Hugh Padgham

English record producer (born 1955)

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Hugh Padgham

Birth name| Hugh Charles Padgham
Born|  (1955-02-15) 15 February 1955 (age 69)[1]
Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England
Genres|

* Rock
* electronic
* new wave
* pop rock
* synth-pop
* soft rock

Occupations|

* Record producer
* engineer

Years active| 1978–present
Labels|

* A&M
* Island
* Universal
* London
* London UK
* Major

Spouse|

Cath Kidston

(m. 2012)​

Musical artist

Hugh Charles Padgham (born 15 February 1955) is an English record producer and audio engineer. He has won four Grammy Awards, for Producer of the Year and Album of the Year for 1985, Record of the Year for 1990, and Engineer of the Year for 1993.[2] Padgham's co-productions include hits by Phil Collins, XTC, Genesis, the Human League, Sting, and the Police. He pioneered (with Peter Gabriel and producer Steve Lillywhite) the "gated reverb" drum sound used most famously in Collins' song "In the Air Tonight".[3]

## Personal life

[edit]

Padgham was born on 15 February 1955 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. He was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford.[4]

Padgham married his long-term partner Cath Kidston in 2012.[5] He has a daughter from a previous marriage.[6]

## Career

[edit]

Padgham became interested in record production after listening to Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection.[7] He started out as a tape operator at Advision Studios, working on many recording sessions including Mott The Hoople and Gentle Giant. From there he went to Lansdowne Studios and moved from tape-operator/assistant engineer to engineer. In 1978, Padgham got a job at The Townhouse, where he engineered and/or produced acts including XTC, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. He also worked on the second album by Killing Joke.[8]

Padgham's previous work with Gabriel and Collins led to a collaboration with Genesis and Phil Collins in the 1980s, which produced the albums: Face Value, Abacab, Hello, I Must Be Going!, Genesis, No Jacket Required, Invisible Touch and ...But Seriously. In addition to his work with Genesis and XTC, Padgham co-produced two albums with the Police: Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity, as well as some of Police frontman Sting's solo work. He also worked on Paul McCartney's Press to Play and the Human League's Hysteria.

In the 2000s, Padgham worked with Sting as well as McFly. He had four UK number one hits in 2005 and 2006 with McFly, as well as a number of other Top Ten Singles. In 2002, Padgham produced the Tragically Hip album In Violet Light.[citation needed]

In 2019, Padgham was honoured in London with the MPG Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music.[9][10]

Padgham is one of the owners of the indie label Gearbox Records.[citation needed]

## The "gated drum" sound

[edit]

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Padgham is credited with creating the "gated reverb" drum sound used so prominently on Phil Collins' single "In the Air Tonight", and which became the template for much of the recorded pop drum sound of the 1980s. The effect is believed to have first been used on the 1980 third self-titled solo album by Peter Gabriel, which Padgham engineered and on which Collins played. At this time, Padgham was working regularly as the recording engineer for noted UK producer Steve Lillywhite, and they collaborated on many well-known albums and singles in the early 1980s.

Padgham's gated drum effect is created by adding a large amount of heavily compressed room ambience to the original drum sound, and then feeding that reverb signal through an electronic device known as a noise gate. This unit can be programmed to cut off any signal fed through it, either after a specified time interval (in this case, some tens of milliseconds), or when the incoming signal falls below a preset gain threshold. The result is the arresting 'gated reverb' effect, in which the reverberation cuts off abruptly, rather than fading away.

In a 2006 interview, Padgham revealed how the effect was first engineered:

> The whole thing came through the famous "listen mic" on the SSL console. The SSL had put this massive compressor on it because the whole idea was to hang one mic in the middle of the studio and hear somebody talking on the other side. And it just so happened that we turned it on one day when Phil [Collins] was playing his drums. And then I had the idea of feeding that back into the console and putting the noise gate on, so when he stopped playing it sucked the big sound of the room into nothing.

