Chris Tsangarides

Chris Tsangarides learned to play piano as a child and studied trumpet at the Royal Academy of Music,[1] before studying economics at college.[2] He started his career in the music business in 1974, as an apprentice at Morgan Studios in London, one of the major independent recording studios in the UK at the time.[2][3] Initially, he worked there as a tape operator and his first job as sound engineer was on Judas Priest’s second album Sad Wings of Destiny in 1976.[2][3][4] He engineered the British hit single “Naughty Naughty Naughty” in 1977, a pop song by Joy Sarney, whose success gave him much more work as engineer at the studio.[2] In that period he engineered and mixed albums of new wave acts, such as Japan’s Obscure Alternatives (1978),[4] and jazz fusion releases of Colosseum II and Brand X.[2] Tsangarides befriended Colosseum II guitarist Gary Moore, who requested him for his solo album Back on the Streets (1978) and gave him his first job as producer.[2] The song “Parisienne Walkways”, sung by Phil Lynott and contained in the album, was a hit in the UK.[5] Tsangarides continued working with Moore on live albums and produced Back to the Blues in 2001.[2][6]
When Morgan Studios 3 and 4 were acquired by Zomba Management in 1980 and rechristened Battery Studios,[7] Tsangarides went to work for the new owners and became part of a team of “in-house producers” which included Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Martin Birch, Tony Platt and Nigel Green.[4]
During the 80s and up to the 90s, Tsangarides became famous on the hard rock and heavy metal scene for the quality of his job and for having produced signature albums, like Anvil’s Metal on Metal in 1982,[1][8] Thin Lizzy’s acclaimed final studio release Thunder and Lightning in 1983[1][9] and the Grammy nominated Painkiller by Judas Priest in 1990.[1][6][10] He worked in those years with Black Sabbath,[6] Ozzy Osbourne, Helloween,[6] Y&T, Tygers of Pan Tang, Anthem, Sinner, King Diamond, Ian Gillan and produced also Bruce Dickinson’s first solo album Tattooed Millionaire (1990).[3][8]
Beside his work with metal bands, Tsangarides recorded songs for artists of other musical genres,[3] like singer/songwriter Joan Armatrading, pop star Tom Jones, goth rockers The Lords of the New Church, Killing Joke and keyboardist Jan Hammer. In 1987, he remixed the song “Never Let Me Down Again” by synthpop band Depeche Mode for a release as single.[8]
The 90s saw Tsangarides still at work with metal bands like Exodus, Overkill, Judas Priest again with the album Painkiller, the Japanese Loudness and guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen,[8] but he also produced the British gothic rock act The Sisters of Mercy and the alternative rock groups The Tragically Hip and Concrete Blonde.[3][6] For the latter band, he also produced and engineered the hit single “Joey” in 1990.[11] In 1999, Tsangarides collaborated as a performer and songwriter with Shin Hae-chul in the techno/metal act Monocrom. They made one album and did an arena tour in Shin’s native Korea.[2]
At the beginning of the 2000s, Tsangarides had his own music company called Rainmaker Music, which included a recording studio with the same name in South London.[2] He later opened another studio called The Dump in Kenley, Surrey, which operated until January 2006.[12] Among others, New Model Army, Leanne Harte, Winters Bane and Glyder recorded there.[12]
In 2006, Tsangarides opened a new recording facility, Ecology Room Studios in Kent, England, where he went on producing new and established acts on lower budgets than in corporate studios.[4] The Strawbs, Mountain, Steeleye Span, The Quireboys, Biomechanical, Spit Like This, Savage Messiah and many other bands recorded at his new facility. LunarMile, whose members include Toni-Marie Iommi (daughter of Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi) and Alex Hill (son of Judas Priest’s Ian Hill), recorded there in June 2007.[13]
Tsangarides is featured in Sacha Gervasi’s documentary film Anvil! The Story of Anvil, released in 2009, while at work on the album This Is Thirteen, which Anvil recorded at Ecology Room Studios.[4]
In February 2012, Tsangarides announced details of a new record label Dark Lord Records formed with The Strawbs frontman Dave Cousins.[14] The first release on the new label was Normalityville Horror by Spit Like This on 21 May.[14]
Tsangarides occasionally plays guitar and performs live with the metal band Exmore / More 2012.[8]
Technical accomplishments[edit]
