Roger Béchirian - Revision history

WikiDwarf: /* Discography overview */Updated maintenance template(s) for biography of living person & General fixes

2023-06-03T07:57:10Z

Discography overview: Updated maintenance template(s) for biography of living person & General fixes

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:27, 3 June 2023
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	{{EngvarB\|date=September 2014}}		{{EngvarB\|date=September 2014}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=~~September 2014~~}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=March 2023}}
	{{BLP sources\|date=June 2014}}		{{BLP sources\|date=June 2014}}
	{{Infobox musical artist		{{Infobox musical artist
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	==Life and career==		==Life and career==
			He became renowned for his mixing work for Stiff Records, which paved the way for his first co-produced hit, Lene Lovich’s “Lucky Number”. He is widely credited{{By whom\|date=March 2023}} for moulding the sound of some of that period’s finest hitmakers including Elvis Costello, The Undertones, and Squeeze.

	~~[[Seymour Stein]], founder~~ of ~~Sire Records, signed~~ the ~~[[The Undertones\|Undertones]], asking Béchirian~~ to ~~take on production duties for the band's first album~~.~~<ref>{{Cite book\|url=https:~~//~~books.google.com/books?id=vGaVCwAAQBAJ\|title=Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone\|last=Bradley\|first=Michael\|date=2016-02-15\|publisher=Music Sales Limited\|isbn=9781783238521\|language=en}}</ref>~~		Building on his early successes Béchirian spent his time working between the UK and the USA developing and producing new and established artists for major and independent label releases. By the beginning of the new millennium he added management to his skill set. He discovered and developed Tom McRae signing him to db/BMG/Arista records, whose emergence led to a Q Award and nominations for a Mercury Prize Award, and a Brit Award. At the same time he managed Irish four-piece Bell X1, signing them to Island/Universal in London, garnering four Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year nominations and producing their breakthrough multi-platinum album ''Flock''.

	~~Béchirian went on~~ to ~~build his own recording studio in London~~ and ~~formed Vinyltone Productions with Epic Records in New York~~, ~~developing~~ and ~~releasing new artists~~. ~~The next three years~~ he ~~divided his time between~~ London ~~and New York. He later remastered Elvis Costello's first nine albums~~, and ~~produced [[The Monkees]]' 1986 reunion~~ album ''~~[[Pool It!]]~~''~~<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://tapeop~~.~~com/interviews/90/roger-bechirian-bonus/\|title=Roger Bechirian: Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Undertones\|website=tapeop.com\|access-date=2016-08-11}}</ref>~~

	==Discography overview==		==Discography overview==
	{{~~Unreferenced~~ section\|date= April 2022}}		{{BLP unreferenced section\|date= April 2022}}

	Note: engineered (e), mixed (m), co-produced (cp), produced (p)		Note: engineered (e), mixed (m), co-produced (cp), produced (p)
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	* "New Lace Sleeves"		* "New Lace Sleeves"
	* "Talking in the Dark"		* "Talking in the Dark"
	* "[[New Amsterdam]]"		* "[[New Amsterdam (song)\|New Amsterdam]]"
	* "Riot Act"		* "Riot Act"
	* "[[Clubland (song)\|Clubland]]"		* "[[Clubland (song)\|Clubland]]"
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	* "Endless Sleep"		* "Endless Sleep"
	* "[[Halfway to Paradise]]"		* "[[Halfway to Paradise]]"
	* "[[I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass]]"		* "[[I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass]]"
	* "Little Hitler"		* "Little Hitler"
	* "American Squirm"		* "American Squirm"
	* "Crackin' Up"		* "Crackin' Up"
	* "[[Cruel to Be Kind]]"		* "[[Cruel to Be Kind]]"
	* "Cool Reaction"		* "Cool Reaction"
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	* [https://www.rogerbechirian.com/ Roger Béchirian official website]		* [https://www.rogerbechirian.com/ Roger Béchirian official website]
	{{Squeeze}}		{{Squeeze}}
	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechirian, Roger}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechirian, Roger}}

UpdateBot: robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit)

2022-04-13T02:53:30Z

robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit)

