Tony Swain

Birthday: 20 January 1952, London, England, UK

Englishman Tony Swain was originally a TV cameraman for Jim Henson's The Muppet Show. While working on the programme he met another cameraman, Steve Jolley. Both men left television production an ...Show More

Englishman Tony Swain was originally a TV cameraman for Jim Henson's The Muppet Show. While working on the programme he met another cameraman, Steve Jolley. Both men left television production and moved into pop music songwriting and production. The first big Swain and Jolley hit was the 1981 Body Talk album for the pop group Imagination. The record was a sophisticated fusion of emerging new wave synth pop and Motown R'n'B arrangements. Today it is considered a landmark in dance music. Following this success, Swain and Jolley went on to produce all of Imagination's albums up until 1984, as well as Spandau Ballet's True and Parade albums, Allison Moyet's Alf album and perhaps most famously, their work with Bananarama. Swain and Jolley produced four songs for Bananarama's 1983 debut album, Deep Sea Skiving, the entire self titled album from 1984 and all but two songs from the group's 1986 True Confessions album. Additionally Swain and Jolley also produced the title song for the William Friedkin movie To Live and Die in LA, performed by Wang Chung.The sound of Swain and Jolley was very unique for 1981-1986. The producers trademarks included the use of Linn drums, expertly programmed to seamlessly simulate the mid-tempo, "cha-cha" percussion of a Motown/Phil Spector record, dominating analog synth bass, often with Steve Jolley handling close-miked electric and acoustic guitars and Tony Swain on keyboards performing epic piano breaks.After the 1986 True Confessions album for Bananarama, Swain and Jolley parted company. Swain went on to work with Ricki Wilde on Kim Wilde's records (Swain's signature piano breaks and synth bass can be heard clearly on Kim's 1988 hit Hey Mr. Heartache), before becoming an A&R chief for Universal records. Hide