Biography
Tony Visconti's stature as a leading producer during the glam rock period took shape through his celebrated collaborations with David Bowie and T. Rex. His upbringing in Brooklyn, New York, featured an introduction to the ukulele at age five, at which point he mastered music notation ahead of switching to guitar in his teenage years. Leaving high school at fifteen, he performed with Ricardo & the Latineers along the Catskills circuit and rose to prominence as a sought-after guitarist in New York City venues. Membership in the Speedy Garfin Band carried him through the Southwest, after which he spent time with the revived Crewcuts; a gig in Tulsa, Oklahoma, introduced him to Siegrid, soon his wife and duet partner, and the two returned together to New York City. Under the name Tony & Siegrid the pair issued the 1967 local hit "Long Hair," yet the follow-up single "Up Here" flopped, resulting in an offer for Visconti to become house producer at the Richmond Organization label.
A session alongside British producer Denny Cordell for Georgie Fame led Visconti to move to London in 1968, where he oversaw T. Rex's second album Prophets, Seers & Sages and, the next year, Bowie's Space Oddity. Although early-1970s projects with Badfinger, the Strawbs, and Gentle Giant ensued, Bowie and T. Rex remained the artists whose trajectories stayed most closely linked to his own. For Bowie he guided The Man Who Sold the World, Diamond Dogs, and the standout Young Americans; for T. Rex he handled the consecutive landmarks Electric Warrior and The Slider. Marc Bolan's death in 1977 ended T. Rex abruptly, yet Visconti persisted with Bowie through the close of the decade on the "Berlin trilogy" comprising Low, Heroes, and Lodger; their final major undertaking together arrived with 1980's Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps).
Entering the 1980s, Visconti ventured into fresh territory by producing Jon Anderson's Animation, the Boomtown Rats' Mondo Bongo and V Deep, and Altered Images' Bite. Later in the decade he directed the Moody Blues' 1986 return The Other Side of Life, which yielded the hit "Your Wildest Dreams"; additional albums with the group followed, and the Moodies occupied the bulk of his attention for the rest of the decade. Though his profile receded during the 1990s, earlier achievements continued to shape younger artists, a connection recognized when former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire enlisted him for the Seahorses' 1997 debut Do It Yourself; that same year he also collaborated with Sparks on Plagiarism.
Steady activity through the 2000s produced an extensive catalog spanning cult favorites and newer acts. He worked with Prefab Sprout on 2001's The Gunman & Other Stories, then rejoined David Bowie for 2002's Heathen and the subsequent year's Reality. Also in 2003 he produced Dean & Britta's L'Avventura. The following year saw Hugh Cornwell's Beyond Elysian Fields and Manic Street Preachers' Lifeblood, yet Morrissey's 2006 Ringleader of the Tormentors drew the widest notice in some time. Ongoing partnerships included multiple records each with Kristeen Young and Alejandro Escovedo, plus albums for Semi Precious Weapons, Richard Barone, and Kaiser Chiefs. Bowie nevertheless remained his foremost collaborator, resulting in the singer's 2013 comeback The Next Day; Visconti likewise produced Blackstar, Bowie's final album, released in 2016.
A session alongside British producer Denny Cordell for Georgie Fame led Visconti to move to London in 1968, where he oversaw T. Rex's second album Prophets, Seers & Sages and, the next year, Bowie's Space Oddity. Although early-1970s projects with Badfinger, the Strawbs, and Gentle Giant ensued, Bowie and T. Rex remained the artists whose trajectories stayed most closely linked to his own. For Bowie he guided The Man Who Sold the World, Diamond Dogs, and the standout Young Americans; for T. Rex he handled the consecutive landmarks Electric Warrior and The Slider. Marc Bolan's death in 1977 ended T. Rex abruptly, yet Visconti persisted with Bowie through the close of the decade on the "Berlin trilogy" comprising Low, Heroes, and Lodger; their final major undertaking together arrived with 1980's Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps).
Entering the 1980s, Visconti ventured into fresh territory by producing Jon Anderson's Animation, the Boomtown Rats' Mondo Bongo and V Deep, and Altered Images' Bite. Later in the decade he directed the Moody Blues' 1986 return The Other Side of Life, which yielded the hit "Your Wildest Dreams"; additional albums with the group followed, and the Moodies occupied the bulk of his attention for the rest of the decade. Though his profile receded during the 1990s, earlier achievements continued to shape younger artists, a connection recognized when former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire enlisted him for the Seahorses' 1997 debut Do It Yourself; that same year he also collaborated with Sparks on Plagiarism.
Steady activity through the 2000s produced an extensive catalog spanning cult favorites and newer acts. He worked with Prefab Sprout on 2001's The Gunman & Other Stories, then rejoined David Bowie for 2002's Heathen and the subsequent year's Reality. Also in 2003 he produced Dean & Britta's L'Avventura. The following year saw Hugh Cornwell's Beyond Elysian Fields and Manic Street Preachers' Lifeblood, yet Morrissey's 2006 Ringleader of the Tormentors drew the widest notice in some time. Ongoing partnerships included multiple records each with Kristeen Young and Alejandro Escovedo, plus albums for Semi Precious Weapons, Richard Barone, and Kaiser Chiefs. Bowie nevertheless remained his foremost collaborator, resulting in the singer's 2013 comeback The Next Day; Visconti likewise produced Blackstar, Bowie's final album, released in 2016.
Albums
