| Mark Wirtz |
Mark P. Wirtz is an Alsatian born (3 September 1943 in
Strasbourg) pop music record producer, composer, singer,
musician, author, and stand-up comedian. As a producer, Wirtz's
most famous output is from the mid to late 1960s, when he worked
at Abbey Road Studios with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick,
under contract to EMI. Wirtz is chiefly known for the never-
completed A Teenage Opera concept album, from which only four
songs were ever finished before a concerned EMI pulled the plug
on the project. (RPM, with Wirtz's direct involvement, pieced
together all surviving songs from the unfinished project and issued
it on CD.)
His signature style has been described by Mojo magazine as "Phil
Spector scoring Camberwick Green", a sound most perfectly
encapsulated on Wirtz's masterpiece, "Grocer Jack (Excerpt from
A Teenage Opera)". This 1967 hit single is a densely orchestrated
psychedelic marvel, which tells the whimsical and sad tale of an
old man ("Grocer Jack"), who dies unappreciated, except by the
children who loved him and miss him. The completed Teenage
Opera songs all feature similar themes, usually based around
elderly craftsmen carrying on with their outdated traditions (a
weatherman, a steam train driver) to the ambivalence – and
sometimes ridicule – of the community. The project has been
likened to a British SMiLE, due largely to its near mythical status
as a "lost" masterwork, but also because of the singularity of its
creator's strange and magical vision.
Wirtz was married to singer Ross Hannaman for a period of time.
Together, they wrote and recorded the song "Barefoot and Tiptoe"
under the name The Sweetshop, erroneously believed to have
been from A Teenage Opera. Wirtz and Hannaman divorced in
1969, at which time Wirtz teamed up with poetry writer Maria
Feltham to record Wirtz's concept album, Philwit and Pegasus, for
composer Les Reed's Chapter One label. In 1970, Wirtz left
London for the United States where, based in Hollywood, he
joined fellow UK expatriate producer Denny Cordell at his Shelter
Records company as associate producer and engineer.
Mark Wirtz began his music career while studying art at London's
Fairfield College of Arts and Sciences. A friend, with whom he
was sharing a flat in neighbouring Wallington, recalls those days:
"Three things already stood out in him at the age of seventeen: his
prodigious talent as an artist – he could paint original work in the
style of any of the grand masters; his natural ability as a musician
– he could pick out any tune on the piano by ear; and his zany
sense of humour – he idolized the comedian Jerry Lewis."
He studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, when
his college rock band, The Beatcrackers, were signed to a
recording contract in 1963 as Mark Rogers and the Marksmen by
EMI producer Norman Newell. By 1965 Wirtz had started his first
independent production company, releasing records that have
since become enduring classics.
In 1967, Wirtz accepted EMI veteran producer/A&R chief Norrie
Paramor's offer to join EMI Records as in-house producer.
Working at Abbey Road Studios alongside the Beatles and Pink
Floyd (the latter whom he was instrumental in signing to the
company), Wirtz wrote and produced landmark recordings by
artists such as Keith West, Tomorrow,[1] and Kippington Lodge.
Most notably, he reached global success with his production of
excerpts from the first ever Rock Opera, A Teenage Opera.
Though never allowed to be completed or released as an entire
work, the opera's excerpts "Grocer Jack," "Sam," "Weatherman,"
and "Theme" became legendary trail-blazers, which have not only
captivated several generations of music fans, but influenced and
inspired artists and musicians worldwide.
Strasbourg) pop music record producer, composer, singer,
musician, author, and stand-up comedian. As a producer, Wirtz's
most famous output is from the mid to late 1960s, when he worked
at Abbey Road Studios with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick,
under contract to EMI. Wirtz is chiefly known for the never-
completed A Teenage Opera concept album, from which only four
songs were ever finished before a concerned EMI pulled the plug
on the project. (RPM, with Wirtz's direct involvement, pieced
together all surviving songs from the unfinished project and issued
it on CD.)
His signature style has been described by Mojo magazine as "Phil
Spector scoring Camberwick Green", a sound most perfectly
encapsulated on Wirtz's masterpiece, "Grocer Jack (Excerpt from
A Teenage Opera)". This 1967 hit single is a densely orchestrated
psychedelic marvel, which tells the whimsical and sad tale of an
old man ("Grocer Jack"), who dies unappreciated, except by the
children who loved him and miss him. The completed Teenage
Opera songs all feature similar themes, usually based around
elderly craftsmen carrying on with their outdated traditions (a
weatherman, a steam train driver) to the ambivalence – and
sometimes ridicule – of the community. The project has been
likened to a British SMiLE, due largely to its near mythical status
as a "lost" masterwork, but also because of the singularity of its
creator's strange and magical vision.
Wirtz was married to singer Ross Hannaman for a period of time.
Together, they wrote and recorded the song "Barefoot and Tiptoe"
under the name The Sweetshop, erroneously believed to have
been from A Teenage Opera. Wirtz and Hannaman divorced in
1969, at which time Wirtz teamed up with poetry writer Maria
Feltham to record Wirtz's concept album, Philwit and Pegasus, for
composer Les Reed's Chapter One label. In 1970, Wirtz left
London for the United States where, based in Hollywood, he
joined fellow UK expatriate producer Denny Cordell at his Shelter
Records company as associate producer and engineer.
Mark Wirtz began his music career while studying art at London's
Fairfield College of Arts and Sciences. A friend, with whom he
was sharing a flat in neighbouring Wallington, recalls those days:
"Three things already stood out in him at the age of seventeen: his
prodigious talent as an artist – he could paint original work in the
style of any of the grand masters; his natural ability as a musician
– he could pick out any tune on the piano by ear; and his zany
sense of humour – he idolized the comedian Jerry Lewis."
He studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, when
his college rock band, The Beatcrackers, were signed to a
recording contract in 1963 as Mark Rogers and the Marksmen by
EMI producer Norman Newell. By 1965 Wirtz had started his first
independent production company, releasing records that have
since become enduring classics.
In 1967, Wirtz accepted EMI veteran producer/A&R chief Norrie
Paramor's offer to join EMI Records as in-house producer.
Working at Abbey Road Studios alongside the Beatles and Pink
Floyd (the latter whom he was instrumental in signing to the
company), Wirtz wrote and produced landmark recordings by
artists such as Keith West, Tomorrow,[1] and Kippington Lodge.
Most notably, he reached global success with his production of
excerpts from the first ever Rock Opera, A Teenage Opera.
Though never allowed to be completed or released as an entire
work, the opera's excerpts "Grocer Jack," "Sam," "Weatherman,"
and "Theme" became legendary trail-blazers, which have not only
captivated several generations of music fans, but influenced and
inspired artists and musicians worldwide.
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