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Nigel Wright (record producer)

February 01, 2024

Nigel Wright (born 13 June 1955, in Bristol) is a record producer from England. His career as music producer, orchestrator and songwriter has scored five number one singles, 31 Top 20 singles and a string of platinum albums with recording artists as diverse as Madonna, Shakatak, Mezzoforte, Barbra Streisand, Boyzone, Sonia, Take That, Sinitta, José Carreras, Robson & Jerome, Michael Ball, Sarah Brightman, The Texas Tenors, Cliff Richard, Connie Fisher, Paul Potts, Andy Abraham and Ray Quinn.

Nigel Wright (centre) working with Andrew Lloyd Webber in a recording studio

Wright's career in theatre and film include serving as the music producer for Andrew Lloyd Webber, in a successful partnership that had, as of May 2009, lasted more than eighteen years.

Record production edit

Wright first rose to prominence as producer of the jazz-funk group Shakatak. During the 1980s, he also produced medleys under various names. In 1981, Wright created "Ain't No Stopping", a rapid response to the success of Stars on 45 consisting of parts of recent disco hits and taking its name from McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" which began and ended the medley. Released under the group name Enigma, it reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart and was followed by "I Love Music" which reached number 25.

Through the 1980s, Wright continued to produce medleys under other names including Mojo and Mirage. Under the latter name, he created the popular "Jack Mix" series of medleys which included the 1987 top ten hit singles "Jack Mix II" (#4) and "Jack Mix IV" (#8) and albums Jack Mix '88 and Jack Mix in Full Effect (both #7). In 1989, he produced Luv's comeback EP For You including Welcome to My Party that charted in the Netherlands and Belgium.

He continued to create medleys into the early 1990s, now under the name UK Mixmasters. Under this title, he produced three UK hit singles, the biggest of these being "The Bare Necessities Megamix", which peaked at No. 14 in 1991.[1]

Mirage edit

Mirage was a British pop music group active in the 1980s and specializing in medleys. It achieved particular success in 1987–8 with the "Jack Mix" series of singles and LPs.

Mirage had its origins in Enigma, a 1981 project created by Nigel Wright to cash in on the success of Dutch medley group Stars on 45. Enigma's "Ain't No Stopping", a medley of disco hits played by session musicians, was released while Stars on 45 was still climbing the charts. "Ain't No Stopping" peaked at number 11 in the UK singles chart and was followed up with "I Love Music", which peaked at number 25.

Although the medley craze faded quickly, Wright continued to produce medleys, first under the name Mojo, before settling on Mirage.

The first Mirage medley to make an impact was the 1984 release "Give Me The Night", a medley of George Benson songs sung by Leroy Osbourne (of Sade) under the guise of Roy Gayle. Other single-artist medleys followed: "Let's Groove" (Earth, Wind & Fire), "Get Down on It" (Kool & the Gang) and the Tracy Ackerman-fronted "Into The Groove Medley" (Madonna). Though popular in UK clubs, only "Give Me The Night" crossed over into the mainstream charts.

Jack Mix edit

Mirage came to much greater prominence in 1987 when Wright spotted an opportunity in the new house music style which was beginning to enter the mainstream. In January 1987, Steve "Silk" Hurley achieved the first house music number one hit in the UK with "Jack Your Body". Wright quickly responded by releasing the 12" single "Jack Mix" under the Mirage name – a medley/montage of "Jack Your Body", "Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)" and "Axel F". Following positive response from the clubs, an expanded version was released, titled "Jack Mix II". This became the first UK-produced house record to reach the British top ten, peaking at number 4.

Unlike most medleys, which typically used sections of individual songs presented sequentially with brief transitions between them, the "Jack Mix" series took a different approach, layering elements of different songs to produce a dense montage effect similar to a mashup.

Despite being reliant entirely on medleys of other people's material, Mirage was one of the most successful house acts in 1987–8, placing several more singles on the charts, including the number eight hit "Jack Mix IV". Several TV advertised albums also charted, with the most successful being Jack Mix '88 (actually released in 1987) and Jack Mix in Full Effect, both of which reached number 7.

Mirage's popularity faded in 1988, as a large number of British house music acts started to produce original material and sample-based records using the original recordings rather than session remakes.