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ==Life and career==
-[[Stiff Records]] founder [[Dave Robinson (music executive)|Dave Robinson]] sought out Béchirian and he began recording and mixing projects for the label's then fledgling artist roster.
+[[Seymour Stein]], founder of Sire Records, signed the [[The Undertones|Undertones]], asking Béchirian to take on production duties for the band's first album.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vGaVCwAAQBAJ|title=Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone|last=Bradley|first=Michael|date=2016-02-15|publisher=Music Sales Limited|isbn=9781783238521|language=en}}</ref>
 Béchirian went on to build his own recording studio in London and formed Vinyltone Productions with Epic Records in New York, developing and releasing new artists. The next three years he divided his time between London and New York.  He later remastered Elvis Costello's first nine albums, and produced [[The Monkees]]' 1986 reunion album ''[[Pool It!]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tapeop.com/interviews/90/roger-bechirian-bonus/|title=Roger Bechirian: Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Undertones|website=tapeop.com|access-date=2016-08-11}}</ref>
-Looking for a new direction, Béchirian later formed Trick Management.  Amongst his clients are [[Tom McRae]] and [[Bell X1 (band)|Bell X1]].  Signing Bell X1 to Island Records, he produced the band's breakthrough hit album ''[[Flock (Bell X1 album)|Flock]]''.
+==Discography overview==
+{{Unreferenced section|date= April 2022}}
 Note: engineered (e), mixed (m), co-produced (cp), produced (p)
 {{div col|colwidth=18em}}
@@ Line 281: / Line 268: @@
 * "Wolves" (single)
-e and ae: '''[[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]]/[[Paul Jones (singer)|Paul Jones]]/[[The Sex Pistols]]/[[The Bay City Rollers]]/[[TV21 (band)|TV21]]/[[The Three Degrees]]/[[Wreckless Eric]]/[[Clive Langer]]/[[Barbara Dickson|Barbara Dixon]]/[[Jona Lewie]]/[[Larry Wallis]]/Telephone/[[Maxine Nightingale]]/[[Shirley Bassey]]/[[Kathy Kirby]]/[[Simon May]]/[[Paul & Barry Ryan]]/[[Dolly Mixtures]]/[[Hello (band)|Hello]]/[[Clover (band)|Clover]]/[[Huey Lewis]]/[[The Damned (band)|The Damned]]/[[The Belle Stars]]/[[Marc Bolan]]/[[The Three Degrees]]/[[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]]/[[David Essex]]'''
+e and ae:
 {{Div col end}}

>Seth Whales: Dave Robinson (music executive)

2021-06-07T14:42:59Z

Dave Robinson (music executive)

New page

{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Roger Béchirian
| honorific_suffix =
| background = non_performing_personnel
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| death_date =
| birth_place =
| death_place =
| genre = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]|[[Pop music|pop]]}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Record producer|recording and mixing engineer}}
| instrument =
| years_active =
| label =
| associated_acts = {{hlist|[[Elvis Costello]]|[[Squeeze (band)|Squeeze]]|[[Dave Edmunds]]|[[The Undertones]]}}
| website = [https://www.rogerbechirian.com/ Roger Béchirian official website]
}}

'''Roger Béchirian''' <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan11/articles/classic-tracks-0111.htm |title=Elvis Costello & The Attractions 'Oliver's Army' |publisher=Soundonsound.com |date= |accessdate=28 June 2014}}</ref> is an English [[audio engineer|engineer]] and record producer. Béchirian was a key player in the British [[new wave music|new wave]] scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, best known for his work with [[Nick Lowe]], [[Paul Carrack]], [[Elvis Costello]], [[The Undertones]], [[Dave Edmunds]], [[The Monkees]], the [[Flamin' Groovies]], and [[Squeeze (band)|Squeeze]]. He was also a member of the pseudonymous new wave group [[Blanket of Secrecy]], which issued one album in 1982. More recently, Béchirian has worked with the [[Trashcan Sinatras]] and [[Bell X1 (band)|Bell X1]].

