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Richard Niles
Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, record producer, guitarist, broadcaster, and journalist.
Niles was born May 28, 1951, in Hollywood. He is the son of Tony Romano, a composer, singer, and guitarist who writes films, books, plays, and lectures in screenwriting. His father worked with Bing Crosby, Ray Heindorf, Bob Hope, Cole Porter, Pat Silver-Lasky, Frank Sinatra, and Joe Venuti. His parents divorced in 1959, and three years later the 8-year-old Niles moved with his mother to London. He grew up in the care of his mother and stepfather, Jesse Lasky Jr., a poet, playwright and screenwriter. Niles toured Britain with his group Pure Wings (1969–1970) and then decided to study. According to Niles in an interview with HitQuarters, although his parents were critical about his choice to become a musician, they eventually supported his studies. In 1975 he received a degree in composition from the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied with Gary Burton, Michael Gibbs, Pat Metheny, and Herb Pomeroy. He received his Ph.D. from Brunel University in 2008.
Returning to London in 1975, he signed to Essex Records as a writer, becoming staff arranger and producer of songwriter demos for Essex and EMI Music. This indirectly led to becoming musical director and arranger for Cat Stevens. On British television series for David Essex and Leo Sayer he arranged and conducted for Ronnie Spector, Twiggy, Kate Bush, and Denny Laine. In 1978 as staff arranger for Hansa Records he discovered Sarah Brightman and arranged both his and her first hit, "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper". He has composed, arranged and produced music for Anita Baker, Cilla Black, James Brown, Ray Charles, Cher, Petula Clark, Randy Crawford, Gloria Gaynor, Lulu, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Tears For Fears, Tina Turner, and Deniece Williams. He arranged the Grace Jones album Slave to the Rhythm.[citation needed]
Niles also scored and conducted strings on Depeche Mode songs "Home", "Only When I Lose Myself" and "Surrender" and for Berlin's "Sex Me Talk Me". He wrote arrangements for Pet Shop Boys, Swing Out Sister, Living in a Box, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC, and Was (Not Was). He has worked with Cliff Richard, Barry Manilow, Ray Charles, Stephen Gately, Ronan Keating, and contributed to hits for Wet Wet Wet, Damage, O-Town, OTT, Take That, Boyzone, and Westlife, including their duet "Against All Odds" with Mariah Carey.[citation needed]
He appeared as the leader of the house band, Bandzilla, in Ruby Wax's Channel 4 television series Don't Miss Wax. Bandzilla released an album of big band instrumentals. Bandzilla was the house band for the Michael Ball television series (1994) with Niles as musical director. Niles wrote and arranged for both Joe Cocker and James Brown on this series. As leader of Bandzilla, he released Blue Movies featuring Guy Barker and John Thirkell (Lifetime Records, 1990) and Bandzilla Rises!!! (Bandzilla Records, 2016) co-produced by John Thirkell and featuring Randy Brecker, Leo Sayer, Clarice Assad, Lamont Dozier Jr. and Nigel Hitchcock.
Niles wrote, arranged, and produced music for Pat Metheny, Bob Mintzer, John Patitucci, Jane Monheit and Bob James. Other jazz-oriented work produced by Niles include albums by Morrissey–Mullen and Jim Mullen. Niles released the albums Santa Rita (Sanctuary) and Club Deranged (Nucool).
Niles discovered British R&B singer Clive Griffin producing and co-writing the album Clive Griffin in 1987 followed by TV appearances and concerts supporting Chaka Khan.[citation needed]
In 1999, Niles discovered the Norwegian singer/songwriter Silje Nergaard, producing and co-writing three albums, Tell Me Where You're Going (EMI/Lifetime Records 1990), Cow On The Highway (Toshiba/EMI 1991) and Silje (Toshiba/EMI 1992). Their song "Tell Me Where You're Going" (b/w a duet of the same song with Pat Metheny) was Number 1 in Japan on the J-Wave charts.
