Michael Blakey

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Michael Blakey (born in London, England) is a veteran music producer. He has worked with many top artists including such stars as Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Engelbert Humperdinck, Brooke Allison, Bob Carlisle, and many others.

Blakey is also well known for his drumming, once being described by Modern Drummer Magazine as one of the world's best, he has played with super star artists such as Gloria Gaynor, Level 42, and Tears for Fears. Blakey has been endorsed by numerous drum companies and often used in the advertisements for Mapex Drums, Vater Drum sticks, Attack Drum Heads.

[edit] Early life

Blakey grew up in London, England, at the age of 15 he moved to Spain with his family. He became a studio mainstay at Sonoland Madrid. He performed with artists such as Julio Iglesias and Luis Miguel as well as producing some of Europe's top acts including Radio Cadena Española and Phlox.

His career moved to Germany where he was the in-house producer at Hansa Berlin, producing such hits as Kreuzberger Nachte, Yes and Fever.

Blakey moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s and started Platinum Records which was later acquired by Atico Records. In the late 1990s he co-founded 2KSounds Records which was later to merge with Virgin Records. Blakey was President of the Music Division, until the label was purchased by Big Interactive in 2003.