BIOGRAPHY

Phil Harding at PWL Studios in the mid-1980s

911 | ABC | AMII STEWART | BANANARAMA | BAND AID II | BASIA | BELINDA CARLISLE | BLUE MERCEDES | BROTHER BEYOND | BOYZONE | CHIC | CLIFF RICHARD | DIANA ROSS | CLIMIE FISHER | CURIOSITY | DEAD OR ALIVE | DEBBIE GIBSON | DEBBIE HARRY | DEPECHE MODE | DEUCE | DIVINE | DOLLAR | DONNA SUMMER | DUSTY SPRINGFIELD | EAST 17 | EIGHTH WONDER | ERASURE | FIVE STAR | GARY MOORE | GINA G | GODLEY & CRÈME | HAZELL DEAN | HOLLY JOHNSON | IMAGINATION | JASON DONOVAN | JERMAINE STEWART | JESUS JONES | JIMMY RUFFIN | JIMMY SOMERVILLE | JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN | KAVANA | KILLING JOKE | KIM APPLEBY | KYLIE MINOGUE | LET LOOSE | LISA B | LIBERTY X | LONNIE GORDON | LORNE BALFE | MATT BIANCO | MEL & KIM | NIK KERSHAW | NITZER EBB | OTT | PEPSI & SHIRLIE | PET SHOP BOYS | PETER ANDRE | PRINCESS | RICK ASTLEY | ROGER DALTREY | ROXETTE | ROZALLA | SAMANTHA FOX | SINITTA | SONIA | SYBIL | TAKE THAT | THE BELLE STARS | THE BLOW MONKEYS | THE CLASH | THE COOL NOTES | THE FOUR TOPS | THE JACKSON FIVE | THE THREE DEGREES | THELMA HOUSTON | TOYAH | T'PAU | TRACEY ULLMAN | 2WO THIRD3 | ULTRA | VOICE OF THE BEEHIVE | WORLDS APART

Phil Harding started in the music industry aged 16 at London's Marquee Studios in 1973, where he got to work as an assistant engineer under the guidance of top producers on albums for artists such as Elton John, Kiki Dee and Barry Blue. As Phil’s career progressed, a long list of credits began to accumulate, with artists as diverse as The Clash, Killing Joke, Toyah, Amii Stewart and Matt Bianco, all taking advantage of Phil’s fast-growing reputation as a top engineer.

By 1984, a newly-formed production team at The Marquee - Stock/Aitken/Waterman - was added to the list. Phil engineered and mixed their first chart successes, Divine and Hazell Dean, and their breakthrough international hit and first No. 1 single, Dead Or Alive's 'You Spin Me Round'. Moving across to the now-famous PWL Studios in London, 'The Hit Factory', their success was unstoppable - for artists such as Rick Astley, Mel & Kim, Bananarama, Pet Shop Boys and Kylie Minogue. Phil's partnership (from 1986) with Ian Curnow in the basement studio of PWL saw them become internationally-renowned remixers/producers, with multiple UK and American singles and club chart successes for a huge list of artists, including Diana Ross, Depeche Mode, The Jackson 5, Erasure, The Four Tops, Five Star, Chic, Jesus Jones, John Travolta & Olivia Newton John, ABC, Imagination, Climie Fisher, Donna Summer, Voice Of The Beehive and Debbie Harry.

In 1992, Phil left PWL to set up his own production company, P&E Music, with Ian Curnow at The Strongroom studio complex in London. A further deluge of hits followed as producers and industry 'go-to' remixers. Even when occasionally working under a number of new aliases such as ‘CHAPS’ and ‘Power Syndicate’, success came for artists such as East 17 (including 1994 Christmas No. 1, 'Stay Another Day'), Deuce, 911, Caught In The Act, Let Loose and Boyzone (including the 1996 No.1 single, 'Words').

Since the 2000s, Phil became closely involved in music education and was appointed co-chair of JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Support), involved in masterclasses, accreditations and course planning; as well as being a director of the MPG (Music Producers' Guild).

During the last decade, Phil has worked with Lamont Dozier in Los Angeles mixing Cliff Richard's 'Soulicious' album, published the book, 'PWL From The Factory Floor' with an accompanying 'Phil Harding Club Mixes of the 80s' CD. In 2017, he completed a PhD doctorate in Music Production at Leeds Beckett University.

Phil's music production team, PJS Productions (with Julian Wiggins and Simon Dalton), has recently completed projects for Holly Johnson, Belinda Carlisle, Samantha Fox, Curiosity, Mel & Kim and Rozalla.

In 2019, Phil's new book, 'Pop Music Production' was published (in the Routledge Press academic series, 'Perspectives on Music Production'), which examines the pop music culture, business, songwriting and production processes around his work in the 1990s.

2020 has seen Phil embark on a tour of University lectures around the UK, star in an 'In Conversation With...' event and feature in further radio, TV and press interviews. Working once again with Ian Curnow, Phil has recently remixed Lorne Balfe's tracks for the Tetris movie (2023) and the theme of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024).