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Millar, Robin (After Dinner Speakers)
Record Producer / Mixer Arranger, Guitarist / composer  The original 'Smooth Operator' Robin Millar is one of Britain's most successful ever record producers with 150 gold, silver and platinum discs and 44 No1's to his credit, including Sade's iconic 'Diamond Life' album.
His productions have sold well over 55 million copies, grossing over £400 million and have won almost every major global music award including Brit and Grammy Awards. To date, Robin has sold more records than R.E.M. , The Police, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Jay-Z or Black Sabbath. To reflect his musical and campaigning career, Robin was awarded the CBE in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours and inducted as a Fellow of the Association of Professional Recording Services with Peter Gabriel. Robin has been registered blind since the age of 16 and has had no sight since 1985. His amazing life as a punk guitarist, Ferrari renter, nude model, academic and producer of 'Smooth Operator' is still full of adventure, fun and a source of inspiration to others. "I've made and lost many millions, broken all the rules and I've developed a strong and deep understanding of how lucky some of us are. I'm more of a rough diamond than a smooth operator . . . adventure should be real and not imagined." Dubbed 'Golden ears' by Boy George, Robin is the man behind Sade, the producer of the first acid jazz record and of the biggest selling French album of all time. He is the brother-in-law of former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor and was in the studio in the South of France through most of the recording of 'Exile On Main Street'. Notable artists worked with include: Sade (Diamond Life, Promise CDs), Everything but the Girl, Fine Young Cannibals, Black, Big Country, Paul Weller, Gil Scott-Heron, Randy Crawford, Men at Work, Ive Mendes, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello, Paul Young, The Christians, Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, David Gray, Barbara Hendricks, Mario Frangulis, Sir Willard White, Chrissie Hynde, Alison Moyet, Ruthie Henshall, Mick Hucknall, Zakir Hussein, Malcolm Mclaren, Hiroshima, Herbie Hancock, Kate Bush, Working Week, Weekend, Scritti Politti, Martin Stevenson and the Dainties, Kane Gang, Pale Fountains, Catherine Deneuve, Francoise Hardy, Patricia Kaas, Elsa, Ute Lemper, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Levine Hudson, The Bhundu Boys, Tom Robinson, Johnny Marr, 'Absolute Beginners' Soundtrack, Paramount Pictures 'And Now Ladies and Gentlemen' Soundtrack, Global Cinema and TV Ad Campaigns for Renault, Freeserve Wanadoo, Cadbury's and others. More recently, Robin has become equally recognised as an academic, a coach and mentor to FTSE business leaders, one of the most charismatic and in-demand keynote speakers and panellists, a major fundraiser and champion for vulnerable people and as a spokesman to the Government for the whole music sector. In November 2007 he was awarded Honorary Professor status at Thames Valley University. Robin is the only British person to have produced an Olympic Games opening ceremony [Atlanta 1996]. He is Hon. Patron of the Music Producers Guild, a member of the Human Genetics Commission and a board member of The National Skils Academy. Robin has owned and run businesses in and out of the music industry for 25 years, including Power Plant, Maison Rouge and Whitfield Street Studios, Rent-A-Ferrari, Scarlett Group PLC and Arts Media. He has been a visiting professor and lecturer in commercial music for 15 years at The Royal Academy of Music, London College of Music, Surrey University and The University of Modena in Italy. His outstanding work for the world's most oppressed people has involved work as patron of UNICEF UK, patron of UNHCR Geneva, trustee of The Playing Alive Foundation and a long-time trustee of the Vietnamese Boat Peoples' Appeal. Robin was awarded the 2002 Windrush Award for his work with minorities. Testimonials "Robin is a personable, humorous, incisive, intelligent and supportive mentor.His sessions are uplifting and inspiring and focussed on producing award-winning results." EMI Group PLC "Your ability to speak intelligently and eloquently you are able to talk effectively and with conviction about countless other issues outside of the immediate music-related environment." You have one other and wholly exceptional quality by which I mean your highly engaging, inspirational and entertaining style of delivery. My colleagues are still remembering and mentioning your star appearance at our Communication Day when you captured their hearts and imagination. This is a rare talent indeed. Chairman & CEO -PPL "I set you an almost impossible challenge, to inspire a mixed audience of over 150 people including: children with learning disabilities; their teachers; high-powered business people; local dignitaries; and the staff and trustees of Young Enterprise. You went way beyond the brief Robin, keeping us all totally spellbound for well over 20 minutes, as we listened to the stories of the adversities you've overcome, interspersed with the encouragement you gave us all to meet our own challenges head-on, and of course laced with your wicked sense of humour throughout. As you know, some of our audience, the children whom our charity tries to help, finds it difficult to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time. But you held them (and the rest of us) silent and totally engrossed throughout. I've never seen that achieved before." Chairman-Young Enterprise |
