Mark Moffatt
Mark Moffatt | |
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| Born | 1950 Maryborough, Queensland, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | September 6, 2024 (aged 73–74) Nashville, Tennessee, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1966–2024 |
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Mark Moffatt (1950 – September 6, 2024) was an Australian record producer, musician, engineer, and songwriter, widely recognized as one of Australia's most experienced and respected music producers. He was a Grammy Award nominee and produced more tracks featured in the APRA Top 30 Songs of All Time than any other single producer, as well as working with 15 ARIA Hall of Fame inductees. Moffatt was also an accomplished guitarist and pedal steel player, and served as a founding board member and three-term president of the Americana Music Association. He was awarded the CMA Global Achievement Award for his international efforts in music.
Early life and education
Mark Moffatt was born in 1950 in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. He began playing in bands in Bundaberg in 1966. He later moved to Brisbane, where he was significantly influenced by the local blues scene.
Career
Moffatt's musical journey took him from Brisbane to London in 1972, where he worked on Denmark Street, a hub for music publishers and studios, and took on a job at Top Gear guitar store. During this time, he also gained experience playing sessions and working as an engineer at Central Studio and Regent Sound.
Returning to Brisbane in 1976, Moffatt's career took off when he produced The Saints' groundbreaking debut single "(I'm) Stranded". This production is widely considered a seminal moment in Australian punk rock and helped launch his career. Following this, he had production stints with EMI and TCS Studios in Melbourne.
In 1980, Moffatt relocated to Sydney, where he became the director of artist development and in-house producer for Festival Records, then Australia's largest independent record label. During his decade-long tenure at Festival, he worked with many prominent Australian artists and received his first "Best Producer" nomination. His work throughout the 1980s and 1990s led to consistent chart success. At the 1996 ARIA Awards, seven of the fifteen awards went to artists produced by Moffatt. He was frequently recognized in industry polls, including Rolling Stone's "Best Producer" and ARIA's "Producer of the Year" categories.
Moffatt moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1996, at the invitation of Ten Ten Music president Barry Coburn. He quickly integrated into the Nashville music scene, serving as director of A&R at Ten Ten Music until 2001, where he played a crucial role in the development of superstar Keith Urban. He also became a significant figure in the independent sector of the Nashville industry, achieving the highest number of independent Music Row chart entries in 2005.
Beyond production, Moffatt was an accomplished songwriter, having written two #1 Australian country singles, two Top 10 pop singles, and two Top 10 UK & European singles. He also composed scores for seven major motion pictures and television series. In his later career, he formed the blues-rock duo Kilo Band with Australian rock singer John "Swanee" Swan, releasing an EP and several music videos. At the time of his death, he was finalizing a full album for Kilo.
Moffatt was dedicated to fostering international connections in music. He was a founding board member of the Americana Music Foundation and served three terms as Board President of the Americana Music Association, working to bridge the international divide and educate on the genre's history. From 2014 until his retirement in June 2024, he was APRA AMCOS' inaugural Nashville member relations representative, creating opportunities for Australian artists in Nashville.
Discography
Moffatt's extensive production credits include:
- The Saints – "(I'm) Stranded" (1976)
- Mondo Rock – "Chemistry" (1981), "Summer Of '81" (1981), Chemistry (album, 1985)
- Pat Wilson – "Bop Girl" (1983)
- Tim Finn – "Fraction Too Much Friction"
- Jenny Morris – "You I Know"
- Dave Dobbyn & Herbs – "Slice of Heaven"
- Yothu Yindi – "Treaty" (1991)
- Paul Norton – "Stuck On You"
- Eurogliders – "No Action"
- Anne Kirkpatrick – "Out of the Blue"
- Keith Urban / The Ranch
- Divinyls
- Neil Finn
- Ross Wilson
- Slim Dusty
- Tony Joe White
- Stacey Earle
- O'Shea – "Smash"
- Jasmine Rae
- Deana Carter
- Leslie Mills
- Gloriana
- Adam Gregory
- Jason Aldean (remixes)
- Cleopatra Wong – "Thank You"
- QED – "This One" (feat. Jenny Morris)
- Shane Howard – The River
- Richard Clapton
- Brian Cadd
- Kilo Band (with John Swan) – "Did It Really Hurt"
Personal life
Mark Moffatt was a proud Australian, originally from Maryborough, Queensland. He was survived by his wife, Lindsey, his son Geordie, his step-daughter Dana, and two granddaughters. He also had extended family in Australia.
Moffatt died on September 6, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 74, after battling pancreatic cancer for over a year. On the day of his passing, Australian magazine The Music hailed him as "an unsung hero of Australian music."
Awards and nominations
- Grammy Award nominee
- "Best Producer" nomination (1980)
- CMA Global Achievement Award
- Featured in Rolling Stone's "Best Producer" polls
- Featured in ARIA "Producer of the Year" categories
References
External links
This article "Mark Moffatt" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Mark Moffatt. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