UK Mixmasters edit

In 1991, Wright started releasing his mega-mixes under the name Mixmasters,[2] scoring a hit for Simon Cowell's BMG subsidiary IQ Records with a mix of songs from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. "The Night Fever Megamix" was a medley of tracks such as "Night Fever", "Jive Talkin'" and "Staying Alive" originally performed by the Bee Gees, with Nigel Wright's medley peaking at number 23 in the UK top 40.[3]

As there was already an Italian act trading under the name Mixmaster,[4] Wright decided to amend his megamix act's name to UK Mixmasters for his next medley, a mix of Stock Aiken Waterman productions originally recorded for Kylie Minogue called "The Lucky 7 Megamix".[5] Unlike "The Night Fever Megamix", this record charted outside the top 40 at number 43.[6]

The last UK Mixmasters hit came when Wright teamed up with British comedian Gary Wilmot for a medley featuring songs from the Walt Disney film The Jungle Book. "The Bare Necessities Megamix"[7] was a medley of ""I Wanna Be Like You" and "The Bare Necessities" and reached the top 20 in 1991, peaking at number 14. This chart success gave the record a slot on BBC One's Top of the Pops, with Wilmot featuring in a clip used for the video breakers on the programme originally broadcast on 12 December 1991[8] and Gary Martin appearing as the vocalist instead of Wilmot, in the studio a week later.

Productions edit

See also: Category:Albums produced by Nigel Wright

Musical theatre edit

Wright has produced a number of cast recordings. Since 1990, he has co-produced, with the composer, the recordings of all Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals, including the film versions of Evita and The Phantom of the Opera.

Film edit

Produced the soundtrack recordings for a number of films.

Television edit

At the Eurovision Song Contest, Wright conducted the orchestra for the Icelandic entry "Nei eða já" in 1992 and the United Kingdom entry "Better The Devil You Know" in 1993.

In 2006, Wright was the musical director and arranger for the hit BBC TV show, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? as well as the NBC version, Grease: You're the One that I Want!.

In 2007, he served as musical director for the follow-up to How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, Any Dream Will Do.

In 2008, he was also the musical director for the TV program where a Nancy and Oliver were selected I'd Do Anything and conducted the Orchestra on BBC's Eurovision: Your Country Needs You. He is the musical director of the live heats of The X Factor (ITV), since it began in 2004. He has also worked on many hit American shows, with the latest being America's Got Talent.

Recent work edit

Wright is currently working on Britain's Got Talent, as well as co-producing Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.

Wright worked on Over the Rainbow as the musical director.

References edit

  1. ^ Official UK Charts – UK Mixmasters
  2. ^ "MIXMASTERS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  3. ^ Mixmasters - "The Night Fever Megamix", produced by Nigel Wright for I.Q. Records, licensed to BMG (UK) Ltd. 1991 I.Q. Records, catalogue number: ZT 44330
  4. ^ "MIXMASTER | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  5. ^ UK Mixmasters - "The Lucky 7 Megamix", 1991 I.Q. Records/Arista/BMG, catalogue number: 114 504
  6. ^ "UK MIX MASTERS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  7. ^ UK Mixmasters - "The Bare Necessities Megamix", produced by Nigel Wright for Skratch Music Productions, Executive Producer: Simon Cowell, 1991 Connect Records, licensed to BMG (UK) Ltd. catalogue number: ZB 45135
  8. ^ "BBC One - Top of the Pops, 12/12/1991".

