Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Palmer.
Hi Tim, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started my career as an intern, basically making coffee and tea and assisting at a studio in London called Utopia Studios. It was the start of the ’80s so it was an exciting and hedonistic time for the music industry and music in general. On my very first day, I was sent into the main recording room with the task of finding out what drinks everybody requested. To my surprise Steve Wonder was recording, so one of the first cups of coffee I made was for Stevie!
I loved music so much, I had played in bands in high school and was an avid collector of albums, so to spend my days watching and helping artists make albums was dreamy. I learned so much by watching, I was able to see what a ‘Producer’ actually did and that was inspiring. I was fortunate to assist many legendary producers and engineers including Rod Temperton (who wrote and produced songs like ‘Thriller’ for Michael Jackson and ‘The State of Independence’ for Donna Summer)
The hours were long and we often finished so late that there was no time to go home, so the studio couch became my bed.
Because I enjoyed the work so much and really put in the hours, I was fortunate to become a second engineer pretty quickly. I got to work with some classic 80’s artists including Spandau Ballet, Nick Kershaw, Kajagoogoo, and Dead or Alive. During the Kajagoogoo album, I was trusted with quite a lot of the engineering duties (as the producers wanted to leave early)
This led to the opportunity to record the band’s B-sides on my own (remember B-Sides?) I came up with some production ideas and asked the manager for a ‘Co-Producer’ credit which he agreed to. This turned into an early stroke of luck for me as the record label EMI liked the B-Sides so much they put one on the actual album. The album went GOLD and I went from being the assistant on the record to producing a song. I got my first GOLD #1 album in 1983 at the age of 21.
There is no denying that there is a lot of luck in the music industry. You need that intersection of opportunity and ability. Being connected to great songs is the best bet for success as a Producer or Mixer. You can mix a poor song perfectly and nobody will care or probably hear it, but mix a great song and your work could actually be heard and you may have a hit.
Pretty soon I was a full-blown engineer at Utopia Studios and one day I was asked to work on a session with a new group and do some mixing. Again, fortunately for me the new band was called ‘Cutting Crew’ and one of the songs was ‘I Just Died in your Arms’ The mix came out great, and more importantly, it was a perfect 80’s pop song. The song was a huge hit and has become an 80’s Classic. I was in the right place at the right time, but the mix was pretty good, even if I say so myself.
My career was now headed in the right direction, but I had ended up being known for ‘Pop’ production and my real love was producing Rock music or Alternative music.
At one point I was working in a dreadful studio somewhere in the Midlands of UK producing an unrewarding ‘Pop’ record when my fortune suddenly changed. Turns out Robert Plant (yes, the guy from Led Zeppelin) was looking for a new engineer to co-produce his next solo record. He wanted somebody who knew all about sequencers and all the modern technology. After working with Kajagoogoo and bands like Dead or Alive, I was the perfect fit. The next thing I know was I was talking to Robert and soon co-producing his albums. The second album I made with Robert Plant ‘Now and Zen’ was a top 10 US hit and his biggest-selling solo record. As nice as the success was, the best thing was that the door was now open for me to make records with bands and I happily took full advantage of that!
I made a lot of ‘Alternative’ rock albums with bands like The Mission UK, James, The House of Love, Gene loves Jezebel and Big Country, etc.
Around this time, David Bowie had grown tired with his latest incarnation as an 80’s pop star. He wanted to have fun again and make a more challenging, less polished, and more dangerous sounding record. He and his guitar player, Reeves Gabrels were asking around for ideas on somebody to work with, and fortunately for me Billy Duffy from The Cult recommended me. I had a phone chat with David Bowie and when I realized it wasn’t a dream, I was off to Montreux, Switzerland to start work on his next record (that ultimately became the first Tin Machine album)
Often in the line of work, you end up getting a gig because an artist liked a record you may have made with another artist. It turns out that Roland from Tears for Fears really loved the Tin Machine albums that I had been part of, so in 1992 I started producing my first record with TFF. It has been a long relationship (Elemental, Raoul and the Kings of Spain, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending) and even last year I mixed the title track from their latest 2022 album ‘The Tipping Point’.
