman, his long-time recording engineer, and in May the same year began working with Blondie to record their third album in New York. Chapman was a fan of their music, but was dissatisfied with the production of their albums. He told the band bluntly he would make them a hit record and he was right: Parallel Lines
turned the band into an international success and became arguably the pinnacle of his own career.
The Parallel Lines session lasted three months. Singer Deborah Harry
was struck by the intensity of Chapman’s working methods. She said:
Keyboardist Jimmy Destri
recalled:
Employing the same skills he had applied to records by Smokie and Gilder, Chapman produced a more polished guitar and keyboard sound than the band had ever achieved, topped with layered vocals. The focal point of the album, and the breakthrough single, was Heart of Glass
. The source of its driving disco
beat is a matter of contention: Chapman claimed he had created the sound after the band had presented it as a slower, reggae
-style song; band members insist it had always been known as its disco song and that they had arrived at the sound by combining the influences of Kraftwerk
and Saturday Night Fever
.
Chapman relished the praise heaped on his work on Parallel Lines
, commenting soon after its release:
release, Chapman was working with another band for which he would achieve a career high water mark: power pop outfit The Knack
. The band’s website notes that in November 1978, 13 record companies were engaged in a fierce bidding war for the band’s services, with Capitol Records
finally signing the band. Producers clamoured to offer their services and even Phil Spector
was anxious to participate.
The website says:
The album hit No.1 in the US and sold millions around the world. Its follow-up, ...But the Little Girls Understand
, was less successful. Featuring a producer credit as "Commander Chapman" and liner notes
in which Chapman boasted, "This record is very dear to me and my bank manager", it prompted a bitter falling-out between band and producer. Chapman claimed the album cost him his reputation. In the book Off the Record, Chapman said he and the band made the second album under the heady impression that they could do no wrong. He accused singer and guitarist Doug Fieger of being deluded with notions he was Jim Morrison
or Buddy Holly
... "there was nothing he could do that wouldn't work". Fieger, in a 1994 interview, responded: "Mike Chapman is one of the bigger assholes that you'll ever meet on the planet. Unfortunately, Mike Chapman was not in any psychological or physical shape to produce that second album when we really needed a producer."
albums –- Eat to the Beat
, Autoamerican
and The Hunter -- and most of Def, Dumb and Blonde
, a Deborah Harry
solo album. In an article in Creem
magazine Chris Stein
marvelled at Chapman’s attention to detail, noting that the percussion for The Tide Is High also includes "eight tracks of drum sticks tapping on a piano bench." He creates a vivid description:
Others who have worked with Chapman also speak with awe at the volume levels of music in the studio as he worked. Engineer Lenise Bent observed: "The UREI Time Align speakers had these little red and green fuses and we blew boxes of them. I used to wear headphones, not plugged into anything."
Producer-engineer William Wittman (Cyndi Lauper
, Joan Osborne
, The Hooters
) commented:
songs such as "Wig Wam Bam" …
… although other songs including those for Smokie such as "Living Next Door to Alice" injected a much more thoughtful, emotional tone (originally written for New World in the early 70s, much the same time as Wig Wag Bam) …
The use of deeply emotional content is seen again in the Smokie single "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone":
In a 2002 interview with The Guardian
, Chapman reflected that writing hit songs was an art to which many aspired but few achieved: "It's always a gamble. We'd written something like eight top 10 hits for Sweet
when we heard that they'd entered the studio to record their own songs. After that, it was over for them. The bottom line is this -- writing songs might be easy to do, but it's incredibly hard to do well."
's "Simply The Best
", "Better Be Good to Me" and "In Your Wildest Dreams" and Pat Benatar
's "Love Is a Battlefield
" (all co-written with Holly Knight
), while he has produced albums for Altered Images
, Australian Crawl
, Agnetha Fältskog
, Divinyls
, Rod Stewart
, Lita Ford
, Pat Benatar
, Baby Animals
, Material Issue
and Bow Wow Wow
.
