By Monk
Peter Collins, regarded as one of the most technically gifted producers of his generation, has died at the age of 73, following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Himself a former musician, Collins first cut his production teeth with mod revivalists The Lambrettas in 1980, going on to work, alongside Pete Waterman, with chart-topping pop acts such as Nik Kershaw, Musical Youth, The Belle Stars, Tracey Ullman and Matt Bianco.
Having first worked in the genre on 1982’s ‘The Cage’ album by Tygers Of Pan Tang, Collins used his break with Waterman in 1985 to concentrate on rock artists, going on to produce three albums with Gary Moore (‘Run For Cover’, ‘Wild Frontier’ and ‘After The War’) and four with Rush – ‘Power Windows’, ‘Hold Your Fire’, ‘Counterparts’ and ‘Test For Echo’ – on which he also worked as musical arranger.
However, he arguably made his biggest mark on the progressive metal scene when helmed Queensryche’s breakthrough ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ album and it’s follow-up, ‘Empire’.