==Life and career==
His engineering career started at [[Eden Studios]], in London in the early-1970s. The studio was based around an Ampex 4 track and a custom built desk based in part on EMI/BBC designs. Béchirian progressed to become assistant mastering engineer, using an early Scully lathe during the day, and spending the evenings in the studio with bands improving his engineering skills. Eden then moved to a much larger premises and built a brand new studio complex from the ground up. Being involved in the building of the facility, from wiring the studio to helping to build their custom desk, gained Béchirian a great insight into acoustic design and audio electronics. He even designed the studio's logo. Eden opened as a 16 track with Ampex MM1100, but made the rapid leap to 24 track recording, moving up to an Ampex MM1200 and Dolby A. It was one of the first 24 track studios in London at that time.

[[Stiff Records]] founder [[Dave Robinson (music executive)|Dave Robinson]] sought out Béchirian and he began recording and mixing projects for the label's then fledgling artist roster.

He continued to develop his engineering talents at Eden as house engineer on an endless mixture of sessions ranging from solo artists to rock bands, big bands and orchestra. He worked as an assistant on sessions with some of the most successful producers and bands at the time, including [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]], [[Marc Bolan]], [[Manfred Mann]], [[Moody Blues]], [[David Essex]], [[Georgie Fame]], [[The Damned (band)|The Damned]], [[Clover]] and many others.

Béchirian had come to the attention of various A&R men, and also continued to work with a variety of Stiff artists. He was asked by Robinson to be involved with the production of [[Lene Lovich]]'s first album, which produced her first hit single, "[[Lucky Number (song)|Lucky Number]]". [[Malcolm McLaren]] brought the [[Sex Pistols]] into Eden to work on various drum and guitar tracking sessions, and around this time, Nick Lowe approached Béchirian to work on his solo project, which was to become ''[[Jesus of Cool]]''. As a result, he wanted Béchirian to act as his exclusive engineer on all his forthcoming projects, which led to working with [[Graham Parker]], [[Huey Lewis]] and [[Clover]], [[Elvis Costello]], [[Rockpile]], and others.

[[Seymour Stein]], founder of Sire Records, signed the [[The Undertones|Undertones]], asking Béchirian to take on production duties for the band's first album.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vGaVCwAAQBAJ|title=Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone|last=Bradley|first=Michael|date=2016-02-15|publisher=Music Sales Limited|isbn=9781783238521|language=en}}</ref> Béchirian ended up engineering and producing the band's first three albums. [[Jake Riviera]], who looked after Costello and Lowe, began representing Béchirian as manager.

Béchirian continued to work with various bands and artists as engineer and producer. He produced (with Elvis Costello) and engineered Squeeze's hit album ''[[East Side Story (Squeeze album)|East Side Story]]'', and their American breakthrough hit single "[[Tempted (Squeeze song)|Tempted]]".

Around that same time, he formed the band [[Blanket of Secrecy]]. Their first and only album was released in both the UK and the US, and garnered some attention as all the band members wrote and performed under pseudonyms ("Tinker", "Tailor" and "Soldier") and refused to be photographed. This led to speculation about the band members' identities—as Béchirian was listed in the album's credits as a producer, it was posited that he may have been behind the group. However, public and media interest in Blanket of Secrecy was short-lived after the album and associated singles failed to chart, and the group broke up. The actual identities of the band members were not revealed for more than twenty years.

Béchirian went on to build his own recording studio in London and formed Vinyltone Productions with Epic Records in New York, developing and releasing new artists. The next three years he divided his time between London and New York. He later remastered Elvis Costello's first nine albums, and produced [[The Monkees]]' 1986 reunion album ''[[Pool It!]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tapeop.com/interviews/90/roger-bechirian-bonus/|title=Roger Bechirian: Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Undertones|website=tapeop.com|access-date=2016-08-11}}</ref>

Looking for a new direction, Béchirian later formed Trick Management. Amongst his clients are [[Tom McRae]] and [[Bell X1 (band)|Bell X1]]. Signing Bell X1 to Island Records, he produced the band's breakthrough hit album ''[[Flock (Bell X1 album)|Flock]]''.

Now based in London, Béchirian engineers and produces, as well as being involved with the development and co-management of new bands and artists.