In 1998 Chapman co-wrote two songs for Ace of Base, "Always Have, Always Will
" and "Whenever You're Near Me
" .
1999 to 2001 Chapman wrote and produced Babyphetamine, an album by teenager Erin Evermore for the Tigerstar label owned by former Chrysalis Records head Terry Ellis.
In 2006, he wrote "Back to the Drive", the title track for a new Suzi Quatro
album. In the liner notes Quatro thanks Chapman "for providing the title track and overseeing the entire project".
In 2007, Chapman began working with the Los Angeles rock band The Automatic Music Explosion. The band's lead singer, Matt Starr, flew across the country to Chapman's East Coast home in an attempt to meet the producer. The bold move worked, with Chapman flying to Los Angeles a month later to see the band perform live and ultimately agreeing to produce their first album.
In January 2008, Chapman produced the forthcoming single "Spin It" with The Neighborhood Bullys.
In May 2008, Chapman began mixing songs from "Your Doll," for Lisa Douglass.
In September 2008 Chapman met LA band 'HAIM' , and over that Xmas and New Year started producing an album with the band. It is still under construction.
In 2009 Mike Chapman visited the UK to write songs with London based band iCON. ""Are You Stupid or Something?", "Talk You Through It", "Dirty Love" and "Do Or Die Moon", all of which will appear on the forthcoming album iCON - Smash My Box.
In November 2008 Chapman also started writing with and producing a solo album for Sarah Jeanette, singer with LA band The Mullhollands.
In November 2009 Chapman recorded the debut album for UK band The Arcadian Kicks. Release is pending.
:
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s for artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
including Sweet
Sweet (band)
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
, Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, Smokie
Smokie (band)
Smokie is an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire who found success in Europe in the 1970s.-Early years:Originally called The Yen, then The Sphynx and later Essence, the band was formed in 1964 at St. Bede's Grammar School in Heaton, Bradford as The Yen. The Yen's first gig was at Birkenshaw...
, Mud
Mud (band)
Mud were an English glam rock band, formed in February 1968, best remembered for their single "Tiger Feet", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974...
and Racey
Racey
Racey was a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, by singer Phil Fursdon and Clive Wilson. The group was formerly known as Alive 'n' Rockin.-Career:...
with co-writer and co-producer Nicky Chinn
Nicky Chinn
Nicky Chinn born Nicholas Barry Chinn, 16 May 1945, London, UK) is a British songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several number-one records...
, creating a formularised sound that became identified with the "Chinnichap" brand. He later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
and The Knack
The Knack
The Knack was an American New Wave rock quartet based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international number one hit in 1979.-Founding :...
.
Early career
Chapman was born in Queensland, Australia, but moved to Britain where he became a member of the group Tangerine Peel. They released an album in 1969 and had several near-hit singles between 1967 and 1970. In 1970 met Nicky ChinnNicky Chinn
Nicky Chinn born Nicholas Barry Chinn, 16 May 1945, London, UK) is a British songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several number-one records...
while working as a waiter at a London nightclub, Tramp. The pair struck up a song-writing partnership, and began working with high-profile producer Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
on his RAK Records
RAK Records
Rak Records was a British record label, founded by record producer Mickie Most in 1969. Rak was home of artists like Herman's Hermits, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Kenny, Hot Chocolate, Smokie, Arrows, Span, Racey and Kim Wilde. Rak Records were distributed via a licensing deal with EMI, which bought the...
label, which quickly became home to a roster of artists including Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, Smokie
Smokie (band)
Smokie is an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire who found success in Europe in the 1970s.-Early years:Originally called The Yen, then The Sphynx and later Essence, the band was formed in 1964 at St. Bede's Grammar School in Heaton, Bradford as The Yen. The Yen's first gig was at Birkenshaw...
, and Mud
Mud (band)
Mud were an English glam rock band, formed in February 1968, best remembered for their single "Tiger Feet", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974...
.
