Gus Dudgeon
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| Gus Dudgeon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 September 1942 |
| Origin | Surrey, England |
| Died | 21 July 2002 (aged 59) |
| Genres | Pop music |
| Occupations | Record producer |
| Years active | 1962–2002 |
| Labels | Decca, Rocket Records |
Angus Boyd Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002), most commonly known as Gus Dudgeon, was an English record producer, most notable for production of many of Elton John's recordings.
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[edit] Early career
Gus Dudgeon was born in Surrey, England. He began work at Decca's Olympic Studios in Baker Street, London as a tea boy, and eventually was promoted to the position of sound engineer. In this capacity, he worked with The Artwoods, Bruce Channel, Davy Graham and Shirley Collins. Early pop successes included The Zombies' "She's Not There" (1964) and John Mayall's Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (1966). He helped in the auditions for Tom Jones and The Rolling Stones. Finally he became a co-producer on Ten Years After's debut album in 1967. Around this time he also produced the Bonzo Dog Band albums The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse and Tadpoles. Dudgeon produced two highly successful albums for Elkie Brooks: Pearls and Pearls Two. He is also known for producing David Bowie's hit single, Space Oddity (1969).
[edit] Elton John years
Dudgeon left Decca and founded his own company. In 1970, Dudgeon began working with Elton John. The first song which they worked together on was "Your Song", on which Dudgeon elaborated on the simple piano tune and added an orchestral arrangement by Paul Buckmaster. The song reached the U.S. top 10, becoming John's first substantial hit. Dudgeon continued to work with John on his next several albums. Dudgeon was sometimes critical of John's work; for instance, in Elizabeth Rosenthal's book His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, Dudgeon called the 1974 "Caribou" album "a piece of crap ... the sound is the worst, the songs are nowhere, the sleeve came out wrong, the lyrics weren't that good, the singing wasn't all there, the playing wasn't great and the production is just plain lousy".[1][verification needed]
Dudgeon and John, along with Bernie Taupin and Steve Brown, founded Rocket Records in 1972. In 1995, Dudgeon remastered much of Elton's catalog. Gus was also responsible for the mixing of the 80-plus member Melbourne Symphony Orchestra which toured Australia with Elton John in late 1986. The final show of the tour was released as the album Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
[edit] Other work
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Dudgeon and John parted company, although they re-united in the 1980s to produce three more albums together. Dudgeon worked with a variety of other acts, including Audience, Chris Rea, Ralph McTell, Lindisfarne, Joan Armatrading, Elkie Brooks, Fairport Convention, Sam Gopal Dream, The Sinceros, The Beach Boys, Mary Wilson and Steeleye Span. In the 1980s he built Sol Studios.
After his temporary reunion with Elton John, Dudgeon started working with alternative bands such as XTC, Menswear, and The Frank and Walters. He managed a band called Slinki Malinki. In 1989 Gus Dudgeon produced the debut solo-album of Thomas Anders (ex-Modern Talking). The Guinness Book of Records recognised him as the first person to use sampling. His production of John Kongos' hit "He's Gonna Step On You Again" (1971) used a tape loop of African tribal drumming. Gus was also a founder of The Music Producers Guild.
[edit] Death
On 21 July 2002 Dudgeon and his wife died when the car he was driving veered off the M4 between Reading and Maidenhead.[2] The inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Rosenthal, Elizabeth J. (2001). His song : the musical journey of Elton John (1. publ. ed.). New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823088935.
- ^ "Record producer dies in crash". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2144817.stm. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- ^ "Elton pal drowned in ditch". The Sun. News International. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/148943/Elton-pal-drowned-in-ditch.html?print=yes. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
