Robin Millar

Sir Robin John Christian Millar CBE (born 18 December 1951) is an English record producer, musician and businessman, known variously as 'The Original Smooth Operator', 'The man behind Sade', and 'Golden Ears' by Boy George. He was born in London to an Irish father and West Indian mother, and is blind. He is one of the world's most successful record producers with over 150 gold, silver and platinum discs and 55 million record sales to his credit. His 1984 production of Diamond Life, the debut album by Sade, was named one of the best ten albums of the last 30 years at the 2011 Brit Awards.

For the British politician, see Robin Millar (politician).

Sir Robin Millar
CBE
Birth nameRobin John Christian Millar
Born (1951-12-18) 18 December 1951
OriginTottenham, London, England
GenresPop, R&B, rock, Latin, indie, punk, jazz, film music
Occupation(s)Record producer, arranger, composer, musician, academic, c-suite advisor, mentor, non-executive director, public speaker, philanthropist
Instrument(s)Keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, drums
Years active1975–present

He has developed and run a string of businesses in car hire, music recording, artist management and publishing and is currently Head of Creative Services for Arts Media Worldwide and for the Blue Raincoat Chrysalis group of companies.

He has worked as a fundraiser for vulnerable people for 30 years and in 2012 underwent a 12-hour operation to install a bionic retina in his right eye to help research into future treatment for blindness.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours[1] and knighted in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to music, people with disabilities, young people and charity.[2]

In November 2020 he was appointed Chair of Scope UK, the national charity representing 14 million UK disabled people. In February 2021 he rode 407 virtual miles on an exercise bike to raise £40,000 for Scope, whose shops were closed down in the pandemic.

Early life

Millar was born with retinitis pigmentosa at St George's Hospital, which is now The Lanesborough Hotel, Hyde Park Corner.[3] Despite poor vision he attended mainstream state school Enfield Grammar School from 1963 to 1970 and then read law at Queens' College, Cambridge from 1970 to 1973.[3]

Musical career

After gaining his law degree,[4] Millar moved into the music industry initially as a guitarist and artist in a band called The Blue Max alongside Danny Peyronel with Charisma Records,[5] eventually putting out records with Atlantic and WEA and working with ex-Velvet Underground singer Nico. After working with post punk band Weekend as a record producer in 1982, he purchased Morgan Studios studio 1 and studio 2 to found Power Plant Studios in 1984.[6] Millar's breakthrough came in 1984 with seven consecutive Top 10 albums; including Eden by Everything but the Girl, Working Nights by Working Week, and multi-platinum selling Diamond Life, the debut album by the band Sade.

Production on other significant hit records in the period include Fine Young Cannibals (Fine Young Cannibals), Colin Hay (Looking for Jack), Big Country (The Seer), Patricia Kaas (Je te dis vous), Kane Gang, Bhundu Boys and Randy Crawford amongst others. Millar arranged the music for the film, And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...[7] Millar's song "Rich and Poor", co-composed with Colin Vearncombe, was recorded by Randy Crawford on her 1989 album, Rich and Poor.[8] His 2003 solo album, Kiss and Tell, was released by the Nujaz record label.[9]

Millar trained as a recording engineer, classical and jazz musician and arranger, and has trained dozens of engineers and producers, including Jim Abbiss, the producer of Arctic Monkeys and Adele.

In 2010 he produced the 12 track MP4 album "Cross Party". In 2016 he brought together MPs, professional musicians, students and the Thurrock Community Chorus for a charity recording of "You can't always get what you want" in aid of the Friends of Jo Cox MP.[10]

Millar is a patron of The Music Producers Guild, which he helped found in 1987.

Millar was executive producer of the major worldwide series of concerts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Édith Piaf, with shows in Carnegie Hall, New York, The Royal Albert Hall London and major venues in France, Germany, Russia, Europe and the Far East. He has been collaborating with Australian singer/songwriter Eran James whom he met through Elton John in 2010.

He is currently Chairman of Chrysalis Records Ltd and Blue Raincoat Music, who handle the careers of Cigarettes After Sex and Phoebe Bridgers and the music recordings of Ultravox, Sinead O’Connor, The Specials, Debbie Harry, Billy Idol's Generation X and Everything But The Girl and a song catalogue that includes "The Best" global hit sung by Tina Turner and music from the original Woodstock Festival.

Charity work promoting skills and training

In July 2017 Millar became a founder trustee of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.[11] He was a founder trustee of the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural from 2008 to 2011 and was instrumental in the project to build The Backstage Centre, part of High House Purfleet. Co-located with the Royal Opera House's Bob and Tamar Manoukian Production Centre, the centre hires out its Sound Stage and recording studios to professional companies whilst hosting training courses for young people in backstage skills. In 2016 Millar led a charity recording from the Centre involving MPs, the local choir and professional singers to raise funds in memory of MP Jo Cox.[12] From 2011 to 2015 Millar was a trustee of Creative & Cultural Skills. In 2020 he was appointed chair of the disability charity Scope (charity).[13] He has produced music events for charity including when a Patron at UNHCR[14] and was a global ambassador for Leonard Cheshire Disability for eight years.[15]

Personal life

He was married to American painter Ellen Trillas from 1979 to 1997.[citation needed] They had two children. He has been with his wife Shelley for twenty five years.

Millar appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 20 March 2015.[16]

Production credits

In addition to those listed above, Millar's work as a record producer includes credits on the following:

References
  1. "No. 59446". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2010. p. 8.
  2. "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N2.
  3. "Robin Millar". Evening Standard. 10 June 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  4. "Your stories – Robin Millar". Creative and Cultural Skills. Archived from the original on 30 July 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  5. "The Blue Max - The Blue Max". Discogs.com. 1978. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  6. Massey, Howard (2015). The Great British Recording Studios. Lanham, Maryland, US: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-4584-2197-5.
  7. Robin Millar at IMDb
  8. "Randy Crawford - Rich & Poor Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  9. "Kiss & Tell". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  10. White, Adam (15 December 2016). "Who's behind the Jo Cox charity single? Plus, everything else you need to know". Telegraph.co.uk.
  11. "Board Members : Robin Millar". Instituteforapprenticeships.org. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  12. "Music stars and MPS record charity song for late MP Jo Cox". 17 November 2016.
  13. "Trustees | Disability charity Scope UK". Scope.org.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  14. "Artists call for support as UNHCR launches Darfur concert".
  15. "Leonard Cheshire Annual Report 2017/8" (PDF). Leonardcheshire.org. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  16. "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Robin Millar". BBC.
  17. Credits, AllMusic
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