Stephen Street is a music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s and Blur in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs. As a producer, Street has served more as a musician than as an engineer, thereby significantly influencing the sound of the groups he has worked with. Music is a human activity which involves structured and audible sounds, which is used for artistic or aesthetic, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... The Smiths were a British rock group active from 1982 to 1987. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... Blur is a defining Brit Pop English rock band. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... Steven Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey, (born May 22, 1959 in Manchester in England) dropped his forenames to become Morrissey, the lead singer of the seminal UK indie band, The Smiths. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Production

Stephen Street began his career in music in the early 1980s at Islands Records' Fallout Shelter Studio. He worked as an engineer for reggae artists including Black Uhuru, King Sunny Ade, and Linton Kwesi Johnson. Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Reggae is a music genre developed in Jamaica. ... Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae band probably best known for their hits Shine Eye Gal, Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, Sinsemilla, Solidarity, and What Is Life?. They were the first group to win a Grammy in the reggae category when it was introduced in 1985. ... King Sunny Ade King Sunny Adé (Sunday Adeniyi, born 1946) is by far the most popular performer of Nigerian juju music. ... Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (aka LKJ) (born 24 August 1952) is a British-based Dub poet. ...

The Smiths and Morrissey

He began working with The Smiths in the mid-80s and was listed as an engineer on the Smiths' albums Meat Is Murder and their breakthrough The Queen Is Dead. Street was credited as a producer on the Smiths' final album, Strangeways, Here We Come. The Smiths were a British rock group active from 1982 to 1987. ... Meat Is Murder is The Smiths second studio album, released in February of 1985. ... The Queen Is Dead is an album by The Smiths. ... In 1987, the Smiths released their final studio album, Strangeways, Here We Come. ...

After the Smiths broke up, Street was contacted by lead singer Morrissey Morrissey informed him that he had been recruited as producer and co songwriter for his forthcoming album the result being his debut album, Viva Hate which reached #1 and spawned two top-ten hits in the United Kingdom. Street was credited as producer, songwriter, guitarist, and bass guitarist on the album. Street went on to co-write and produce two more top ten singles for Morrissey which appeared on Bona Drag before the singer ended their association. Steven Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey, (born May 22, 1959 in Manchester in England) dropped his forenames to become Morrissey, the lead singer of the seminal UK indie band, The Smiths. ... Viva Hate (also known as Education in Reverse) is rock artist Morrisseys debut solo album, released on March 22, 1988. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Steve Howe playing lead guitar for Yes in 1977 A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. ... Fender Precision Bass Bass Guitar is a commonly spoken phrase used to refer to the electric bass and horizontal acoustic basses, a stringed instrument similar in design to the electric guitar, but larger in size, commonly fretted and sometimes fretless and with a lower range. ... Bona Drag is an compilation album by Morrissey released on October 25, 1990. ...

Blur

After hearing Blur's first single, "She's So High", Street contacted their manager. Soon after he was called in and produced their establishing hit, "There's No Other Way", although he did not produce the album as a whole. Street went on to produce Blur's second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish. Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second album by the British rock band Blur, released on May 10 1993. ...

Stephen Street was a key force behind Blur's involvement in the Britpop movement. He produced one of the earliest and most influential creative works in Britpop, Blur's 1994 album Parklife. The album became Blur's best-selling ever and included the massive hit "Girls & Boys". Street later produced the #1 hit "Country House" and Blur's follow-up album The Great Escape, the song that won "The Battle of Britpop" for Blur by outselling rival band Oasis's single "Roll with It" from (What's the Story) Morning Glory in a Battle of the Bands that received massive coverage by the mainstream British media. After the Britpop movement waned, Street produced Blur's overdue chart-topping eponymous album, Blur, a work consisting of American low-fi alternative rock that showed that the band could continue evolving. This album included the #1 hit "Beetlebum" as well as the extremely popular surprise hit "Song 2". Britpop was a British alternative rock and cultural movement which gained popularity in Great Britain in the mid 1990s, characterised by the prominence of bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s. ... See also: 1993 in music, other events of 1994, 1995 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music. // Events January 29 - The Supremes Mary Wilson is injured when her jeep hits a freeway median and flips over just outside of Los Angeles, California. ... Parklife is a Britpop album by the band Blur, released on April 25, 1994. ... Country House is a song by the band Blur. ... The Great Escape, written by James Clavell and W.R. Burnett and directed by John Sturges, is a famous and acclaimed 1963 World War II film, based on a true story about Allied POWs with a record for escaping from POW camps. ... Oasis are a British rock band originally formed in Manchester. ... (Whats the Story) Morning Glory? is a 1995 album by rock band Oasis. ... Blur is the fifth album by Blur, first release in 1997. ... The terms alternative rock and alternative music were coined in the 1980s to describe punk rock-inspired bands which didnt fit into the mainstream genres of the time. ... Beetlebum is a song by the band Blur. ... Song 2 is a song and single by Blur. ...

