To mark his fiftieth year in the recording industry, Levine has decided to do something of a tell-all, discussing the big hits he made and the artists he made them with. The setup was simple: two armchairs and two laptops, which Levine used to project images onto a big screen behind him and to play music. Broadcaster Katie Puckrick proved an ideal questioner, giving Levine all the time and space he needed to walk the audience through his career.
Levine said he had always been drawn to physics and electronics, so it was no surprise he attended a technical college. His talent was immediately apparent—he built a DJ kit for a project that received a mark of 99%. A pivotal moment came when he received a cassette recorder for Christmas in 1971. The first thing he recorded was Dave Edmunds’ ‘I Hear You Knocking’ inspired by a documentary about the studio Edmunds had used.
At seventeen, Levine took it upon himself to visit the biggest studios in London. In one of those sliding-doors moments, he met the mother of an engineer who worked at CBS Studios. She arranged for Levine to visit the studio, where he was offered a job. After working in the background on light entertainment sessions for the likes of Vince Hill and Charlie Drake, he engineered his first record, ‘Una Paloma Blanca’ for Jonathan King. After that, he worked on a wide range of recordings, including Watership Down and The Goodies.
His career continued to progress. He worked on television advertisements for ABBA’s Greatest Hits and the video for Elton John and Kiki Dee’s ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’. While working on an album for Sailor, he met Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, who was so impressed that he invited Levine to work with him in Los Angeles.
Although he enjoyed the Californian lifestyle, Levine missed England and returned to London just as punk rock was taking off.
He worked with The Clash from their very first studio session, when they recorded ‘White Riot’, through to ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’. Levine had the original recordings on his laptop and was able to play snippets, using music software to isolate various parts and emphasize the influence he had on the sessions.
To close part one of the show, he discussed recording tracks for Top of the Pops, a brief flirtation with disco, releasing a record under the name Dance People, and how he met Culture Club.
Part two told the story of Culture Club’s stratospheric rise to superstardom and Levine’s role in it. He played the original demos they recorded, including ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me’. His success as their producer earned him a BRIT Award.
His reputation was so strong that legendary Beach Boy Brian Wilson flew to Jamaica—where Levine was working with Ziggy Marley—to ask him to produce the next Beach Boys album. Of course, he accepted, and shared entertaining anecdotes from the recording sessions, which also involved Stevie Wonder and Ringo Starr.
Again, he used music software to break down individual tracks. Time had run away with him a little, so the later part of his career had to be rushed. But that did not detract from an entertaining and informative evening. Indeed, it was a privilege to hear some tracks that had never been aired in public before. This appears to have been a one-off event, but if it does go on tour, it’s a must for anyone interested in what goes on behind the glass of a control room.
Reviewer – Adrian Cork
On – 08.06.2025
No comments:
Post a Comment