## Collaborators

[edit]

Artists for whom Padgham has produced or engineered include:

* 311 (Soundsystem)
* Bee Gees
* David Bowie (Tonight) (1984)
* Kate Bush
* Toni Childs
* Clannad
* Paula Cole
* Phil Collins (Face Value, Hello, I Must Be Going!, No Jacket Required, ...But Seriously, Dance into the Light)
* Julian Cope
* Sheryl Crow
* The Dream Academy
* Melissa Etheridge
* Mick Farren
* Julia Fordham
* The Fixx
* Peter Gabriel (engineer, Peter Gabriel (1980 album))
* Genesis (Abacab, Genesis, Invisible Touch)
* Johnny Warman
* Hall & Oates
* Nicky Holland
* The Human League
* I Was a Cub Scout
* Elton John
* The Lightyears
* Mike Lindup (Changes, 1990)
* Anni-Frid Lyngstad (engineer)
* Madness (mixing, 1988)
* Mansun
* Paul McCartney
* Mummy Calls
* McFly
* Mike + The Mechanics
* Northern Pikes (Snow in June, 1990)
* Youssou N'Dour
* The Police (Ghost in the Machine, Synchronicity)
* The Psychedelic Furs
* Kim Richey (1999 album Glimmer)
* L. Shankar
* Spandau Ballet
* Split Enz (Time and Tide, Conflicting Emotions)
* Sting
* Sweet
* Tears for Fears
* The Tragically Hip (In Violet Light, 2002)
* Van der Graaf Generator (mixing, 2010)
* Suzanne Vega
* The Waitresses
* Brian Wilson
* XTC (engineer, 1979, 1980, 1982)
* Yes (Drama)
* Paul Young
* Frank Zappa

## Awards

[edit]

### Grammy Awards

[edit]

Year Awarded | Nominee/work | Category | Result | Ref.

|
|
|
|

1984 | Synchronicity (The Police) | Album of the Year (shared with The Police) | Nominated  | [11][12][13]
"Every Breath You Take" (The Police) | Record of the Year (shared with The Police) | Nominated
1986 | No Jacket Required (Phil Collins) | Album of the Year (shared with Phil Collins) | Won  | [14][15]
Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) (shared with Phil Collins) | Won
1991 | ...But Seriously (Phil Collins) | Album of the Year (shared with Phil Collins) | Nominated  | [16][17][18]
Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) (shared with Phil Collins) | Nominated
Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical | Nominated
"Another Day in Paradise" (Phil Collins) | Record of the Year (shared with Phil Collins) | Won
1994 | Ten Summoner's Tales (Sting) | Album of the Year (shared with Sting) | Nominated  | [19][20][21]
Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) | Nominated
Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical | Won
"If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (Sting) | Record of the Year (shared with Sting) | Nominated
1997 | Mercury Falling (Sting) | Best Pop Album (shared with Sting) | Nominated  | [22][23]

### Brit Awards

[edit]

Year Awarded | Nominee/work | Category | Result | Ref.

|
|
|
|

1986 | No Jacket Required (Phil Collins) | British Producer | Nominated  | [24][25]
1987 | Invisible Touch (Genesis) | Nominated  | [citation needed]

