Four decades
in the studio.

Early beginnings

Before any record deals, the first "real" production work I remember doing was putting together some performance club tracks for Carol Jiani around 1992/93, a larger-than-life, loveable diva I'm still in touch with today. We recorded a few tracks together over the years, though nothing that ever saw release.

My first deal came with David Howells' DACO label, just after he'd left PWL, in 1994. "All Cried Out" for Jamie Watson hit #98 UK Top 100, #13 Record Mirror, and #1 Hi-NRG for over eight weeks across the UK and Europe in 1995; the video was filmed at Granada Studios on the set of The Borrowers. That year I also co-produced the Motown-style "Private Number (Slammin' Jammin' Mix)" with Edwin Starr, a bonus track on The Supremes' Supremely Yours.

Q:dos

Formed Q:dos in 1996 with my longtime production partner John Purser and Gatecrasher's Scott Bond, signing to Stress Records. Our debut, "Nocturnal Spirit", appeared on the Gold-selling Kiss In Ibiza '96. Key remixes followed for Shimmon & Wolfson's "Sundance" (#23 UK Top 40, 1997) and Karmasutra's "Storm In My Soul" Sony S3 (#1 Club Charts UK/Germany/Italy). "I'm Not Going Home" debuted at #8 Music Week Dance Singles with a Judge Jules remix, later appearing on Gatecrasher Black (BPI Silver, 1998), Trance Nation Anthems (BPI Gold, 2003) and Gatecrasher Classics 2 (BPI Gold, 2005).

Songwriting and production

I've picked up songwriting credits with so many artists, but a definite highlight was "Is It Any Wonder", co-written with John Purser and Cie Hamilton. It launched Claire Johnston's solo album Fearless (Sting Music-Universal, 2001), produced by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven & Marius de Vries (2 x Grammy, 2 x BAFTA and Ivor Novella Award winner), peaking at #10 SA Top 40. We were the only unknown writers on the album alongside pop royalty like Billy Steinberg (Like a Virgin) and Pam Shayne (Genie in a Bottle), to name just two.

From 2002–2005 I ran a studio on Sherlock St, Birmingham, called Madhouse Recording Studios, working with a very varied client base, from Pontins Holiday Group, Birmingham Pride and many local venues to local acts, DJs and producers such as Danny Wynn, Will Smith and Ste Savage, to name a few.

In 2006 Purser and I re-recorded Angie Brown's "I'm Gonna Get You", hitting #2 Music Week Promo Charts. That year was spent promoting Angie's single at MIDEM in France, POPKOMM Germany and Sónar Festival in Barcelona.

As Blair

My most recent releases have been with friend and co-producer Paul Morrell, alongside Jennifer Bolton, who co-writes and takes care of vocal arrangements and lead vocals. Highlights include "Feel My Love" (Happy? Recordings, 2025), "Bad For Me" (Hot Source Records, 2016) and the Bizarre Inc. remix of "Such A Feeling".

Capital Radio Network playlisted "Bad For Me" for 18 months, which is pretty amazing for what's technically a club record, even if it is radio friendly.