Chinn recalled:
Chinn-Chapman
From 1970 until 1978 Chapman and Chinn scored an enviable run of hit singleHit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s, with just the Chinn-Chapman writing or production credit seemingly enough to propel a song on to the airwaves and up the charts. From 1973 to 1974 alone the pair had 19 hits in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, including five number ones. The pair’s dominance of the chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
s in Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand outlasted the decline of Glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
, and waned in line with the fading fortunes of Smokie and Suzi Quatro. The success of the Chinn-Chapman production partnership was challenged in the late 1980s by the Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...
team.
Interviews with bands suggest Chapman was the more energetic and creative of the pair and the more flamboyant and outspoken. He exerted a tight grip on the output of the bands whose works he produced, determining the content of all albums. Some resented the level of control: The Sweet, whose interests lay in heavy rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, chafed at the teenybopper
Teenybopper
The term teenybopper was invented by marketing professionals and psychologists, later becoming a subculture of its own. The term describes a young teenager, particularly a girl, who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion and culture. The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers...
material Chapman gave them to perform, finally baulking at some songs which did not fit in with their new direction and seeking success on their own; Chapman would later make the curious decision of offering "Some Girls" to Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
; the song was eventually given to featherweight popsters Racey
Racey
Racey was a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, by singer Phil Fursdon and Clive Wilson. The group was formerly known as Alive 'n' Rockin.-Career:...
instead. Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
has referred to Chapman as a dictator, and for the photo shoot for one magazine interview he insisted on dressing up as US wartime General George S. Patton, Jr.
The pair continued to write hits, including Exile
Exile (American band)
Exile, originally known as The Exiles, is an American band founded in Richmond, Kentucky by J.P. Pennington. They started by playing local clubs which led to touring with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars opening shows and providing backup for major rock artists of the period.Their name was shortened...
’s "Kiss You All Over
Kiss You All Over
"Kiss You All Over" is a number one single in the United States during 1978 by the group Exile. It was included on the band's album Mixed Emotions, and it featured primarily the late Jimmy Stokley on lead vocals...
" (1978) and Toni Basil
Toni Basil
Antonia Christina Basilotta , better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, filmmaker, film director, choreographer, and dancer, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide #1 hit "Mickey" from 1982.-Early life:Basil was born Antonia Christina...
’s "Mickey
Mickey (song)
"Mickey" is a 1982 U.S. new wave song recorded by singer and choreographer Toni Basil. Written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn as "Kitty", it was first recorded by UK popular music group Racey during 1979...
" (1981, a reworked version of "Kitty", a song they had written for Racey
Racey
Racey was a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, by singer Phil Fursdon and Clive Wilson. The group was formerly known as Alive 'n' Rockin.-Career:...
in 1980). They formed the Dreamland record label in 1979. Chapman later said that the label was an attempt to keep some of the partnership together. " I wanted Nicky Chinn to show me what he could do without me. So we started the label and put him in charge.The company folded after just 18 months.' Chapman was free to go it alone without the burden of the partnership." Those were difficult years, 1973 to 1978, I really didn't need a partnership and tried desperately to get away from it." It's a long story.
Blondie
Chinn’s involvement in production was always minimal, and Chapman continued to produce alone after moving to the US in 1975. He produced Nick GilderNick Gilder
Nicholas George "Nick" Gilder , is an English-Canadian musician who first came to prominence as the frontman for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. He later had a successful solo career as a singer as well as a songwriter.-Biography:...
’s City Nights album in 1978 (which yielded the "Hot Child in the City
Hot Child in the City
"Hot Child in the City" is a pop rock ode to runaways from the album City Nights. It was recorded by Nick Gilder and it went to number one both in Canada and in the United States...
" hit) with Peter Coleman, his long-time recording engineer, and in May the same year began working with Blondie to record their third album in New York. Chapman was a fan of their music, but was dissatisfied with the production of their albums. He told the band bluntly he would make them a hit record and he was right: Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
turned the band into an international success and became arguably the pinnacle of his own career.