In the early ’90s, I made the brave move to relocate in Los Angeles to have a fresh start in the USA. I was starting to get opportunities to ‘Mix’ records. This was a new role in the industry as traditionally the Producer and engineer of an album would finish the job and mix the record also. I loved coming in at the end of a project and offering my vision of how I felt a song or album could be mixed. Around this time, I mixed the debut album from Pearl Jam. It was a fun record to mix and I had no idea how successful it would become! Last year it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The mixing took off for me and I kept busy mixing rock records through the ’90s and 2000s, projects like Sponge, Stabbing Westward, and Concrete Blonde. In 1999 I mixed some songs for Michael Hutchence, sadly after his death, and one song featured a duet with Bono. Bono loved the mix and called me to say how happy he was soon I was on my way to Dublin to work with U2. I got to mix ‘Elevation’ and ‘Stuck in a Moment’ from the ‘All that you can’t leave behind’ album. This was a tough album to work on, too many opinions and too much time. The record came out great though and we were all nominated for Grammys as the record was up for ‘Album of the Year’.
After so much mixing, I was happy to go back to producing albums for a spell. Ozzy Osbourne was looking for a producer so I went to meet him at his home in Beverly Hills. We hit it off so well, especially as we were both from the UK and the next few months were an incredible journey. This album was the first time that I got to contribute to the songwriting, and I can assure you, writing with Ozzy was rewarding and hilarious. ‘Down to Earth’ was very well received and was a Platinum album.
Around 2005 the industry was changing and many producers and mixers were moving towards working from their own studios to be more cost-effective. I decided to try and put something together in Hollywood. The studio was great, but it was getting expensive so I decided to look for a place I could move to that was 1. A music city, 2. A good place for my family with good schools etc. and 3. A more economical environment. I had been to Austin for SXSW so I knew something about TEXAS. My family and I came to visit over a few weekends, loved it, and decided to go for it! We sold our house in LA and drove to Texas in our minivan only knowing one person here! It was an adventure that we haven’t regretted.
I built a mix room in Austin and continued mixing and producing. I have worked with local artists like Blue October and Jackie Venson, but the majority of my work is now sent from other parts of the world. Working remotely has its pluses and minuses, but I am happy here.
I have recently been mixing for The Psychedelic Furs and through the success of this album, I have now celebrated having a Top 10 album on the UK charts for five decades!
My career has been divided into two parts. The first half working in the analog world in traditional studios, and the second half working in the digital world, eventually building my own spaces.
After such a rewarding career in our industry, I have made it a priory to ‘give back’ to younger music makers and help the industry in any way I can.
In Austin, I have become active at The Recording Academy and many other non-profit organizations.
I joined The Recording Academy in 2012, I have been a board member and have served two terms as a National Trustee. I have also served on the advisory board for the Austin non-profit ‘Black Fret’. Like opera, symphony, ballet, or theatre, Black Fret believes local music is an art and deserving of support. In four years, Black Fret has surpassed $2 million in grants and performance payments to Austin musicians.
I do believe strongly in giving back and encouraging future music creators, and I have taken the time to Mentor budding engineers and have spoken in many schools and Universities about music production and the industry.
My service at The Recording Academy Trustee has led to many opportunities to speak to Legislators and representatives. I have taken meetings and tried to make lawmakers aware of the importance of acts like ‘The Music Modernization act’ and ‘The Cares act’ to support all music creators.
I am grateful to all the musicians and members of the music community that I have been fortunate to work with through the years. I have had the same manager (Sandy Roberton) for nearly 40 years and I am happy to report that I am still very busy mixing and working with artists.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Adapting to an ever-changing industry and its methodology. Working in the world of analog and having to change everything to work in digital format and work from a home studio.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I produce, mix and write music from my studio here in Austin. I specialize in taking somebody’s song and finishing up the production, offering a fresh perspective, adding new parts or arrangements, and finally mixing.
I am proud of the fact that I am still able to do what I love after 42 plus years,
What sets me apart from others is the fact that I have so much experience and success working with a combination of legendary artists and brand-new talent.
I am a sucker for detail and I won’t release any song that I am not totally happy with.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I read lots of music biographies, and I enjoy comedy podcasts. You need to be able to laugh doing this for a living. I am a big fan of comedians like Ricky Gervais, Dana Carvey, David Mitchell, and Eddie Izzard.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.timpalmer.com
- Instagram: @timpalmermixer
- Facebook: Tim Palmer
- Twitter: @timpalmermixer
Image Credits
Andrew Chan Mark Del Castillo
