South African record producer
Mutt Lange
Born Robert John Lange
(1948-11-11 ) 11 November 1948 (age 77) Origin Johannesburg , South AfricaGenres Occupations Record producer songwriter Years active 1968–present Spouses
Olga Anthony
(divorced)
Musical artist
Robert John "Mutt "Lange (/ˈ l æ ŋ / LANG ; born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer. He is known for his work inrock music as well as co-writing and producing various songs forShania Twain , his ex-wife. Her 1997 albumCome On Over , which Lange produced, is the best-selling country music album, the best-selling studio album by a female act, the best-selling album of the 1990s, and the ninth best-selling album from the United States.[ 1] He has either been a producer for or worked for artists includingAC/DC ,Def Leppard ,the Michael Stanley Band ,the Boomtown Rats ,Foreigner ,Outlaws ,Michael Bolton ,Heart ,the Cars ,Bryan Adams ,Huey Lewis and the News ,Billy Ocean ,Celine Dion ,Britney Spears ,the Corrs ,Maroon 5 ,Lady Gaga ,Now United ,Nickelback , andMuse .
Robert John Lange was born inMufulira ,Northern Rhodesia (todayZambia ), and grew up inDurban, South Africa . His parents areGerman . His mother came from a prosperous family and his father was a mining engineer. Nicknamed "Mutt" at an early age, he grew up a fan of country music, in particular the singerSlim Whitman . While studying at Belfast High School in what is nowMpumalanga province, he started a band in which he played rhythm guitar and sang harmonies.
After hisnational service (1966–1967), Lange formed the band Sound Reason in 1969, together with James Borthwick, a South African TV, stage, and film actor. In 1971, Lange began the group Hocus, recording one album and releasing five singles.[ 2]
In 1978, Lange wrote and producedIpswich Town 'sFA Cup Final single "Ipswich Get That Goal", his connection with the club due to their South Africa-born playerColin Viljoen . The song is derived from a previous recording, "Give That Thang to Me" byPaul Jones (1977), with some parts rearranged and new lyrics.[citation needed ] Beginning production work in 1976, his first major hits came in October 1978 with the UK No. 1 single "Rat Trap " forthe Boomtown Rats , followed in July 1979 withAC/DC 'shard rock albumHighway to Hell (No. 8 UK, No. 17 US). He produced a total of five albums for UK bandCity Boy from 1976 to 1979.[citation needed ]
He produced two more albums with AC/DC, includingBack in Black (1980) which is, as of 2019[update] , thesecond-best-selling album of all time . He also worked with rock groupForeigner on4 , and withDef Leppard on their hit albums,High 'n' Dry ,Pyromania ,Hysteria andAdrenalize , co-writing most of the songs. AfterHysteria , Lange bowed out of working with Def Leppard. In 1999, he returned to working with them in a more limited role, co-writing three tracks for their albumEuphoria , which spawned the single "Promises ", a Number 1 hit on the mainstream rock charts.[citation needed ]
In 1991, he producedBryan Adams 'sWaking Up the Neighbours , including co-writing "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You " for theKevin Costner filmRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves which – with 16 consecutive weeks at the top from 7 July to 26 October 1991 – holds the record for the longest number of consecutive weeks at Number 1 in the UK singles chart. Lange produced the single "Make You " from the albumGreat Escape by Irish singerTara Blaise which was released in May 2008.[citation needed ] In the 2001 television filmHysteria – The Def Leppard Story , actorAnthony Michael Hall portrayed Lange.[citation needed ]
Lange is a strictvegetarian and a follower of theegalitarian teachings ofSant Mat .[ 3] He has not given an interview for decades and prefers to live a secluded life, primarily inLa Tour-de-Peilz , Switzerland.[ 4]
Lange metStevie Vann when the two attended the same school inNorthern Rhodesia in the early 1960s, and the two reconnected a few years later while attending Belfast High School in South Africa.[ 5] They played together in a short-lived band named Hocus, and later married and emigrated to the United Kingdom in the 1970s. The marriage broke down in the 1970s. While married, Lange started a five-year relationship with Oonagh O'Reilly, an Irish-born co-worker. In 1979, he married actress Olga Anthony.
