Sandy Roberton

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{{Infobox musical artist

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| birth_name = Alexander William Roberton

| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|7|7|df=y}}

| birth_place = Edinburgh, Scotland

| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|7|25|1942|7|7|df=y}}

| death_place = London, England

| occupation = Record producer, businessman

| years_active =

| label =

| website = {{URL|worldsend.com/about/}}

}}

Alexander "Sandy" William Roberton {{dmy|date=May 2025}}(July 7, 1942 – July 25, 2022) was a British record producer and businessman.

Early years

Roberton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 7 July 1942. At the age of six, he emigrated with his parents to Africa,[https://www.goldminemag.com/columns/well-kept-secrets-sandy-robertons-uk-folk-treasure-trove Well Kept Secrets - Sandy Roberton's UK Folk Treasure Trove, Dave Thompson, Goldmine, 14 November 2013] where his father, Robert, worked as a tractor technician in the British government’s post-war Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme in East Africa. He spent his early years in Tanganyika and Kenya, where he became involved in the local music scene as a teenager, performing in the band Les Hombres.Fred Dellar, Sound International, June 1978, p48{{Cite journal |last=Roberton |first=Sandy |date=June 1978 |title=Interview with Fred Dellar |journal=Sound International}}

Career

Roberton moved to London in 1963, to pursue a career in music. He took day jobs at Olivetti typewriters and the department store C&A.Ian Clayton, In Search Of Plainsong, Route Publishing 2022, p81 He began performing at the Dive Bar at the King's Head pub in Soho, where he was frequently joined on stage by an old school bandmate, Rick Tykiff. They signed a record deal with record producer Tom Springfield, the brother of singer Dusty Springfield, where they made several singles in 1965 for the Decca and Mercury labels, including "Half as Much", "I Remember Baby", and "Lost My Girl".[https://www.discogs.com/artist/382126-Rick-Sandy, Discogs website, Rick and Sandy] The latter two tracks were produced and arranged by songwriter Les Reed.[https://lesreed.com/cool_timeline/the-great-artist-tom-jones/, The Great Artist Tom Jones, Les Reed website]

After Tykiff's departure, Roberton began a brief solo career in 1966 and released a cover of Neil Diamond's 'Solitary Man'[https://www.discogs.com/master/1574714-Sandy-Solitary-Man-, Discogs website, Sandy] with Columbia under the name Sandy. A cover of Bob Dylan's 'Baby You've Been On My Mind', backed by a group named Fleur De Lys, followed in 1967 and was released on Polydor under the name Lucien Alexander.Ian Clayton, In Search Of Plainsong, Route Publishing 2022, p82[https://www.discogs.com/master/2714441-Lucien-Alexander-Baby-Youve-Been-On-My-Mind, Discogs website, Lucien Alexander]

Around this time, Roberton transitioned into music publishing. He ran the London office of Chess Records' publishing companies Arc Music,{{efn|Arc Music was established by Chess Records founders Leonard Chess and Phil Chess in 1948 as the music publishing counterpart of their Chess Records label. It is currently owned by the BMG music group.[https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/bmg-buys-control-of-chess-records-publishing-company-arc/, BMG buys control of Chess Records publishing company Arc, Music Business Worldwide, 19 January 2016]}} Regent Music{{efn|Regent Music was set up 1940 by Gene Goodman, brother of bandleader Benny Goodman, in New York's Brill Building in 1940. Through a partnership with Chess Records, Regent became the publisher of various Blues and Rock 'n' Roll artists including Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.[https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Gene_Goodman, Gene Goodman, Songwriters Hall of Fame]}} and Jewel Music{{efn|1950 saw Regent purchase the catalogue of Jewel Music Publishing, thereby securing the rights to tracks such as Glenn Miller's famed 'Moonlight Cocktail', 'Sunrise Serenade' and the much-recorded 'You Came A Long Way From St. Louis'.[https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/03/01/primary-wave-regent-music-jewel-purchase/ Primary Wave Purchases Catalogs of Regent Music and Jewel Music, Including Hits From Lionel Hampton, Thelonious Monk, and Others, Digital Music News, 1 March 2022] The catalogues of both Regent and Jewel were purchased in March 2022 by New York-based Primary Wave Music in a "multi-million dollar" music industry acquisition.[https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/primary-wave-acquires-all-rights-of-regent-music-corporation-and-jewel-music-publishing-co1/ Primary Wave acquires all rights of Regent Music Corporation and Jewel Music Publishing Co., Music Business Worldwide, 1 March 2022]}} through the offices of music publishers Chappell & Co.{{efn|Chappell & Co. was one of the leading music publishers and piano manufacturers in Great Britain until 1980 when it sold its retail activities to concentrate solely on music publishing.[https://archives.collections.ed.ac.uk/agents/corporate_entities/2572, Chappell & Co. (1810-1987) (Music Publisher), University of Edinburgh Archives Online] Chappell's music publishing catalogue is currently owned by Warner Chappell Music, part of the Warner Music Group, which acquired it from Polygram for $275 million in 1987.[https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/companies/access-industries/warner-music-group/warner-chappell-music/, Warner Chappell Music, Music Business Worldwide, 2022]}} in Mayfair. Their writers included Blues figures Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley.[https://worldsend.com/about/ About Sandy Roberton, Worlds End Management & Music] He also ran the London office of Bill Lowery's company Lowery Music,{{efn|Lowery Music, based in Atlanta GA and founded by songwriter Bill Lowery,[https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Bill_Lowery Bill Lowery, Songwriters Hall of Fame] was the publisher of more than 5,000 varied titles including the 1956 Rock 'n' Roll classic Gene Vincent's 'Be Bop A Lula' and Joe South's 1969 smash hit 'Games People Play'. Lowery passed away aged 79 on 8 June 2004.[https://celebrityaccess.com/caarchive/bill-lowery-dies/ Bill Lowery Dies, Celebrity Access]}} whose writers included Joe South, Tommy Roe, Mac Davis, and Billy Joe Royal.

