Chris Kimsey

Chris Kimsey
Born
Christopher Kenneth Kimsey

(1951-12-03) 3 December 1951 (age 73)
Battersea, London, England
Occupation(s)Record producer, audio engineer, musician
Notable credits
  • The Rolling Stones: Some Girls, Sticky Fingers, Tattoo You
  • Peter Frampton: Frampton Comes Alive!, Frampton
  • Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin III
  • Duran Duran: Liberty
  • Marillion: Misplaced Childhood
  • Killing Joke: Laugh? I nearly Bought One!

Christopher Kenneth Kimsey (born 3 December 1951) is an English musician, engineer, and record producer, best known for his work with the Rolling Stones.

Career

Born in Battersea, London, England, Kimsey began his career in 1967 at Olympic Studios as a tea boy, before working his way up to assistant engineer. Kimsey engineered albums by The Rolling Stones, Ten Years After, Spooky Tooth, Emerson Lake & Palmer and others.[1] He was the recording engineer and mixing engineer for Peter Frampton's bestselling 1976 double live album Frampton Comes Alive!.[2]

Kimsey's role expanded from engineering to include production responsibilities with Peter Frampton, the Rolling Stones, and others. Having done engineering on the Stones' albums Sticky Fingers (1971) and Some Girls (1978), he assisted Mick Jagger and Keith Richards closely in preparing the Stones' 1981 album Tattoo You, leading to engineering and associate producer credits on the album. His work with the Stones continued as he co-produced Undercover and Steel Wheels.[1]

Kinsey's engineering and production credits include Jimmy Cliff, the Cult, Peter Tosh, JoBoxers, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, the Psychedelic Furs, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, New Model Army, Anti Nowhere League, INXS, Duran Duran, Golden Earring, Soul Asylum, Diesel Park West, the Chieftains, the Proclaimers, Louis Bertignac, and Ash.[1][3]

For Bill Wyman's self-titled third album from 1982, Kimsey served as co-producer (with Wyman) and engineer. He also mastered the album with Ted Jensen, mixed it, sang backing vocals and co-wrote the song "Jump Up" with Wyman.[citation needed]

In the 1980s, Kimsey produced Killing Joke and contributed to the band's commercial success with the more melodic and mainstream albums Night Time and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns[4]

Kimsey produced Marillion's 1985 album Misplaced Childhood and its follow-up, Clutching at Straws, and is credited as having contributed backing vocals to "Incommunicado" from that album.[5]

Kimsey is also credited for mixing the performances of Elton John, Paul McCartney and Cliff Richard & the Shadows on the Knebworth double album in 1990.[citation needed]

In 2008, Kimsey was a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[6]

In 2014, Kimsey returned to Olympic Studios, where he began his career. He is serving as the sound consultant and engineer for its live concert series and recording facilities.[7]

Selected work as a producer

Served as producer, co-producer or associate producer on the following records[3] (in chronological order):

Selected work as a mix engineer

Served as the mix engineer, or assistant-engineer on the following records[3] (in chronological order):

References

  1. ^ a b c Buskin, Richard (April 2004). "Classic Tracks: The Rolling Stones 'Start Me Up'". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  2. ^ Bartlett, Bruce; Bartlett, Jenny (2007). Recording Music on Location. Focal Press. p. xviii. ISBN 978-0-240-80891-8.
  3. ^ a b c "Chris Kimsey | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  4. ^ Hämäläinen, Jyrki (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. pp. 94–118. ISBN 978-1912587407.
  5. ^ "Marillion - Clutching At Straws". Discogs.com. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  6. ^ "7th Annual IMA Judges". Independent Music Awards. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  7. ^ "HHB supplies DiGiCo SD11 to Olympic Cinema". Hhb.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  8. ^ Brown, Jake (2014). Behind the Boards II: The Making of Rock 'n' Roll's Greatest Records Revealed. Hal Leonard. p. 190. ISBN 9781480392588. Retrieved 9 October 2014.