Tsangarides is known for a guitar recording technique called “the vortex”, which he first used when recording the guitar of John Goodsall for the Brand X album Moroccan Roll in 1977.[2] He later refined the technique, which gives to the recordings a random panning effect similar to a reverb, but obtained through a particular placement of microphones.[4][8]
Bands worked with[edit]
[15]
The Amorettes
Angra
Anthem
Anvil
Aqualung
Joan Armatrading
Barón Rojo
Biomechanical
Bitches Sin
Black Acid Souls
Black Sabbath
Blanco Diablo
Blind Tiger
Kevin Borich
Brand X
Briar Rose
Broon
Ethan Brosh
Capital Sun
Chemicals of Democracy
Colosseum II
Comsat Angels
Concrete Blonde
Crowning Glory
Dave Cousins
Sara Craig
Delfins
Depeche Mode
Bruce Dickinson
Exmore / More 2012
Exodus
Fear of God
Fortnox ( Epic)
Samantha Fox
Ian Gillan
Girl
Girlschool
Glyder
Helloween
Hex A D
The Human League
Jailcat
Japan
Tom Jones
Judas Priest
Killing Joke
King Diamond
King Lizard
The Lords of the New Church
Loudness
Magnum
Yngwie Malmsteen
Mama’s Boys
Matisse
Matt Mays and El Torpedo
Nick Miller
Mimas
Gary Moore
Mountain
New Model Army
N.EX.T
Ozzy Osbourne
Gilbert O’Sullivan
Overkill
Praying Mantis
The Prime Movers
Quartz
The Quireboys
Rock Goddess
Savage Messiah
Shin Hae-chul/Monocrom
Sinner
The Sisters of Mercy
Slave Raider
Spider
Spit Like This
Steeleye Span
Stella Maris
Stonebringer
Strawbs
John Sykes
Thin Lizzy
ThisGirl
Barbara Thompson
Tigertailz
TNT
Tokyo Blade
The Tragically Hip
Tygers of Pan Tang
UFO
Virgil & the Accelerators
Winters Bane
Wretched Soul
Y&T
See also[edit]
List of record producers
References[edit]
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a b c d “Interviews: Chris Tsangarides”. Rockpages.gr. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
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a b c d e f g h i j “Heavy Rain”. Sound on Sound. July 2001. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
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a b c d e Kurutz, Steve. “Chris Tsangarides biography”. AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
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a b c d e f Saxon, Jonathan (March 2009). “Ecology Now!” (PDF). Tape Op (70): 30–36. Retrieved 2015-01-25.[permanent dead link]
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^ “Search for Parisienne Walkaways”. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
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a b c d e Krannila, Ville; Asell, Jari; Tattari, Kimmo (August 2009). “Chris Tsangarides”. K. K. Downing Steel Mill. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
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^ Harris, Tony (2011). “Morgan Studios”. Philsbook.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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a b c d e f Matera, Joe (20 July 2011). “Chris Tsangarides: ‘I Love Crazy Ideas That Sometimes Work'”. Ultimate Guitar Archive. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
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^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector’s Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector’s Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
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^ “33rd Grammy Awards – 1991”. Rock on the Net.com. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
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^ “Bloodletting Billboard Singles”. AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
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a b “Chris Tsangarides record producer video interview”. Record Production.com. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
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^ “Tony Iommi’s Daughter’s Band Lunarmile ‘On A Break'”. Blabbermouth.net. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
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a b “Spit Like This Signs with Dark Lord Records”. Blabbermouth.net. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
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^ “Chris Tsangarides credits”. AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
External links[edit]
Chris Tsangarides on Encyclopedia Metallum
Chris Tsangarides on Discogs
Authority control
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Categories: British audio engineersBritish record producersBritish people of Greek Cypriot descentEnglish people of Greek Cypriot descentLiving people1956 births