The Parallel Lines session lasted three months. Singer Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
was struck by the intensity of Chapman’s working methods. She said:
Keyboardist Jimmy Destri
Jimmy Destri
Jimmy Destri is an American musician. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, and is one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry. Destri stopped touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member of the band for several more years...
recalled:
Employing the same skills he had applied to records by Smokie and Gilder, Chapman produced a more polished guitar and keyboard sound than the band had ever achieved, topped with layered vocals. The focal point of the album, and the breakthrough single, was Heart of Glass
Heart of Glass (song)
"Heart of Glass" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie, written by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. Featured on the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines, it was released as a single in January 1979 and topped the charts in several countries, including the US and UK.Rolling...
. The source of its driving disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
beat is a matter of contention: Chapman claimed he had created the sound after the band had presented it as a slower, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
-style song; band members insist it had always been known as its disco song and that they had arrived at the sound by combining the influences of Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
and Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
.
Chapman relished the praise heaped on his work on Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
, commenting soon after its release:
The Knack
Within months of Parallel LinesParallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
release, Chapman was working with another band for which he would achieve a career high water mark: power pop outfit The Knack
The Knack
The Knack was an American New Wave rock quartet based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international number one hit in 1979.-Founding :...
. The band’s website notes that in November 1978, 13 record companies were engaged in a fierce bidding war for the band’s services, with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
finally signing the band. Producers clamoured to offer their services and even Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
was anxious to participate.
The website says:
The album hit No.1 in the US and sold millions around the world. Its follow-up, ...But the Little Girls Understand
...But the Little Girls Understand
...But the Little Girls Understand is an album by power pop/new wave group The Knack released by Capitol Records in February 1980. The album reached the number 15 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1980. The singles "Baby Talks Dirty" and "Can't Put a Price on Love" both charted on the...
, was less successful. Featuring a producer credit as "Commander Chapman" and liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
in which Chapman boasted, "This record is very dear to me and my bank manager", it prompted a bitter falling-out between band and producer. Chapman claimed the album cost him his reputation. In the book Off the Record, Chapman said he and the band made the second album under the heady impression that they could do no wrong. He accused singer and guitarist Doug Fieger of being deluded with notions he was Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
or Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
... "there was nothing he could do that wouldn't work". Fieger, in a 1994 interview, responded: "Mike Chapman is one of the bigger assholes that you'll ever meet on the planet. Unfortunately, Mike Chapman was not in any psychological or physical shape to produce that second album when we really needed a producer."
Blondie again
Chapman produced three more BlondieBlondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
albums –- Eat to the Beat
Eat to the Beat
Eat to the Beat is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Blondie. It reached no.1 on the UK album charts in October 1979, no.9 in Australia and no.17 in the US.-History:...
, Autoamerican
Autoamerican
Autoamerican is the fifth studio album by the US new wave band Blondie. It was released in November 1980 and reached #3 in the UK charts, #8 in Australia and #7 in the US....
and The Hunter -- and most of Def, Dumb and Blonde
Def, Dumb and Blonde
Def, Dumb & Blonde is the third solo album by the American singer Deborah Harry. Released in October 1989, the album saw Harry reverting from "Debbie" to "Deborah" as her professional name...
, a Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
solo album. In an article in Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
magazine Chris Stein
Chris Stein
Christopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
marvelled at Chapman’s attention to detail, noting that the percussion for The Tide Is High also includes "eight tracks of drum sticks tapping on a piano bench." He creates a vivid description:
Others who have worked with Chapman also speak with awe at the volume levels of music in the studio as he worked. Engineer Lenise Bent observed: "The UREI Time Align speakers had these little red and green fuses and we blew boxes of them. I used to wear headphones, not plugged into anything."
Producer-engineer William Wittman (Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
, The Hooters
The Hooters
The Hooters is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By combining a mix of rock and roll, reggae, ska and folk music, The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid 1980s due to heavy radio and MTV airplay of several songs including "All You...