After hearingShania Twain 's music, he got in touch with her and they spent many hours on the phone. They finally met six months after the initial contact and were married on 28 December 1993. Lange is ateetotaler and, as a result, they had non-alcoholic champagne at their wedding. Lange had the song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You " performed as a sign of his dedication to Twain. In August 2001, their son was born.
On 15 May 2008, a spokesman for his employer Mercury Nashville announced that Twain and Lange were separating,[ 6] after Lange had an affair with Twain's then-best friend and secretary Marie-Anne Thiébaud, with whom he reportedly continued the relationship and moved to Switzerland.[ 7] Lange and Twain divorced in June 2010. On 1 January 2011, Twain married Frédéric Thiébaud, the former husband of Marie-Anne.[ 8] [ 4]
In 2011, Lange purchased Coronet Peak Station located on the mountain andski field of the same name inQueenstown, New Zealand onSouth Island . In 2014, he protected 53,000 hectares (130,000 acres) of his land asQueen Elizabeth II National Trust covenant ; this is the largest private conservation covenant in New Zealand.[ 9]
Albums on which Lange produced a majority of the tracks:
Hocus – "The Swan"/"He", 1972 Richard Jon Smith –Superstar Smith , 1974 Spider –Spider , 1975 City Boy –City Boy , 1976[ 10] City Boy –Dinner at the Ritz , 1976 Kevin Coyne –In Living Black and White , 1976Mallard –In a Different Climate , 1976Graham Parker –Heat Treatment , 1976[ 11] Supercharge –Local Lads Make Good , 1976The Motors –1 , 1977City Boy –Young Men Gone West , 1977 Clover –Love on the Wire , 1977Clover –Unavailable , 1977 Supercharge –Horizontal Refreshment , 1977The Boomtown Rats –The Boomtown Rats , 1977The Rumour –Max , 1977Savoy Brown –Savage Return , 1978[ 11] Michael Stanley Band –Cabin Fever , 1978 City Boy –Book Early , 1978 Outlaws –Playin' to Win , 1978The Boomtown Rats –A Tonic for the Troops , 1978 Deaf School –English Boys/Working Girls , 1978City Boy –The Day the Earth Caught Fire , 1979 The Records –Shades in Bed , 1979Supercharge –Body Rhythm , 1979 The Boomtown Rats –The Fine Art of Surfacing , 1979 AC/DC –Highway to Hell , 1979[ 11] Tycoon – Tycoon, 1979Broken Home –Broken Home , 1980AC/DC –Back in Black , 1980[ 11] Foreigner –4 , 1981[ 11] Def Leppard –High 'N' Dry , 1981[ 11] AC/DC –For Those About to Rock We Salute You , 1981 Def Leppard –Pyromania , 1983[ 11] The Cars –Heartbeat City , 1984[ 11] Def Leppard –Hysteria , 1987[ 11] Romeo's Daughter –Romeo's Daughter , 1988Billy Ocean –Tear Down These Walls , 1988Bryan Adams –Waking Up the Neighbours , 1991[ 11] Def Leppard –Adrenalize (executive producer), 1992 Michael Bolton –The One Thing , 1993Stevie Vann –Stevie Vann , 1995 Shania Twain –The Woman in Me , 1995Bryan Adams –18 til I Die , 1996 Shania Twain –Come on Over , 1997 The Corrs –In Blue , 2000[ 10] Shania Twain –Up! , 2002 Shania Twain –Greatest Hits , 2004 Nickelback –Dark Horse , 2008Maroon 5 –Hands All Over , 2010Muse –Drones , 2015Ashley Clark –Ashley Clark , 2015 Produced album tracks [ edit ] Albums on which Lange produced at least one track:
Jessica Jones – "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday", 1972 Stephen – "Right On Running Man", 1974/5 Graham Parker and the Rumour –The Parkerilla , 1978XTC – "This Is Pop" (single version), 1978[ 12] Roman Holliday –Fire Me Up (executive producer), 1984Billy Ocean –Suddenly (executive producer), 1984Billy Ocean –Love Zone (executive producer), 1986 Billy Ocean –Greatest Hits , 1989 Bryan Adams –So Far So Good , 1993Tina Turner –What's Love Got to Do with It , 1993Michael Bolton –Greatest Hits , 1995Celine Dion –All the Way... A Decade of Song , 1999Backstreet Boys –Backstreet's Back , 1997Backstreet Boys –Millennium , 1999 Bryan Adams –The Best of Me , 1999 Britney Spears –Oops!... I Did It Again , 2000Celine Dion –A New Day Has Come , 2002 Bryan Adams –Room Service , 2004 Various artists –Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives , 2005 Anne Murray –Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends , 2007Bryan Adams –11 , 2008 Tara Blaise –Great Escape , 2008Lady Gaga –Born This Way , 2011Zander Bleck –Bring It On , 2012[ 13] Bryan Adams –So Happy It Hurts , 2022 Album tracks written or co-written [ edit ] Britney Spears – "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know " fromOops!...I Did It Again , 2000Bryan Adams – "I Will Always Return", "You Can't Take Me" and "This Is Where I Belong" fromSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron , 2002Bryan Adams – "So Far So Good" fromAnthology , 2005 Bryan Adams andSarah McLachlan – "Don't Let Go" fromSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron , 2002 Bryan Adams,Rod Stewart , andSting – "All for Love " fromThe Three Musketeers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack , 1993 Bryan Adams – "So Happy it Hurts " fromSo Happy It Hurts , 2021 Bryan Adams – "On the Road " from So Happy It Hurts, 2021 Bryan Adams – "Kick Ass" fromSo Happy It Hurts , 2021 Jessica Andrews – "I'll Take Your Heart" fromHeart Shaped World , 1999Backstreet Boys – "If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)" fromBackstreet's Back , 1997Backstreet Boys – "It's Gotta Be You" fromMillennium , 1999 Blackhawk – "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No " fromStrong Enough , 1995Michael Bolton – "Only a Woman Like You" fromOnly a Woman Like You , 2002Michael Bolton – "Said I Loved You...But I Lied " fromThe One Thing , 1993 Claude François – "Stop, Stop, Stop" and "Without Your Love I Can't Live" fromBordeaux Rosé , 1978Clout – "Don't Stop" fromSubstitute , 1978Billy Ray Cyrus – "Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You) " fromStorm in the Heartland , 1994Celine Dion – "If Walls Could Talk ", from: "All the Way... A Decade of Song ", 1999Dana – "Without Your Love (I Can't Live)" – track produced byBarry Blue fromThe Girl Is Back , 1979Def Leppard – All songs onPyromania , 1983Def Leppard – All songs onHysteria , 1987 Def Leppard – "Ring of Fire" and "I Wanna Be Your Hero" fromRetro Active , 1993 Def Leppard – "Promises ", "All Night" and "It's Only Love" fromEuphoria , 1999 Dionne Warwick – "Without Your Love" – track produced byRichard Landis fromFinder of Lost Loves , 1985Dobie Gray – "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" from Dobie's self titled album, 1979 Girls Next Door – "Without Your Love" fromWhat a Girl Next Door Could Do , 1987Heart – "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You " and "Wild Child" fromBrigade , 1990Heart – "Will You Be There (In the Morning) " fromDesire Walks On , 1993 Huey Lewis and the News – "Do You Believe in Love " fromPicture This , 1982Huey Lewis and the News – "It Hit Me Like a Hammer " fromHard at Play , 1991 Lonestar – "You Walked In " fromCrazy Nights , 1997Loverboy – "Lovin' Every Minute of It " fromLovin' Every Minute of It , 1985Reba McEntire – "I'll Take Your Heart" fromMoments and Memories: The Best of Reba , 1998Miss Willie Brown – "You're All That Matters to Me", 2012PJ Powers – "(Let That) River Roll" fromThandeka Talk to Me , 2001Starship – "I Didn't Mean to Stay All Night" fromLove Among the Cannibals , 1989Carrie Underwood – "Who Are You" fromBlown Away , 2012Celtic Woman – "Walk Beside Me", 2015Romeos Daughter – "Don't Break My Heart", "I Cry Myself to Sleep at Night", "Wild Child", "Heaven in the Backseat", 1988 Eddie Money – "Heaven in the Backseat", 1991 The Corrs – "Breathless", 2000 Shania Twain – All songs onThe Woman in Me (except "Leaving Is the Only Way Out"),Come on Over , andUp! Zander Bleck – "Bring It On", 2012 Radioactive – "Move It", 2022 Leah Martin-Brown - "Boys", 2024
Awards for Mutt Lange
Awarded to songwriters
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Studio albums Live albums Compilation albums Video albums Concerts and residencies Television Film Related articles
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