Gus Dudgeon
b. 30 September 1942, Woking, Surrey, England. Dudgeon produced numerous records by UK artists, most notably David Bowie's Space Oddity and all of Elton John's early hits. He began as a studio engineer in London, working on Joe Brown's 1962 hit A Picture Of You and moved to the Decca studios several years later. As assistant to Mike Vernon he engineered numerous R&B recordings and gained a co-producer credit in 1967 on the first album by Ten Years After. Dudgeon then became a freelance producer, working with the Strawbs and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, before gaining recognition for his restrained yet imaginative special effects on Bowie's tale of an astronaut. He was next brought in to work with Elton John on the singer-songwriter's second album. His partnership with John lasted over 12 albums until 1976, when disagreements with John's manager John Reid led to Dudgeon's resignation as a director of Rocket Records. Now well-established as one of the country's top-flight producers, Dudgeon worked with a wide range of artists during the '70s and early '80s including Gilbert O'Sullivan, Ralph McTell, Joan Armatrading, Elkie Brooks, Chris Rea and Steeleye Span. In 1985, Dudgeon was reunited with Elton John, producing his ICE ON FIRE and LEATHER JACKETS albums. In 1992 Gus was working with David Crosby on his third solo album.