Alan Tarney

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Alan Tarney is an English producer, songwriter and musician, born in 1945 in Workington. He spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia. There he met drummer Trevor Spencer, with whom he would collaborate for years. In 1967 he played bass in James Taylor Move, one of Australia's first psychedelic rock bands. In 1969 he moved to England, where he became a session musician and songwriter. From 1973 to 1977 he was a member of The Shadows.

Music and breakthrough

The big breakthrough came in 1979. Tarney wrote and arranged We Don't Talk Anymore for Cliff Richard, which reached number 1 in England. He then produced Richard's albums I'm No Hero (1980) and Wired for Sound (1981), and hits such as January February by Barbara Dickson and More Than I Can Say by Leo Sayer. His sound was clear and melodic, with tight arrangements that fitted radio perfectly.

Influence

In the mid-1980s he began working with the Norwegian band A-ha. The first version of their single Take On Me, made with Tony Mansfield, failed to catch on. Tarney recorded the song again with the band and that version became a worldwide hit. He co-produced the debut album Hunting High and Low (1985) and produced Scoundrel Days (1986) and Stay on These Roads (1988). Later he also worked with Squeeze, The Dream Academy and Pulp. Tarney shows how much a producer can mean: the same song can, in other hands, be a flop or a classic.

Listening

In School of Rock

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• Mixtape 7: The 1980s^NL Reader