Rupert Neville Hine (21 September 1947 – 4 June 2020) was an English record producer and musician. He produced albums for artists including Rush, Kevin Ayers, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Additionally, Hine recorded eleven albums, including those billed under his own name, the pseudo-band name Thinkman, and as a member of the band Quantum Jump; with the latter, he achieved a number 5 hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1979, "The Lone Ranger". Additionally, he composed for film and television soundtracks, including the 1989 Ian Fleming biopic Goldeneye and the black comedy Better Off Dead.
Early life
Hine was born in Wimbledon, London on 21 September 1947. He was the son of Maurice, a timber merchant, and Joan (née Harris), a Red Cross nurse. He grew up in a house full of music; his mother was an amateur ballet dancer and his father an amateur musician who also played drums in a jazz band when he was young. Hine's mother was convinced he would be an architect, but Hine's early ambition was to become a cartographer. Hine started playing in the school band at age 14 and played the mouth organ, mostly because it was the cheapest instrument to buy. He attended St John's school in Horsham, West Sussex, before he moved to King's College School in Wimbledon. He was musically self-taught. For several years Hine wrote songs with MacIver while working at temporary jobs, until he was helped by Deep Purple's bassist Roger Glover, whom Hine knew from Glover's previous band Episode 6. Hine and MacIver were signed to Deep Purple's Purple label. Glover produced Hine's first solo album, Pick Up a Bone (1971). Unfinished Picture (1973) followed, but neither album was successful. However, Hine now became increasingly in demand as an independent producer, first with the 1972 single "Who Is the Doctor", featuring Jon Pertwee narrating over the theme music from TV's Doctor Who. He then produced Yvonne Elliman's album Food of Love (1973), a second world war-themed compilation album called Colditz (1973), and Kevin Ayers's The Confessions of Dr Dream and Other Stories (1974). In 1985, Hine wrote and produced much of the soundtrack for the black comedy film Better Off Dead. Later he and composer Eric Serra wrote "The Experience of Love", the end title song for GoldenEye. His film soundtrack credits also include The Fifth Element (composed by Serra), and The Addams Family.
Hine obtained a number of credits with some of the biggest musicians of his era. In 1984, he topped the UK Albums Chart with Howard Jones' debut album, Human's Lib, and that same year enjoyed his most high-profile achievement with his work on Tina Turner's album Private Dancer, which established Turner as a solo star and sold 20 million copies. Hine produced the Grammy-winning single "Better Be Good to Me" as well as co-writing "I Might Have Been Queen". a compilation from a trio of albums Hine made between 1981 and 1983, Immunity, Waving Not Drowning and The Wildest Wish to Fly, complemented by the lyrics of poet and artist Jeannette-Thérèse Obstoj, and featuring guest contributions from musicians Robert Palmer, Phil Collins and guitarist Phil Palmer. The album has been re-mastered by sound engineer Stephen W Tayler, who had recorded, mixed and co-produced the original albums. To recognise the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday in July 2015, the Art of Peace Foundation commissioned Hine to produce Songs for Tibet II, to celebrate and honour the Dalai Lama's vision. A follow-up to the Grammy-nominated Songs for Tibet that Hine produced in 2008, artist contributions came from Sting, Peter Gabriel, Lorde, Kate Bush, Elbow, Duncan Sheik, Howard Jones, The Family Crest, Ed Prosek, Of Monsters and Men, Bob Geldof, Crystal Method, Rival Sons, Eleanor McEvoy and Hine himself.
In 2017, Hine was appointed Chairman of the Ivor Novello Awards, presented annually by The Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA).
On 30 August 2019, Esoteric Recordings (part of Cherry Red Records) issued "Fighting Apathy With Shock", a "best of" chosen by Hine from his Thinkman project, the albums The Formula (1986), Life Is A Full Time Occupation (1988) and Hard Hat Zone (1990) all with lyrics by Jeannette Obstöj (1949-2015). Re-mastering of the collection is by Stephen W Tayler who co-produced the original albums. Although Hine performed nearly all the music himself, there are contributions from The Fixx's Jamie West-Oram, Stewart Copeland of The Police and Café Jacques' vocalist Chris Thomson.
Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, Wilson Phillips and Dusty Springfield are among the artists who have recorded Hine's songs. Hine has also directed videos for the artists he has produced. He was an early adopter of electronic music production techniques, and Hine was a founding member of Music Producers Guild, the International MIDI Association and a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the US. He has sat on the boards of committees for BASCA and the Ivors Academy.
Hine had quadruple bypass surgery in 2010 and was diagnosed with renal cancer the following year. He died at his home in Wiltshire on 4 June 2020 at the age of 72. He is survived by his wife Fay and his son Kingsley from a previous marriage.