During his time working with Blur, Street also produced albums for The Cranberries and The Pretenders. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pretenders album cover, 1980. ...

The Cranberries

In 1992, Street started working with the Irish band The Cranberries on their debut album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?". The album turned out to be a huge success in America (singles Dreams and Linger), and is one of the 5 albums to completely drop out of the british charts only to return at number 1. In 1994, they released their "No Need To Argue" album, also produced by Street. This became their best selling album (over 16 million copies worldwide). After this album, lead singer of the band, Dolores O'Riordan, was stressed and burned out, and she wanted to do a more hardcore album. They supposedly had some differences, but after two albums not produced by Street (To The Faithful Departed produced by Bruce Fairbrain and Bury The Hatchet produced by Benedict Fenner) they worked with him yet again on their 2001 album "Wake Up And Smell The Coffee" and the two extra tracks that were recorded for their 2002 Best of Album "Stars": "Stars" and "New New York".

Graham Coxon

After Graham Coxon left Blur following a scuffle with chief artist Damon Albarn, he and Street aligned and went to produce Coxon's most successful album up to date — Happiness in Magazines (May 2004). It featured the incredible talent and unique musicianship of the former guitarist and driving force of Blur, combined with Street's masterful production, which made the record Coxon's highest charting ever. Street's work with Coxon continues, with his second collaboration with Street, Love Travels at Illegal Speeds, being released in March 2006. Graham Coxon singing in the video to Blurs Tender Graham Coxon (born Graham Leslie Coxon on 12 March 1969, in Hanover, West Germany) is best known as the former guitarist in the British band Blur. ... Happiness in Magazines is the fifth solo album by Graham Coxon. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... Love Travels At Illegal Speeds is the sixth solo album by Graham Coxon. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ooberman

Street produced The Magic Treehouse, the debut album from Ooberman. The Magic Treehouse is the debut album from Ooberman. ... Ooberman were a band formed in 1997. ...

Kaiser Chiefs

Street produced Employment, the debut album by Kaiser Chiefs. Coincidently, like 15 years before when he heard Blur's "She's so High", he was in the same way involved with Kaiser Chiefs. Street heard one of their early demos and contacted the band with a view to producing them. As they were heavily influenced by, and fans of, his recordings with Blur they agreed. At one point Street brought former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon into the studio to rev his moped for a sound effect. This can be heard on the track "Saturday Night". Employment is the debut album by British rock band Kaiser Chiefs on the B-Unique record label. ... This article is about the band. ... Blur is a defining Brit Pop English rock band. ... Graham Coxon singing in the video to Blurs Tender Graham Coxon (born Graham Leslie Coxon on 12 March 1969, in Hanover, West Germany) is best known as the former guitarist in the British band Blur. ...

Influence

It would be difficult to overstate Street's effect on the sound of the bands he has worked with. As he became increasingly prominent on the Smiths' studio albums, their sound evolved from a dull, leaden production (as epitomized by their Street-less eponymous debut) to a smooth, polished, cohesive, almost orchestral sound (the Street produced Strangeways, Here We Come). Additionally, in his solo career, Morrissey achieved greater success working with Street than with any other producer. The Smiths is the eponymous debut album of the band The Smiths, released on February 20, 1984. ... In 1987, the Smiths released their final studio album, Strangeways, Here We Come. ...

Street transformed Blur from a tentative, obscure London outfit into international rock stars. He produced their most important songs ("There's No Other Way", "Girls & Boys", "Country House", "Beetlebum", and "Song 2") and their most popular albums, Parklife, The Great Escape and Blur. Country House is a song by the band Blur. ... Beetlebum is a song by the band Blur. ... Song 2 is a song and single by Blur. ... Parklife is a Britpop album by the band Blur, released on April 25, 1994. ... The Great Escape is the fourth album by Blur. ... Blur is the fifth album by Blur, first release in 1997. ...

References

Stephen Street is sometimes referenced by the artists he works with in their songs.

• In the song "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" from Strangeways, Here We Come, Morrissey's final words are, "OK Stephen? Do that again?"
• The Blur song "Death of a Party" from Blur is, according to some, a reply to the Smiths song "Death of a Disco Dancer". Both songs were produced by Street.

In 1987, the Smiths released their final studio album, Strangeways, Here We Come. ... Steven Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey, (born May 22, 1959 in Manchester in England) dropped his forenames to become Morrissey, the lead singer of the seminal UK indie band, The Smiths. ... Blur is a defining Brit Pop English rock band. ... Blur is the fifth album by Blur, first release in 1997. ...

External links

• All Music Guide
• Record Producer
• Sound on Sound - Classic Tracks: The Smiths 'The Queen Is Dead' An interview with Street, detailing the technical details behind the making of 'The Queen Is Dead' album.