Phil Harding (producer)

Phil Harding (born 1957) is an English audio engineer, producer and remixer, best known for his extended collaboration with keyboardist and programmer Ian Curnow. Harding had a robust career prior to joining forces with Curnow, and together they became a pop mix powerhouse for many British bands. At one point they were offered the task of the first House Music remix of the Chic hit "Le Freak".

The highlight of the duo's career is their 1980s work for the highly successful record label PWL, and its creative core at the time: productions (later Stock/Waterman productions).

Harding started in the music industry aged sixteen at the Marquee Studios in 1973. There he worked with some of the top producers in the world as they recorded some of the great albums of the day.

As Harding’s career progressed, a list of credits soon started to stack up with artists as diverse as The Clash, Killing Joke, Toyah and Matt Bianco, all taking advantage of Harding’s ever-growing reputation as a top engineer. At the start of the 1980s, the name of a newly formed production team was added to the list – Stock/Aitken/Waterman.

Harding engineered and mixed their first chart successes (Divine and Hazell Dean) then their breakthrough and first No 1 single, "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive.

Further hits came from artists such as Mel and Kim, Bananarama, Rick Astley, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys and Kylie Minogue.

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