==Discography overview==
Note: engineered (e), mixed (m), co-produced (cp), produced (p)
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}

'''[[Elvis Costello]]''': e-m-cp-p

albums:
* ''[[My Aim Is True]]'' (remixes)
* ''[[This Year's Model|This Years Model]]''
* ''[[Armed Forces (album)|Armed Forces]]''
* ''[[Get Happy!! (Elvis Costello album)|Get Happy!!]]''
* ''[[Trust (Elvis Costello album)|Trust]]''
singles:
* "[[(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding]]"
* "[[Oliver's Army]]"
* "[[Alison (song)|Alison]]" (remix)
* "[[(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea]]"
* "[[Accidents Will Happen]]"
* "[[Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)|Pump It Up]]"
* "[[I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down]]"
* "[[Radio Radio]]"
* "Big Tears"
* "[[Green Shirt]]"
* "[[High Fidelity (song)|High Fidelity]]"
* "New Lace Sleeves"
* "Talking in the Dark"
* "[[New Amsterdam]]"
* "Riot Act"
* "[[Clubland (song)|Clubland]]"
* "From a Whisper to a Scream"
* "Watch Your Step"

'''[[Squeeze (band)|Squeeze]]''': e-m-p

albums:
* ''[[East Side Story (Squeeze album)|East Side Story]]''
singles:
* "[[Is That Love]]"
* "[[Tempted (Squeeze song)|Tempted]]"
* "[[Labelled With Love]]"
* "[[Messed Around]]"

'''[[The Undertones]]''': e-m-p

albums:
* ''[[The Undertones (album)|The Undertones]]''
* ''[[Hypnotised (album)|Hypnotised]]''
* ''[[Positive Touch]]''
singles:
* "Get Over You"
* "[[Jimmy Jimmy (song)|Jimmy Jimmy]]"
* "[[Here Comes the Summer]]"
* "[[You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It?)]]"
* "[[My Perfect Cousin]]"
* "[[Wednesday Week]]"
* "[[It's Going To Happen!]]
* "Julie Ocean"

'''[[Nick Lowe]]''': e-m-cp-p

albums:
* ''[[Jesus of Cool]]''
* ''[[Nick the Knife]]''
* ''[[The Abominable Showman]]''
singles:
* "[[So It Goes (song)|So It Goes]]"
* "Marie Provost"
* "Endless Sleep"
* "[[Halfway to Paradise]]"
* "[[I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass]]"
* "Little Hitler"
* "American Squirm"
* "Crackin' Up"
* "[[Cruel to Be Kind]]"
* "Cool Reaction"
* "Ragin' Eyes"
* "Wish You Were Here"

'''[[Graham Parker]]''': e-m

albums:
* ''[[Howlin' Wind]]''
* ''[[Heat Treatment]]''
* ''[[Stick to Me]]''

'''Twist''': e-m-cp

albums:
* ''This Is Your Life''
singles:
* "This Is Your Life"
* "Ads"

'''[[The Rumour]]''': e-m-cp

albums:
* ''Frogs Sprouts Clogs and Krauts''
singles:
* "Emotional Traffic"
* "Frozen Years"
* "Tired of Waiting"

'''[[The Jam]]''': e
* "[[Going Underground]]" (single)

'''[[Lene Lovich]]''': e-m-p

albums:
* ''[[Stateless (Lene Lovich album)|Stateless]]''
* ''[[Flex (album)|Flex]]''
singles:
* "[[Lucky Number (song)|Lucky Number]]"
* "Little Bird"
* "Too Tender To Touch"
* "[[I Think We're Alone Now]]"

'''[[Wang Chung (band)|Wang Chung]]''': e-m-p

albums:
* ''[[Huang Chung (album)|Huang Chung]]''
singles:
* "Hold Back the Tears"
* "China"
* "Ti Na Na"

'''[[Carlene Carter]]''': e-m-p-cp

albums:
* ''[[Carlene Carter (album)|Carlene Carter]]''
* ''[[C'est C Bon]]''
* ''[[Blue Nun (album)|Blue Nun]]''
singles:
* "When You Comin' Back"
* "Too Many Teardrops"
* "Love Like A Glove"
* "Meant It for a Minute"