External links edit

February 01, 2024
nigel, wright, record, producer, nigel, wright, born, june, 1955, bristol, record, producer, from, england, career, music, producer, orchestrator, songwriter, scored, five, number, singles, singles, string, platinum, albums, with, recording, artists, diverse, . Nigel Wright born 13 June 1955 in Bristol is a record producer from England His career as music producer orchestrator and songwriter has scored five number one singles 31 Top 20 singles and a string of platinum albums with recording artists as diverse as Madonna Shakatak Mezzoforte Barbra Streisand Boyzone Sonia Take That Sinitta Jose Carreras Robson amp Jerome Michael Ball Sarah Brightman The Texas Tenors Cliff Richard Connie Fisher Paul Potts Andy Abraham and Ray Quinn Nigel Wright centre working with Andrew Lloyd Webber in a recording studioWright s career in theatre and film include serving as the music producer for Andrew Lloyd Webber in a successful partnership that had as of May 2009 lasted more than eighteen years Contents 1 Record production 1 1 Mirage 1 1 1 Jack Mix 1 1 2 UK Mixmasters 2 Productions 2 1 Musical theatre 2 2 Film 3 Television 4 Recent work 5 References 6 External linksRecord production editWright first rose to prominence as producer of the jazz funk group Shakatak During the 1980s he also produced medleys under various names In 1981 Wright created Ain t No Stopping a rapid response to the success of Stars on 45 consisting of parts of recent disco hits and taking its name from McFadden amp Whitehead s Ain t No Stoppin Us Now which began and ended the medley Released under the group name Enigma it reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart and was followed by I Love Music which reached number 25 Through the 1980s Wright continued to produce medleys under other names including Mojo and Mirage Under the latter name he created the popular Jack Mix series of medleys which included the 1987 top ten hit singles Jack Mix II 4 and Jack Mix IV 8 and albums Jack Mix 88 and Jack Mix in Full Effect both 7 In 1989 he produced Luv s comeback EP For You including Welcome to My Party that charted in the Netherlands and Belgium He continued to create medleys into the early 1990s now under the name UK Mixmasters Under this title he produced three UK hit singles the biggest of these being The Bare Necessities Megamix which peaked at No 14 in 1991 1 Mirage edit Mirage was a British pop music group active in the 1980s and specializing in medleys It achieved particular success in 1987 8 with the Jack Mix series of singles and LPs Mirage had its origins in Enigma a 1981 project created by Nigel Wright to cash in on the success of Dutch medley group Stars on 45 Enigma s Ain t No Stopping a medley of disco hits played by session musicians was released while Stars on 45 was still climbing the charts Ain t No Stopping peaked at number 11 in the UK singles chart and was followed up with I Love Music which peaked at number 25 Although the medley craze faded quickly Wright continued to produce medleys first under the name Mojo before settling on Mirage The first Mirage medley to make an impact was the 1984 release Give Me The Night a medley of George Benson songs sung by Leroy Osbourne of Sade under the guise of Roy Gayle Other single artist medleys followed Let s Groove Earth Wind amp Fire Get Down on It Kool amp the Gang and the Tracy Ackerman fronted Into The Groove Medley Madonna Though popular in UK clubs only Give Me The Night crossed over into the mainstream charts Jack Mix edit Mirage came to much greater prominence in 1987 when Wright spotted an opportunity in the new house music style which was beginning to enter the mainstream In January 1987 Steve Silk Hurley achieved the first house music number one hit in the UK with Jack Your Body Wright quickly responded by releasing the 12 single Jack Mix under the Mirage name a medley montage of Jack Your Body Showing Out Get Fresh at the Weekend and Axel F Following positive response from the clubs an expanded version was released titled Jack Mix II This became the first UK produced house record to reach the British top ten peaking at number 4 Unlike most medleys which typically used sections of individual songs presented sequentially with brief transitions between them the Jack Mix series took a different approach layering elements of different songs to produce a dense montage effect similar to a mashup Despite being reliant entirely on medleys of other people s material Mirage was one of the most successful house acts in 1987 8 placing several more singles on the charts including the number eight hit Jack Mix IV Several TV advertised albums also charted with the most successful being Jack Mix 88 actually released in 1987 and Jack Mix in Full Effect both of which reached number 7 Mirage s popularity faded in 1988 as a large number of British house music acts started to produce original material and sample based records using the original recordings rather than session remakes UK Mixmasters edit In 1991 Wright started releasing his mega mixes under the name Mixmasters 2 scoring a hit for Simon Cowell s BMG subsidiary IQ Records with a mix of songs from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack The Night Fever Megamix was a medley of tracks such as Night Fever Jive Talkin and Staying Alive originally performed by the Bee Gees with Nigel Wright s medley peaking at number 23 in the UK top 40 3 As there was already an Italian act trading under the name Mixmaster 4 Wright decided to amend his megamix act s name to UK Mixmasters for his next medley a mix of Stock Aiken Waterman productions originally recorded for Kylie Minogue called The Lucky 7 Megamix 5 Unlike The Night Fever Megamix this record charted outside the top 40 at number 43 6 The last UK Mixmasters hit came when Wright teamed up with British comedian Gary Wilmot for a medley featuring songs from the Walt Disney film The Jungle Book The Bare Necessities Megamix 7 was a medley of I Wanna Be Like You and The Bare Necessities and reached the top 20 in 1991 peaking at number 14 This chart success gave the record a slot on BBC One s Top of the Pops with Wilmot featuring in a clip used for the video breakers on the programme originally broadcast on 12 December 1991 8 and Gary Martin appearing as the vocalist instead of Wilmot in the studio a week later Productions editSee also Category Albums produced by Nigel Wright Musical theatre edit Wright has produced a number of cast recordings Since 1990 he has co produced with the composer the recordings of all Andrew Lloyd Webber s musicals including the film versions of Evita and The Phantom of the Opera Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat London Revival Cast Recording featuring Jason Donovan and Linzi Hateley 1991 The New Starlight Express featuring Greg Ellis and Reva Rice 1993 Sunset Boulevard World Premiere Recording featuring Patti LuPone and Kevin Anderson 1993 Sunset Boulevard American Premiere Recording featuring Glenn Close and Alan Campbell 1994 Jesus Christ Superstar 1996 By Jeeves Original Cast Recording 1996 Whistle Down the Wind Original Cast Recording featuring Lottie Mayor and Marcus Lovett 1998 Saturday Night Fever featuring Adam Garcia and Anita Louise Coombe 1998 The Beautiful Game Original Cast Recording featuring Josie Walker David Shannon and Hannah Waddingham 2000 The Sound of Music featuring Connie Fisher 2006 Grease 2007 Film edit Produced the soundtrack recordings for a number of films Alan Parker s Evita featuring Madonna and Antonio Banderas 1996 with BAFTA and Oscar nominations for Best Sound Cats Really Useful Films featuring Elaine Paige Ken Page and John Mills 1998 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Really Useful Films featuring Donny Osmond and Maria Friedman 1999 Jesus Christ Superstar Really Useful Films DVD starring Jerome Pradon Glenn Carter Renee Castle Peter Gallagher 2000 The Phantom of the Opera featuring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum 2004 Television editAt the Eurovision Song Contest Wright conducted the orchestra for the Icelandic entry Nei eda ja in 1992 and the United Kingdom entry Better The Devil You Know in 1993 In 2006 Wright was the musical director and arranger for the hit BBC TV show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria as well as the NBC version Grease You re the One that I Want In 2007 he served as musical director for the follow up to How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria Any Dream Will Do In 2008 he was also the musical director for the TV program where a Nancy and Oliver were selected I d Do Anything and conducted the Orchestra on BBC s Eurovision Your Country Needs You He is the musical director of the live heats of The X Factor ITV since it began in 2004 He has also worked on many hit American shows with the latest being America s Got Talent Recent work editWright is currently working on Britain s Got Talent as well as co producing Love Never Dies Andrew Lloyd Webber s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera Wright worked on Over the Rainbow as the musical director References edit Official UK Charts UK Mixmasters MIXMASTERS full Official Chart History Official Charts Company OfficialCharts com Mixmasters The Night Fever Megamix produced by Nigel Wright for I Q Records licensed to BMG UK Ltd 1991 I Q Records catalogue number ZT 44330 MIXMASTER full Official Chart History Official Charts Company OfficialCharts com UK Mixmasters The Lucky 7 Megamix 1991 I Q Records Arista BMG catalogue number 114 504 UK MIX MASTERS full Official Chart History Official Charts Company OfficialCharts com UK Mixmasters The Bare Necessities Megamix produced by Nigel Wright for Skratch Music Productions Executive Producer Simon Cowell 1991 Connect Records licensed to BMG UK Ltd catalogue number ZB 45135 BBC One Top of the Pops 12 12 1991 External links editNigel Wright permanent dead link Official Website Nigel Wright at IMDb Mini Nigel Wright biography at www nightfever co uk Nigel Wright at Really Useful Interview with Nigel Wright Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nigel Wright record producer amp oldid 1190548435, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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