) commented:
Writing technique
Chinn and Chapman delivered their songs rapidly, often conceiving and completing them overnight. They claimed they created their songs by first thinking of a title, around which they then wrote the lyrics. The claim is supported by the lyrics of early bubblegum popBubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
songs such as "Wig Wam Bam" …
-
-
- Wig-wam bam, gonna make you my man
- Wam bam bam, gonna get you if I can
- Wig-wam bam, wanna make you understand
- Try a little touch, try a little too much
- Just try a little wig-wam bam
-
… although other songs including those for Smokie such as "Living Next Door to Alice" injected a much more thoughtful, emotional tone (originally written for New World in the early 70s, much the same time as Wig Wag Bam) …
-
-
- Oh, I don't know why she's leaving,
- Or where she's gonna go,
- I guess she's got her reasons,
- But I just don't want to know,
- 'Cos for twenty-four years
- I've been living next door to Alice.
- Twenty-four years just waiting for a chance,
- To tell her how I feel, and maybe get a second glance,
- Now I've got to get used to not living next door to Alice...
-
The use of deeply emotional content is seen again in the Smokie single "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone":
-
-
- If you want my sympathy
- Open your heart to me
- You'll get whatever you'll ever need
- You think that's too high for you
- But oh baby, I would die for you
- When there's nothing left, you know where I'll be
-
In a 2002 interview with The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Chapman reflected that writing hit songs was an art to which many aspired but few achieved: "It's always a gamble. We'd written something like eight top 10 hits for Sweet
Sweet (band)
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
when we heard that they'd entered the studio to record their own songs. After that, it was over for them. The bottom line is this -- writing songs might be easy to do, but it's incredibly hard to do well."
Later work
Chapman remained in demand through the 1980s and 1990s as a songwriter and producer. His compositions have included Tina TurnerTina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
's "Simply The Best
The Best (song)
"The Best" is a song written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight, originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler on her 1988 release Hide Your Heart, in reference to Tom Mason. The single reached reaching #10 in Norway and Portugal, #34 in Spain and #95 in the UK....
", "Better Be Good to Me" and "In Your Wildest Dreams" and Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
's "Love Is a Battlefield
Love Is a Battlefield
"Love Is a Battlefield" is a song written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman, after Pat Benatar asked Chapman to write her a hit song. It was released as a single from Benatar's album Live from Earth. The single has been certified gold and is her highest charting single in the United States...
" (all co-written with Holly Knight
Holly Knight
Holly Knight is a songwriter, vocalist and musician of pop and rock music.- Biography :She was born in New York City and started playing classical piano as a young child. She soon became interested in rock music, and left home at about sixteen to pursue her dreams...
), while he has produced albums for Altered Images
Altered Images
Altered Images were an early 1980s Scottish New Wave / post-punk band. Led by lead singer Clare Grogan, the band branched into mainstream pop music, and had a string of chart hits between 1981 and 1983.-Early career:...
, Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne , Brad Robinson , Paul Williams , Simon Binks and David Reyne in 1978. David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough...
, Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
, Divinyls
Divinyls
Divinyls were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980 and featuring vocalist Christina Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. As the focal point, Amphlett performed on stage wearing a school uniform and fishnet stockings, often using an illuminated neon tube as a prop and displaying...
, Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Lita Ford
Lita Ford
Lita Ford is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.-Early life:...
, Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
, Baby Animals
Baby Animals
Baby Animals are a 1990s hard rock band from Australia.-Early history:The Baby Animals were formed in Sydney in 1989 by singer Suze DeMarchi, drummer Frank Celenza, guitarist Dave Leslie, and bassist Eddie Parise...
, Material Issue
Material Issue
Material Issue was a 1980-1990s power pop trio from Chicago. The band's trademark was pop songs with themes of love and heartbreak, where a number of song titles using girls' first names.-History:...
and Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow were an English 1980s New Wave band created by Malcolm McLaren to promote his and business partner Vivienne Westwood's New Romantic fashion lines.The group's music is described as having an "African-derived drum sound".-History:...
.
In 1998 Chapman co-wrote two songs for Ace of Base, "Always Have, Always Will
Always Have Always Will
"Always Have Always Will" was a popular hit by Swedish pop band Ace of Base. Heavily inspired by the Motown sound of the mid 1960s, the intro samples the intros from the Supremes track "Where Did Our Love Go" and the Four Tops track "I Can't Help Myself ". It was co-written by Jonas Berggren with...
" and "Whenever You're Near Me
Whenever You're Near Me
"Whenever You're Near Me" was the second single from Ace of Base's third American record, Cruel Summer. The original version of the song was called Life Is a Flower and was a huge hit in Europe and Japan...
" .
1999 to 2001 Chapman wrote and produced Babyphetamine, an album by teenager Erin Evermore for the Tigerstar label owned by former Chrysalis Records head Terry Ellis.
In 2006, he wrote "Back to the Drive", the title track for a new Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
album. In the liner notes Quatro thanks Chapman "for providing the title track and overseeing the entire project".
In 2007, Chapman began working with the Los Angeles rock band The Automatic Music Explosion. The band's lead singer, Matt Starr, flew across the country to Chapman's East Coast home in an attempt to meet the producer. The bold move worked, with Chapman flying to Los Angeles a month later to see the band perform live and ultimately agreeing to produce their first album.
In January 2008, Chapman produced the forthcoming single "Spin It" with The Neighborhood Bullys.
In May 2008, Chapman began mixing songs from "Your Doll," for Lisa Douglass.
In September 2008 Chapman met LA band 'HAIM' , and over that Xmas and New Year started producing an album with the band. It is still under construction.
In 2009 Mike Chapman visited the UK to write songs with London based band iCON. ""Are You Stupid or Something?", "Talk You Through It", "Dirty Love" and "Do Or Die Moon", all of which will appear on the forthcoming album iCON - Smash My Box.
In November 2008 Chapman also started writing with and producing a solo album for Sarah Jeanette, singer with LA band The Mullhollands.
In November 2009 Chapman recorded the debut album for UK band The Arcadian Kicks. Release is pending.
Hit singles
Songs produced, or written and produced, by Chinn and Chapman which charted on the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
:
- 1971:
- New WorldNew World (band)New World was an Australian pop group that existed from the mid 1960s to the late 1970s. They are best known for their Top 10 hit single, "Tom-Tom Turnaround", which was released in 1971...
: "Tom Tom Turnaround" - The SweetSweet (band)Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
: "Funny Funny", "Co-Co", "Alexander Graham Bell"- 1972:
- The Sweet: "Poppa Joe", "Little Willy", "Wig-Wam Bam"
- 1973:
- MudMud (band)Mud were an English glam rock band, formed in February 1968, best remembered for their single "Tiger Feet", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974...
: "Crazy", "Hypnosis", "Dyna-Mite" - Suzi QuatroSuzi QuatroSusan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
: "Can the CanCan the Can"Can the Can" was a popular single by Suzi Quatro and the name of her debut album in Australia ....
", "48 Crash48 Crash"48 Crash" is Suzi Quatro's second single after "Can the Can". It was included on her debut album Suzi Quatro . The single peaked at number three in the U.K. in July 1973, and number one in Australia for one week...
", "Daytona Demon" - The Sweet: "Blockbuster", "Hellraiser", "Ballroom BlitzBallroom Blitz"The Ballroom Blitz" is a song written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and originally recorded by the English rock band Sweet ....
"- 1974:
- Arrows: "Touch Too Much"
- Mud: "Tiger FeetTiger Feet"Tiger Feet" is a popular song by Mud. Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, Tiger Feet was the first of Mud's three number one singles in the UK, spending four weeks at the top of the chart from 22 January 1974...
", "The Cat Crept In", "Rocket", "Lonely This ChristmasLonely This Christmas"Lonely This Christmas" was a popular single by the English glam rock band Mud, that topped the UK singles chart in 1974 and reached Christmas number one.-The song:...
