Biography
Mike Chapman partnered with Nicky Chinn to rank among the era’s top songwriters throughout the 1970s and later built a substantial reputation behind the mixing desk. He entered the world in Queensland, Australia, on April 15, 1947, and was already performing with Tangerine Peel when he first joined forces with Chinn. Under the guidance of RAK Records founder Mickie Most, the pair quickly delivered a string of hits for Sweet (“Ballroom Blitz”), Suzi Quatro (“Stumblin’ In”), New World (“Living Next Door to Alice”), and Mud (“Tiger Feet”), ultimately amassing more than forty U.K. chart entries across the decade.
Chapman and Chinn moved into production with Sweet’s Destination Boulevard and simultaneously oversaw an album for Quatro. Working independently, Chapman scored his initial success with Nick Gilder’s 1978 release City Nights, which spawned the hit “Hot Child in the City.” His decisive breakthrough arrived with Blondie’s Parallel Lines, whose single “Heart of Glass” reached the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. He returned to the band in 1979 to produce Eat to the Beat and also guided Pat Benatar’s debut In the Heat of the Night, which featured the major single “Heartbreaker.” Those efforts were eclipsed, however, by his work on the Knack’s Get the Knack—one of the fastest-selling debut albums in pop history and the source of the enduring track “My Sharona.”
In 1979 Chapman and Chinn launched their own imprint, Dreamland, which ceased operations after less than two years; the songwriting team nevertheless continued to supply hits such as Exile’s “Kiss You All Over” and Toni Basil’s “Mickey.” Chapman’s output diminished in subsequent years, though he still helmed projects for Debbie Harry, the Divinyls, and Lita Ford.
Chapman and Chinn moved into production with Sweet’s Destination Boulevard and simultaneously oversaw an album for Quatro. Working independently, Chapman scored his initial success with Nick Gilder’s 1978 release City Nights, which spawned the hit “Hot Child in the City.” His decisive breakthrough arrived with Blondie’s Parallel Lines, whose single “Heart of Glass” reached the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. He returned to the band in 1979 to produce Eat to the Beat and also guided Pat Benatar’s debut In the Heat of the Night, which featured the major single “Heartbreaker.” Those efforts were eclipsed, however, by his work on the Knack’s Get the Knack—one of the fastest-selling debut albums in pop history and the source of the enduring track “My Sharona.”
In 1979 Chapman and Chinn launched their own imprint, Dreamland, which ceased operations after less than two years; the songwriting team nevertheless continued to supply hits such as Exile’s “Kiss You All Over” and Toni Basil’s “Mickey.” Chapman’s output diminished in subsequent years, though he still helmed projects for Debbie Harry, the Divinyls, and Lita Ford.
Albums