BASCA

Year Awarded  | Nominee  | Category  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2009 | Himself  | Gold Badge Award | Won  | [1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hugh Padgham, Esq Authorised Biography – Debrett’s People of Today, Hugh Padgham, Esq Profile Archived 21 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ "Hugh Padgham". GRAMMY.com. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
3. ^ Howell, Steve (March 2005). "Q. How do I set up a gated reverb?". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
4. ^ Holmes, Thom (2013). The Routledge Guide to Music Technology. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. p. 223\. ISBN 9781135477806. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
5. ^ Gordon, Bryony (5 October 2014). "The interior designer Cath Kidston on work, marriage and life after cancer". The Daily Telegraph.
6. ^ McCarthy, Fiona (9 March 2023). "Cath Kidston: how my Cotswolds home inspired my new business". The Times.
7. ^ Interview with Hugh Padgham. BBC Radio 2. "The Record Producers". 9 April 2007
8. ^ Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 43-44. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
9. ^ "Producer Hugh Padgham To Receive Top Honour At The 2019 Music Producers Guild Awards". The Music Producers Guild. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
10. ^ "Hugh Padgham honoured at MPG Awards". prsformusic.com. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
11. ^ "Complete List of the Nominees for 26th Annual Grammy Music Awards". Schenectady Gazette. The Daily Gazette Company. 9 January 1984.
12. ^ "Hugh Padgham – Artist – grammy.com". Grammy Award. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
13. ^ "Grammy Awards 1984". Awards & shows. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
14. ^ ""World" gets four Grammys". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 26 February 1986. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
15. ^ "Grammy Awards 1986". Awards & shows. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
16. ^ Shane, Larry (11 January 1991). "Collins, Jones and Carey top Grammy nominations". The Kansas City Star. The McClatchy Company. p. H17.
17. ^ "Grammys--Round 1 : Pop music: Phil Collins' 8 nominations lead the pack and Quincy Jones sets a record with his 74th nod. The winners will be revealed on Feb. 20". Desert News. 12 January 1991. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
18. ^ "Quincy Jones wins block of Grammys". The Milwaukee Journal. 21 February 1991. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
19. ^ "General Categories". Los Angeles Times. 7 January 1994. p. 18.
20. ^ "HUNDREDS NOMINATED FOR GRAMMYS". Desert News. 10 January 1994. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
21. ^ "Houston, Sting rule at Grammys". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 2 March 1994. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
22. ^ Kot, Greg (8 January 1997). "Pumpkins A Smash With 7 Grammy Nominations". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. p. 10. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
23. ^ "THE 39TH ANNUAL GRAMMY NOMINATIONS". Los Angeles Times. 8 January 1997. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
24. ^ "Hugh Padgham". Brit Awards. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
25. ^ "Hugh Padgham – Legendary record producer". RecordProduction.com. Retrieved 18 March 2018.

## Further reading

[edit]

* "Hugh Padgham". Music Technology. Vol. 1, no. 6\. April 1987. p. 50\. ISSN 0957-6606. OCLC 24835173.
* Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1912587407.

## External links

[edit]

* Interview with Hugh Padgham
* Hugh Padgham – Artist – grammy.com
* Video interview with Hugh Padgham
* Brit Awards

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

1970s|

* Thom Bell (1974)
* Arif Mardin (1975)
* Stevie Wonder (1976)
* Peter Asher (1977)
* Bee Gees (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb & Robin Gibb), Albhy Galuten & Karl Richardson (1978)
* Larry Butler (1979)

1980s|

* Phil Ramone (1980)
* Quincy Jones (1981)
* Toto (1982)
* Michael Jackson & Quincy Jones (1983)
* James Anthony Carmichael & Lionel Richie / David Foster (1984)
* Phil Collins & Hugh Padgham (1985)
* Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1986)
* Narada Michael Walden (1987)
* Neil Dorfsman (1988)
* Peter Asher (1989)

1990s|

* Quincy Jones (1990)
* David Foster (1991)
* Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois / L.A. Reid & Babyface (1992)
* David Foster (1993)
* Don Was (1994)
* Babyface (1995)
* Babyface (1996)
* Babyface (1997)
* Rob Cavallo (1998)
* Walter Afanasieff (1999)

2000s|

* Dr. Dre (2000)
* T Bone Burnett (2001)
* Arif Mardin (2002)
* The Neptunes (2003)
* John Shanks (2004)
* Steve Lillywhite (2005)
* Rick Rubin (2006)
* Mark Ronson (2007)
* Rick Rubin (2008)
* Brendan O'Brien (2009)

2010s|

* Danger Mouse (2010)
* Paul Epworth (2011)
* Dan Auerbach (2012)
* Pharrell Williams (2013)
* Max Martin (2014)
* Jeff Bhasker (2015)
* Greg Kurstin (2016)
* Greg Kurstin (2017)
* Pharrell Williams (2018)
* Finneas O'Connell (2019)

2020s|

* Andrew Watt (2020)
* Jack Antonoff (2021)
* Jack Antonoff (2022)
* Jack Antonoff (2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Netherlands

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* Grammy Awards

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