" - Suzi Quatro: "Devil Gate DriveDevil Gate Drive"Devil Gate Drive" is a popular song by Suzi Quatro. Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, "Devil Gate Drive" was Quatro's second number one single in the UK, spending two weeks at the top of the chart in February 1974...
", "Too Big", "The Wild OneThe Wild OneThe Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:...
" - The Sweet: "Teenage Rampage", "The Sixteens", "Turn It Down"
- 1975:
- Mud: "The Secrets That You Keep", "Moonshine Sally"
- Suzi Quatro: "Your Mama Won’t Like Me"
- SmokieSmokie (band)Smokie is an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire who found success in Europe in the 1970s.-Early years:Originally called The Yen, then The Sphynx and later Essence, the band was formed in 1964 at St. Bede's Grammar School in Heaton, Bradford as The Yen. The Yen's first gig was at Birkenshaw...
: "If You Think You Know How to Love Me", "Don’t Play Your Rock ‘N Roll to Me"- 1976:
- Smokie: "Something's Been Making Me Blue", "I'll Meet You at Midnight", "Living Next Door to Alice"
- 1977:
- Suzi Quatro: "Tear Me Apart"
- Smokie: "Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone", "It's Your Life", "Needles and Pins"
- 1978:
- Suzi Quatro: "The Race Is On", "If You Can’t Give Me Love", "Stumblin’ In" (with Chris NormanChris NormanChris Norman is an English soft rock singer. Norman was the lead singer of Smokie, an English glam rock band from Bradford, which found success in Europe in the 1970s....
) - RaceyRaceyRacey was a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, by singer Phil Fursdon and Clive Wilson. The group was formerly known as Alive 'n' Rockin.-Career:...
: "Lay Your Love on MeLay Your Love on MeNot to be confused with Lay All Your Love on MeLay Your Love on Me is a pop song by the British pop group Racey and their second single release. The song was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, produced by Mickie Most and released 1978 on the RAK Records label.Kikki Danielsson covered the song...
" - Smokie: "For A Few Dollars More", "Oh Carol"
- ExileExileExile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
: "Kiss You All Over" - Nick GilderNick GilderNicholas George "Nick" Gilder , is an English-Canadian musician who first came to prominence as the frontman for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. He later had a successful solo career as a singer as well as a songwriter.-Biography:...
: "Hot Child In The City"- 1979:
- Suzi Quatro: "She’s In Love With You"
- Racey: "Some GirlsSome Girls (Racey song)Some Girls is a pop song by the British pop group Racey and it is their third single release. The song was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, produced by Mickie Most and released 1979 on the RAK Records label....
"- 1982:
- Toni BasilToni BasilAntonia Christina Basilotta , better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, filmmaker, film director, choreographer, and dancer, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide #1 hit "Mickey" from 1982.-Early life:Basil was born Antonia Christina...
: "MickeyMickey (song)"Mickey" is a 1982 U.S. new wave song recorded by singer and choreographer Toni Basil. Written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn as "Kitty", it was first recorded by UK popular music group Racey during 1979...
"- 1983:
- Huey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
: "Heart and SoulHeart and Soul (Huey Lewis and the News song)"Heart and Soul" is a song written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn and made famous by Huey Lewis and the News. The song was first recorded by Exile in 1981 as the title track of their album Heart & Soul. Exile's single was unsuccessful, bubbling under the Billboard Hot 100 at number 102...
"- 1995:
- SmokieSmokie (band)Smokie is an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire who found success in Europe in the 1970s.-Early years:Originally called The Yen, then The Sphynx and later Essence, the band was formed in 1964 at St. Bede's Grammar School in Heaton, Bradford as The Yen. The Yen's first gig was at Birkenshaw...
featuring Roy 'Chubby' BrownRoy 'Chubby' BrownRoy "Chubby" Brown is an English stand-up comedian, notorious for his decidedly blue humour. The controversial nature of his act means that he rarely appears on major television channels, and Brown has attracted accusations that his comedy style is outdated whilst also being described as "The most...
: "Living Next Door to Alice" (spoof rendition).