Stephen Street: The Producer Who Shaped the Sound of The Smiths, Blur and The Cranberries
British producer and engineer Stephen Street, now 66, has worked with a run of landmark UK bands including The Smiths, Blur and The Cranberries. He recently spoke with Miranda Sawyer on the Talk '90s To Me Podcast about his journey from doing floor carpentry at Island Records' Fallout Shelter studio to becoming one of the most important behind-the-scenes voices in British indie rock history.
From New Wave Bassist to Studio Engineer
Street was born in London and started out playing bass in the new wave ska band Bim. The group's 1982 single "Blind Lead the Blind" was produced by The Clash guitarist Mick Jones, but it didn't achieve much commercially. Around age 22, Street pivoted to audio engineering and managed to get into Island Records' Fallout Shelter studio on St Peter's Square, starting out doing odd jobs during a renovation.
"My first job was painting the new wood panelling on the walls," Street recalled on the podcast. "But it felt good, because I felt like I was part of the team." After years of on-the-job training, he worked his way up to become a staff engineer at the studio.
Meeting The Smiths: Spring 1984
In spring 1984, Island's studio began taking outside bookings to help pay off the cost of a new mixing console — which is how Street ended up working with The Smiths, then generating buzz on Rough Trade. Over three days of recording, the band completed "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now," which would go on to reach the UK Top 10, along with the B-side "Suffer Little Children."
During the making of the 1985 album Meat Is Murder, the band opted to self-produce and brought Street in as engineer. Guitarist Johnny Marr wrote in his memoir Set the Boy Free that Street "played an important role in our recording career," noting that the two were close in age and shared a drive for excellent recordings. Since none of the band members could drive, Street also ended up acting as their chauffeur, ferrying them around Liverpool in a white limousine.
Context
According to Far Out Magazine, Street's production work later extended to Blur's Britpop era and some of The Cranberries' signature releases, spanning two peak eras of British indie rock across the 1980s and 1990s. The full interview is available on the Talk '90s To Me Podcast.