Robin Millar
| Robin Millar CBE |
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robin John Christian Millar |
| Born | 18 December 1951 |
| Origin | Tottenham, London, England |
| Genres | Pop, R&B, Rock, Latin, Indie, Punk, Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, arranger, composer, musician, DJ, academic, Public Speakers, Philanthropist, Film Music |
| Instruments | keyboards guitar bass percussion drums |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Associated acts | Sade, Fine Young Cannibals, Big Country, Everything But The Girl, Randy Crawford, Patricia Kaas |
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' [Boy George]. Born in London to an Irish father and West Indian mother he has conquered blindness to become one of the world's most successful ever 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. He has developed and run a string of successful businesses in car hire, music recording and publishing and is currently Executive Group Chairman of the Blue Raincoat Chrysalis Group, which handles 150 artists and thousands of iconic songs, including “Simply The Best” and “Nothing Compares To You”.
He has worked as a fundraiser for vulnerable people for 30 years and in March 2012 Millar 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.
Millar was born with retinitis pigmentosa at St George's Hospital, which is now The Lanesborough Hotel, Hyde Park Corner. Despite poor vision he attended mainstream state school Enfield Grammar School from 1963–70 and then read law at Queens' College, Cambridge from 1970–73.
After gaining his law degree, Millar moved into the music industry initially as a guitarist and artist, putting out records with Atlantic and WEA and working with ex-Velvet Underground singer Nico. He found his niche as a record producer in the early 1980s when he started Power Plant Studios. Power Plant became the most fashionable haunt of the London 1980s music scene. After working with post punk band Weekend in 1982, his breakthrough came in 1984 with seven consecutive Top 10 albums; including Eden by Everything but the Girl, Working Nights by Working Week, and especially the multi-platinum selling Diamond Life by Sade.
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