His role primarily involved persuading UK artists to record songs from the catalogues of these companies. One song he helped produce, Georgie Fame's cover of Billy Stewart's 'Sitting In The Park', went to number 12 in the UK music charts in December 1966.[https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/sitting-in-the-park/ Official Charts] The Jewel Music song 'It Ain't Right' by Little Walter was one of several Blues covers used on John Mayall's 1966 album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton.[https://www.discogs.com/master/30199-John-Mayall-With-Eric-Clapton-Blues-Breakers, Discogs website, John Mayall with Eric Clapton]

The album led to him leaving Chappell and joining producer Mike Vernon and his brother Richard at Blue Horizon, a specialist blues label that Vernon had established in 1965.[https://www.bluehorizonrecords.com/history/ The Blue Horizon Story, Jason Reynolds] They set up two Blue Horizon music publishing companies, Goodie Two Shoes Music and Uncle Doris Music.Ian Clayton, In Search Of Plainsong, Route Publishing 2022, p82 In the late 1960s, the label became closely associated with the emerging British blues scene, releasing music by artists such as Chicken Shack, Duster Bennett, Christine Perfect (later Christine McVie) and Fleetwood Mac, including Fleetwood Mac's debut album in 1968.[https://www.discogs.com/master/38785-Peter-Greens-Fleetwood-Mac-Peter-Greens-Fleetwood-Mac, Discogs website, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac]

In 1967, Roberton moved into music production and produced two singles{{efn|'Requiem' and 'The Sound Of The Summer' both released by Decca in 1967.[https://www.discogs.com/artist/435071-The-Chocolate-Watch-Band Discogs website, The Chocolate Watch Band]}} by The Chocolate Watch Band,{{efn|Not to be confused with the 1960s American garage rock group The Chocolate Watchband}} an English band featuring Gary Osborne.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

= September Productions =

In 1968, Roberton formed his own music production and artist management company, September Productions Ltd. One of his first signings was The Liverpool Scene, a poetry and music collective from Liverpool featuring poet Adrian Henri, guitarist Andy Roberts, Mike Evans,[https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/literature/hip-profile-mike-evans-2/ Profile: Mike Evans, Hastings Independent Press, 31 May 2019] Mike Hart, Percy Jones, and Brian Dodson. Roberton co-produced their first album, Amazing Adventures Of..., along with DJ John Peel, who had featured their music on his BBC radio shows.Ian Clayton, In Search Of Plainsong, Route Publishing 2022, p41

In their two years under his management, Liverpool Scene released four albums{{efn|Amazing Adventures Of, Bread On The Night, Heirloon and St. Adrian Co. Broadway And 3rd.[https://www.discogs.com/artist/1031331-Liverpool-Scene Discogs website, The Liverpool Scene]}} on the RCA label; played on the same day as Bob Dylan at the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival in front of 150,000 fans; and toured on a three-act bill with Blodwyn Pig and Led Zeppelin, which included playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London.[https://catalogue.royalalberthall.com/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Performance&id=Opanafah_R_Z&pos=2 Royal Albert Hall website] The band broke up in May 1970 after a financially disastrous US tour.[http://www.andyrobertsmusic.com/music_liverpoolscene.html The Liverpool Scene, Andy Roberts website]

