Stephen Street - Influence

Influence

Street has a reputation for producing commercially viable music. As his role became increasingly prominent on the Smiths' studio albums, their sound evolved from the relatively cheap production of their Street-less eponymous debut to the polished sound of Strangeways, Here We Come. This also worked to the advantage of Babyshambles, who had struggled to achieve wide mainstream success due to lack of tight production on their debut album, from Clash guitarist Mick Jones, and lack of discipline in the studio - Street tightened the sound and enforced strict rules in the studio, and this resulted in a more commercially and audibly pleasing record, which went on to achieve great success and lift Babyshambles onto a higher platform and to gain new fans and much desired radio play.

Street helped transform Blur from a tentative, obscure London outfit into international rock stars. He produced some of their best known songs to date, including ("There's No Other Way", "Girls & Boys", "Country House", "Beetlebum", and "Song 2") and some of their arguably most popular albums, Parklife, The Great Escape and Blur.

Stephen Street is sometimes referenced by the artists he works with in their songs. In the song "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" from Strangeways, Here We Come, Morrissey's final words are, "OK Stephen? Do that again?" Also, the Blur song "Death of a Party" from Blur is, according to some, a reply to the Smiths song "Death of a Disco Dancer". Both songs were produced by Street and have comparable qualities.