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Richard Niles
Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, record producer, guitarist, broadcaster, and journalist.
Niles was born May 28, 1951, in Hollywood. He is the son of Tony Romano, a composer, singer, and guitarist who writes films, books, plays, and lectures in screenwriting. His father worked with Bing Crosby, Ray Heindorf, Bob Hope, Cole Porter, Pat Silver-Lasky, Frank Sinatra, and Joe Venuti. His parents divorced in 1959, and three years later the 8-year-old Niles moved with his mother to London. He grew up in the care of his mother and stepfather, Jesse Lasky Jr., a poet, playwright and screenwriter. Niles toured Britain with his group Pure Wings (1969–1970) and then decided to study. According to Niles in an interview with HitQuarters, although his parents were critical about his choice to become a musician, they eventually supported his studies. In 1975 he received a degree in composition from the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied with Gary Burton, Michael Gibbs, Pat Metheny, and Herb Pomeroy. He received his Ph.D. from Brunel University in 2008.
Returning to London in 1975, he signed to Essex Records as a writer, becoming staff arranger and producer of songwriter demos for Essex and EMI Music. This indirectly led to becoming musical director and arranger for Cat Stevens. On British television series for David Essex and Leo Sayer he arranged and conducted for Ronnie Spector, Twiggy, Kate Bush, and Denny Laine. In 1978 as staff arranger for Hansa Records he discovered Sarah Brightman and arranged both his and her first hit, "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper". He has composed, arranged and produced music for Anita Baker, Cilla Black, James Brown, Ray Charles, Cher, Petula Clark, Randy Crawford, Gloria Gaynor, Lulu, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Tears For Fears, Tina Turner, and Deniece Williams. He arranged the Grace Jones album Slave to the Rhythm.[citation needed]
Niles also scored and conducted strings on Depeche Mode songs "Home", "Only When I Lose Myself" and "Surrender" and for Berlin's "Sex Me Talk Me". He wrote arrangements for Pet Shop Boys, Swing Out Sister, Living in a Box, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC, and Was (Not Was). He has worked with Cliff Richard, Barry Manilow, Ray Charles, Stephen Gately, Ronan Keating, and contributed to hits for Wet Wet Wet, Damage, O-Town, OTT, Take That, Boyzone, and Westlife, including their duet "Against All Odds" with Mariah Carey.[citation needed]
He appeared as the leader of the house band, Bandzilla, in Ruby Wax's Channel 4 television series Don't Miss Wax. Bandzilla released an album of big band instrumentals. Bandzilla was the house band for the Michael Ball television series (1994) with Niles as musical director. Niles wrote and arranged for both Joe Cocker and James Brown on this series. As leader of Bandzilla, he released Blue Movies featuring Guy Barker and John Thirkell (Lifetime Records, 1990) and Bandzilla Rises!!! (Bandzilla Records, 2016) co-produced by John Thirkell and featuring Randy Brecker, Leo Sayer, Clarice Assad, Lamont Dozier Jr. and Nigel Hitchcock.
Niles wrote, arranged, and produced music for Pat Metheny, Bob Mintzer, John Patitucci, Jane Monheit and Bob James. Other jazz-oriented work produced by Niles include albums by Morrissey–Mullen and Jim Mullen. Niles released the albums Santa Rita (Sanctuary) and Club Deranged (Nucool).
Niles discovered British R&B singer Clive Griffin producing and co-writing the album Clive Griffin in 1987 followed by TV appearances and concerts supporting Chaka Khan.[citation needed]
In 1999, Niles discovered the Norwegian singer/songwriter Silje Nergaard, producing and co-writing three albums, Tell Me Where You're Going (EMI/Lifetime Records 1990), Cow On The Highway (Toshiba/EMI 1991) and Silje (Toshiba/EMI 1992). Their song "Tell Me Where You're Going" (b/w a duet of the same song with Pat Metheny) was Number 1 in Japan on the J-Wave charts.