Martin Rushent

Martin Rushent was one of the top English record producers during the late '70s and early '80s, with credits involving some of the most successful punk, post-punk, and new wave acts of that era. Initially, Rushent was known more as an engineer; during the first half of the '70s, his name could be found listed as the engineer on records by T. Rex (Electric Warrior, 1971), Shirley Bassey (Never, Never, Never, 1973), and David Essex (Out on the Street, 1976), among others, though he did pick up the occasional production credit. By the end of the decade, once he established lasting associations with the Stranglers (beginning with Rattus Norvegicus) and Buzzcocks ("Orgasm Addict"), the majority of his studio work was done as a producer. At the start of the 1980s, he took charge of the reconfigured Human League's fortunes in the studio, producing their single "Boys and Girls" and the triple-platinum album Dare! — the latter of which was reconfigured by Rushent as the cult-classic instrumental remix album Love and Dancing, credited to the League Unlimited Orchestra. His clients during the '80s also included Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley (Homosapien and XL-1, both of which were issued through Genetic, Rushent's boutique label), Altered Images ("Happy Birthday," Pinky Blue), the Go-Go's (Talk Show), and the Associates (Perhaps). Around the middle of the decade, Rushent devoted his time to raising his children. He surfaced with the occasional project throughout the '90s and the early 2000s, including his 2007 single "Itchy Hips" (featuring his wife Ceri and daughter Amy) and production on the Pipettes' 2010 album Earth vs. the Pipettes. Rushent passed away the following year. ~ Bruce Eder & Andy Kellman, Rovi