'''[[Dave Edmunds]]''': e-m

albums:
* ''[[Tracks on Wax 4]]''
* ''[[Repeat When Necessary]]''
singles:
* "Deborah"
* "Television"
* "[[A1 on the Jukebox]]"
* "[[Girls Talk (Elvis Costello song)|Girls Talk]]"
* "[[Queen of Hearts (Hank DeVito song)|Queen of Hearts]]"
* "Crawling from the Wreckage"

'''[[The Trash Can Sinatras]]''': e-m-p

albums:
* ''[[Cake (album)|Cake]]''
singles:
* "Only Tongue Can Tell"
* "[[Obscurity Knocks]]"

'''[[Bell X1 (band)|Bell X1]]''': m-p

albums:
* ''[[Music in Mouth]]''
* ''[[Flock (Bell X1 album)|Flock]]''
* ''[[Blue Lights on the Runway]]'' (re-mixes)
singles:
* "Man on Mir"
* "White Water Song"
* "Tongue"
* "Snakes and Snakes"
* "Alphabet Soup"
* "Eve, the Apple of My Eye"
* "Next to You"
* "Bigger Than Me"
* "Flame"
* "Rocky Took a Lover"
* "The Great Defector"-m
* "The Ribs of a Broken Umbrella"-m

'''[[Tom McRae]]''': cp-m

albums:
* ''[[Tom McRae (album)|Tom McRae]]''
singles:
* "You Cut Her Hair"
* "Walking to Hawaii" rm

'''[[Flamin' Groovies]]''': e-m-cp
* ''Jumpin' in the Night''

'''[[The Attractions]]''': e-m-p
* ''Mad About the Wrong Boy''

'''[[The Shakin' Pyramids]]''': e-m-p
* ''[[Celts and Cobras]]''

'''[[The Monkees]]''': e-m-p
* ''[[Pool It!]]'' (album)

'''[[The dB's]]''': e-m-p
* "Judy" (single)

'''Tony Koklin''': e-m-p
* Time Chaser

'''[[Robert Ellis Orrall]]''': e-m-p
* Special Pain
* Walking Thru Landmines

'''[[Rockpile]]''': e-m
* ''Pile Of Rocks''

'''[[The Photos]]''': e-m-p
* ''The Photos''

'''[[Siouxsie and the Banshees]]''': e-m
* "New Skin" (from [[Showgirls (soundtrack)|Showgirls]])

'''[[Blanket of Secrecy]]''': e-m-p
* ''Ears Have Walls''

'''The Passion Puppets''': e-m-p
* "Like Dust"

'''[[Dirty Looks (band)|Dirty Looks]]''': e-m
* ''Dirty Looks''

'''[[The Pretenders]]''': e-m
* "[[Stop Your Sobbing#The Pretenders version|Stop Your Sobbing]]" (single)

'''Stewart Agnew Band''': e-m-p
* ''Stewart Agnew''

'''Bear Driver''': cp
* "Wolves" (single)

e and ae: '''[[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]]/[[Paul Jones (singer)|Paul Jones]]/[[The Sex Pistols]]/[[The Bay City Rollers]]/[[TV21 (band)|TV21]]/[[The Three Degrees]]/[[Wreckless Eric]]/[[Clive Langer]]/[[Barbara Dickson|Barbara Dixon]]/[[Jona Lewie]]/[[Larry Wallis]]/Telephone/[[Maxine Nightingale]]/[[Shirley Bassey]]/[[Kathy Kirby]]/[[Simon May]]/[[Paul & Barry Ryan]]/[[Dolly Mixtures]]/[[Hello (band)|Hello]]/[[Clover (band)|Clover]]/[[Huey Lewis]]/[[The Damned (band)|The Damned]]/[[The Belle Stars]]/[[Marc Bolan]]/[[The Three Degrees]]/[[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]]/[[David Essex]]'''

{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.trickmanagement.com/rogpage.htm Roger Béchirian on Trick Management]
* [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan11/articles/classic-tracks-0111.htm Sound on Sound interview]
* [https://www.rogerbechirian.com/ Roger Béchirian official website]
{{Squeeze}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechirian, Roger}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Kolkata]]
[[Category:English record producers]]
[[Category:English audio engineers]]
[[Category:English new wave musicians]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]