Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley have been producing hit songs together since 1979. Their success lies in the combination of Alan’s unique talents as an engineer, and Clive’s gift for song writing and arranging. Together, they have produced great music for artists like Elvis Costello, Bush, David Bowie, They Might Be Giants, Morrissey, Catatonia ,Republica, No Doubt, The Holloways, Hothouse Flowers, and others.
Clive Langer began his career in 1975 as the guitarist and songwriter for the British cult band, Deaf School. The band released three albums resulting in a dedicated fan base; however, the group disbanded in 1978. In 1979, Clive went solo with backing band, The Boxes, and released an album entitled, I Want The Whole World.
It was in 1979 that Clive and Alan first collaborated to produce Madness’ debut LP, One Step Beyond. The combination of Madness and Clive and Alan’s production proved to be a successful formula which would spawn a 30 year relationship twenty top twenty singles (and counting), and more time spent on the charts during the 80s then any other artist.
While Clive and Alan were busy producing hit songs with Madness, they also found the time to produce Dexys Midnight Runners hit album (Too-Rye-Ay, 1982), Elvis Costello’s first American success (Everyday I write the Book, 1983), and David Bowie and Mick Jagger’s 1985 hit song, Dancing in the Street.
The 90s brought phenomenal success overseas with the release of Bush’s album, Sixteen Stone. The album generated massive sales in the United States and sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
As a songwriter, Clive is able to explore the songs with the players on a deeper level; during the production of these albums, Clive was able to utilize his talents to help craft some of the biggest hits of the 80s. He has also co-written songs with likes of Madness, Morrissey, and co-wrote with Elvis Costello the classic song ‘Shipbuilding’ which David Bowie and John Peel have famously listed among their favourite songs of all time . Clive began composing for movie soundtracks in the 80s with the film, Absolute Beginners (1986). Since then, Clive has also composed for the films, Still Crazy (1998), and Brothers of the Head (2005).
Recently, the duo has produced Madness album, The Liberty of Norton Folgate, which has been certified gold and reached the top 5 in the UK chart.