- Gus Dudgeon
Infobox musical artist
Name = Gus Dudgeon
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Background = non_performing_personnel
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Born = 1942
Died = 2002
Origin = flagicon|EnglandSurrey
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Genre =Pop music
Occupation =record producer
Years_active = 1960s-2002
Label = Decca,Rocket Records
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Notable_instruments =Gus Dudgeon (1942–2002) was a British
record producer , and the inventor of audio sampling as a musical device.The tea boy
Gus Dudgeon was born in
Surrey, England . After being sacked from eleven jobs he became a tea-boy at Decca'sOlympic Studios inBaker Street ,London . He was able to answer the right questions about using and repairing atape recorder . It was only when he saw a photograph ofLonnie Donegan in the very studio where he worked that it started to thrill him. Despite having no musical training he progressed tosound engineer . He worked withBruce Channel ,Davy Graham andShirley Collins . Early pop successes includedThe Zombies ' "She's Not There " (1964) andJohn Mayall 's "Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton " (1966). He helped in the auditions for Tom Jones andThe Rolling Stones . By 1966 he was becoming bored. He was reprimanded by producer Denny Cordell for tellingThe Moody Blues that they had chosen the wrong sound mix for a song. Cordell initially didn't want to listen to Dudgeon's flat mix (simply subtracting all EQ and effects), but gave in, and agreed it was "ten times better" (a quote from Gus in an interview by Rick Clark from MIX magazine, probably his last, in 2002). Finally he became a co-producer onTen Years After 's debut album in 1967. Around this time he also producedthe Bonzo Dog Band albums "The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse " and "Tadpoles".Gus Dudgeon produced two highly successful albums for Elkie Brooks; Pearls and Pearls Two.The Elton John years
Encouraged by
Andrew Loog Oldham he left Decca and founded his own company. WhenTony Visconti was unhappy withDavid Bowie 'sguitar song "Space Oddity" Gus turned it into an epic. A rather nervousElton John brought him "Your Song " in 1970. Gus rejected thepiano accompaniment and recorded it withchoir andorchestra . It reached the U.S. top ten, becoming John's first major hit. For the next twelve albums that Elton recorded, the pattern was established. Elton recorded the voice and piano, then left. Gus Dudgeon did the rest. Sometimes, as with "Daniel" the sound was simple. At other times, as with "Rocket Man", it was an extravaganza. Elton John and Gus Dudgeon together founded theRocket Records label. Elton John joined on himself in 1976. Gus also did the sound mix for the Elton John /John Lennon concert atMadison Square Gardens in 1974. 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 a live album.The folk-rock years
After the break-up with Elton John, Gus had difficulty establishing himself. He claimed that he used to go and see three new live bands every week. Whilst working with Elton, his other main priority was with
Charisma Records band Audience but he now producedChris Rea ,Ralph McTell , Lindisfarne,Joan Armatrading ,Elkie Brooks ,Fairport Convention ,The Sinceros ,The Beach Boys andSteeleye Span . In the 1980s he builtSol Studios . He re-united with Elton John in 1984 for three more albums. Rejecting the dance scene, he started working with alternative bands such asXTC , Menswear, andThe Frank and Walters . He managed a band calledSlinki Malinki . He was always very supportive of new bands. In 1989 Gus Dudgeon produced debut solo-album ofThomas Anders (ex-Modern Talking ). Once he started receiving royalties from Elton John records he started to realise that the 250 pounds that he had been paid by David Bowie was inadequate. He sued Bowie for a million pounds in 2002. The "Guinness Book of Records " recognised that he was the first person to use sampling. His production ofJohn Kongos ' hit "He's Gonna Step On You Again " (1971) used a tape loop ofAfrica n tribal drumming. Gus was also founder ofThe Music Producers Guild .He died in a
car accident near Reading on21 July 2002 , together with his wife Sheila. He fell asleep at the wheel of hisJaguar XK 8convertible on a motorway on the way home to Surrey after a party, crashing down an embankment at speed and drowning in a ditch.Chumbawamba commemorated him in their song "The Wizard of Menlo Park" ("poor Gus Dudgeon lying in a car"), apaean toThomas Edison and the history of audio recording.External links
* [http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_gus_dudgeon/ Interview with Gus Dudgeon in 2001 (most likely his last)]
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