Rupert Hine – Immunity

Anyone with access to a radio or a TV would be familiar with the work, rather than the name, of the late British musician and mega-producer Rupert Hine. An early adopter of electronic music production techniques he worked on a lot of the music loved the world over, by artists including; Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, Rush, and some of the 80s biggest acts and best songs. He also worked extensively with prolific Trident Studios engineer Stephen W. Tayler, and would go on to become an important technical pioneer both visually and musically over several decades.

An example of this was in 1990 when he travelled around the world with Tayler for the BBC’s environmental awareness raising One World One Voice production, which recorded and filmed over 400 musicians on location. Stretching the studio technology of the day to the absolute limit, they created a musical collage for a ground-breaking one-hour TV special. The artists included Sting, Lou Reed, David Gilmour, Joe Strummer and Wayne Shorter among many others, and the result was an undeniable impact on popular culture, broadcast simultaneously to a television audience of over half a billion viewers.

After his original group (Quantum Jump) disbanded in the late-70s, Hine would release a trilogy of lyrically introspective and dark, synth-based art-rock solo albums: IMMUNITY (1981) ★★★★★, WAVING NOT DROWNING (1982) ★★★★, and THE WILDEST WISH TO FLY (1983) ★★★. The schizophrenic masterpiece Immunity with its eerie sleeve jacket and disquieting moods was the best of the bunch – again co-produced alongside Tayler. Highlights include the sublime Australian hit single Misplaced Love, featuring a terrifying Marianne Faithful guest vocal, the catchy title track with Phil Collins on drums, and the dramatic album closer Make a Wish.

While Rupert Hine’s music may not have gained the degree of popularity to that of his contemporaries such as Peter Gabriel or Bob Geldof, and while daring and unconventional, Immunity is truly an original piece of art-rock delivered with a force and impact still fresh to this day.

tracks:

1. I Hang On to My Vertigo
2. Misplaced Love
3. Samsara
4. Surface Tension
5. I Think a Man Will Hang Soon
6. Immunity
7. Another Stranger
8. Psycho Surrender
9. Make a Wish

Further Listening:

♥    The Fixx: Shuttered Room (1982) – producer

♥    Little Heroes: Watch the World (1983) – producer

♥    Tina Turner: Private Dancer (1984) – co-producer, collaborator

♥    Howard Jones: Dream Into Action (1985) – producer

♥    Rush: Roll the Bones (1991) – producer, collaborator