The BBC Radio 2 series "The Record Producers" offers listeners interviews with some of the most successful producers in rock history. It sounds like they originally made around 1981. If you like this one, I can offer more as the year proceeds. {UPDATE: here's a link to other episodes in the series]
Of course Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn were songwriters and producers of the some the UK's biggest hits, from almost everything Sweet ever did to Mud, Suzi Quatro and Smokie. Their biggest US hit was Toni Basil's "Mickey". When Chapman moved to the US, he made hit albums with Blondie and The Knack.
By 1975 the UK hit machine was running out of steam, although they were responsible for:
Tremendous video of Mud. Don;t you just love those slick moves and toptastic outfits?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post! To put things historically more straight, one could add that the main creative part of the "Dynamic Duo" had been Mike Chapman. According to Wikipedia:
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Chapman#Chapman_and_Chinn
[...] Chapman has been quoted many times since, that Dreamland Records was his way of giving Chinn a job to prove himself. "I had attempted to end the business relationship since 1975 but had been stalled every time by Chinn's mental health and drinking problems, nervous breakdowns, and endless tantrums. When I moved to Beverly Hills in 1975 to put the Atlantic Ocean between us, he moved soon after and bought a house on the same street. He continued to put his name on every song I wrote, insisting that his name appear first in every case. Dreamland Records was a last gasp effort on my part to give him a real job and finally remove his presence from my hard work and success. As I anticipated, the label failed, he was entirely out of his depth and showing his real colors to everyone who encounter him. I was finally free to follow my career in peace, without having my skills compromised and my royalties diverted. I sold Chinnchap Publishing in 1982. That was the end of the Chinnichap nightmare for me. I have been happily developing as a writer, publisher, record-producer and mentor to many, since that day."
This statement seems to be proven by the many productions and compositions by Mike Chapman since the end of the Chinnichap period.
Especially remarkable after the "48 collide": "Back to the Drive", performed by Suzi Quatro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_BwcazcM_o