Stuart Colman
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| Stuart Colman | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 19, 1944  Harrogate, Yorkshire |
| Genre(s) | pop music |
| Occupation(s) | musician, record producer, radio DJ |
| Years active | 1960s - present |
| Label(s) | Pye Records, Epic Records |
| Associated acts | Pinkerton's Assorted Colours The Flying Machine |
Stuart Colman (born 19 December 1944, Harrogate, Yorkshire) into a well-known musical family, took up piano and bass guitar, and enjoyed his first taste of success when he joined Pinkerton's Assorted Colours in 1966.
Three years later the group evolved into The Flying Machine and their first single under that name, "Smile A Little Smile For Me", made the top five in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, selling over two million copies. In 1976 Colman jointly organized a march to the BBC, protesting about the lack of rock and roll music on BBC Radio One. To his surprise the corporation took him on as a presenter, headlining his own weekly show. Following the popularity of the programme, Epic Records brought Colman in to take over the production reins with rockabilly icon, Shakin' Stevens. There were hits straight away with "Hot Dog" and "Marie, Marie" followed by a string of number ones including "This Old House", "Green Door" and "Oh Julie". His success story then crossed over into the global market place, where combined sales with Stevens alone went on to top 35 million units. During this busy period he was called upon to produce a wide range of artists, ranging from The Shadows to Paul Kennerley, and Claire Hamill to The Revillos.
In 1982 Colman was voted the top singles producer of the year by Music Week magazine.
Meanwhile, as a broadcaster, Colman was also hosting the highly-regarded Echoes on BBC Radio London, a unique forum with a guest list that included Sir Paul McCartney, Dr. John, Robert Plant and Steve Miller. He was also in demand as a journalist writing a weekly column for the Melody Maker, as well as authoring a best-selling book, They Kept On Rockin'. Colman extended his chart successes by creating hits for Kim Wilde, The Jets and Alvin Stardust, and he made albums with his boyhood idols, Phil Everly and Little Richard. Following his love of comedy recordings, Colman was asked by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton to produce the inaugural Comic Relief record, and "Living Doll", featuring TV's The Young Ones along with pop legend Cliff Richard, became another international #1.
In 1986 Colman opened his own Master Rock recording studio in London, fitting the A room out with the first Focusrite recording console, and the B room with a state-of the-art Solid State Logic. Apart from his own productions with Jeff Beck, The Inmates and Jane Harrison, the studio played host to Elton John, U2, Eric Clapton and Soul II Soul. Still pursuing his broadcasting career, Colman then joined London’s newly-launched Capital Gold, where he played his beloved rock and roll at the weekends and anchored the evening slot during the week. At the same time he was producing many major TV music specials for Central Television, where he worked with the likes of Natalie Cole, T'Pau, Nona Hendryx and Meat Loaf.
In 1995, geared by his love of American music, Colman decided to move with his family to Nashville, Tennessee where he went on to record with a wide variety of artists including Victoria Shaw, Nanci Griffith, The Crickets and Linda Gail Lewis. He began by arranging and producing the country demo of the Faith Hill smash "This Kiss", then co-produced with Jim Ed Norman the original version of the Garth and Trisha duet, "Where Your Road Leads" by Victoria Shaw and Billy Dean. He delivered a well-received Texas-Swing album by Don Walser for Sire Records, as well as producing a fresh batch of tracks on The Osmond Brothers, a country album by Canadian diva Tracy Fidler, and the debut recordings by Brazilian newcomer, Leandro Beling.
In 2002 Colman was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus and he was subjected to an intense course of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. The experience cost him his marriage and he became, as he puts it, a born-again-bachelor. Even during this time he kept himself busy, writing liner notes for a great many CD's, including a critically-acclaimed boxed set of Don Gibson recordings for Bear Family, and at the same time he maintained his long-running column for the monthly rock and roll magazine, Now Dig This. Since his recovery, Colman has appeared in a movie depicting the life and times of Jack Clement, and he has also reunited with Shakin' Stevens playing bass on tours throughout Europe. In 2008 Colman has returned to the studios of Nashville, directing his energies into developing a set of new artists including Kentucky born Sulcer Evans, singer-songwriter, Seth Matthews, and the talented British tunesmiths, Dean Shannon and Jenny Bolton.