A first solo album by guitarist Andy Roberts, Home Grown,[https://www.discogs.com/master/255236-Andy-Roberts-Home-Grown, Discogs website, Home Grown] produced by Roberton and recorded during his final days with Liverpool Scene, was released on RCA in March 1970.{{efn|A different version of Home Grown, remixed and with less tracks, would be released by Roberton as part of his B & C deal in 1971.[https://www.discogs.com/release/1185124-Andy-Roberts-Home-Grown Discogs website, Home Grown (B & C)]}} A second album, Everyone,[https://www.discogs.com/master/511367-Everyone-Everyone Discogs website, Everyone] by his post-Liverpool Scene band Everyone, was released on the B & C record label{{efn|B & C stands for 'Beat & Commercial'.[https://www.discogs.com/label/51321-B-C-Records Discogs website, B & C Records] It had close links to the Charisma label founded in 1969 by Tony Stratton Smith, and also to the record labels Pegasus and Mooncrest.}} in 1971, in a deal Roberton negotiated when the RCA relationship came to an end. In a magazine interview in 2013, Roberton said that when his relationship with RCA ended, he had been approached by Lee Gopthal, co-owner of Trojan Records, who wanted to move into different areas of music and sign his own acts.[https://www.goldminemag.com/columns/well-kept-secrets-sandy-robertons-uk-folk-treasure-trove Well Kept Secrets - Sandy Roberton's UK Folk Treasure Trove, Dave Thompson, Goldmine magazine, 14 November 2013]

By the time the Everyone album was released the band no longer existed,{{efn|Everyone, which also featured future Plainsong member David Richards, disbanded in November 1970 after a road crash in which their roadie Paul Scard was killed.[http://www.andyrobertsmusic.com/music_everyone.html Everyone: A Brief History Of The Band, Andy Roberts website]}} and Roberton and Roberts had begun working with singer Iain Matthews, whose debut solo LP, If You Saw Thro' My Eyes, the first of a three-album deal with Vertigo Records, was released in May 1971.Iain Matthews with Ian Clayton: Thro' My Eyes: A Memoir, Route Publishing, 2018, p99 Roberton was brought in as producer, uncredited, at Roberts' suggestion when the original producer began missing recording sessions.Iain Matthews with Ian Clayton: Thro' My Eyes: A Memoir, Route Publishing, 2018, p101-102 This was the beginning of a long relationship with Matthews, in which Roberton produced the third album of the Vertigo deal, Journeys From Gospel Oak (recorded in November 1972Ian Clayton, In Search Of Plainsong, Route Publishing 2022, p182 but not released until 1974).[https://www.discogs.com/master/224017-Ian-Matthews-Journeys-From-Gospel-Oak Discogs website, Journeys From Gospel Oak] He produced four more of Matthews' solo albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s on his own record label, Rockburgh Records.

As a producer, Roberton's recording studio was Sound Techniques in Old Church Street, Chelsea, an 18th-century former dairy that had been turned into a studio in 1965 by sound engineers Geoff Frost and John Wood.[https://sites.google.com/site/soundtechniquesmusicfromadairy/ Sound Techniques - Music From A Dairy] The September Productions' stable of artists included Scottish folk singer Shelagh McDonald, singer Keith Christmas, and flautist Harold McNair, all of whom had albums produced by Roberton and released on B & C in the early 1970s. Among the others were English folk rock band Decameron, Spirogyra, American singer Marc Ellington, and artists on the 1970s folk scene including Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, Gay and Terry Woods; and in the early 1980s, singer John Martyn, who he managed and produced.[https://spiralearth.co.uk/farewell-sandy/ Spiral Earth, 1 August 2022]

His biggest breakthrough was with Steeleye Span, the British folk rock band formed by Ashley Hutchings following his departure from Fairport Convention in November 1969.[https://steeleyespan.org.uk/history/ Steeleye Span - History] Roberton produced their first three albums: Hark! The Village Wait released on RCA in 1970,[https://www.discogs.com/master/40464-Steeleye-Span-Hark-The-Village-Wait Discogs website, Hark! The Village Wait] Please to See the King released on the B & C label in 1971,[https://www.discogs.com/master/40475-Steeleye-Span-Please-To-See-The-King Discogs website, Please to See the King] and Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again released on Pegasus in 1971.[https://www.discogs.com/master/40485-Steeleye-Span-Ten-Man-Mop-Or-Mr-Reservoir-Butler-Rides-Again Discogs website, Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again] Roberton was a producer in the British folk rock scene, along with John Wood, Joe Boyd, and Tony Cox. He also co-produced with Ashley Hutchings the album No Roses[https://www.allmusic.com/album/no-roses-mw0000056602 Richie Unterberger album review, allmusic.com] by Shirley Collins and The Albion Country Band, which was nominated as 'Folk Album Of The Year' in August 1971 by Melody Maker journalist Karl Dallas.Clinton Heylin, What We Did Instead Of Holidays (Fairport Convention & its extended folk-rock family), Route Publishing, p181 and p192

Roberton also managed and produced folk rock/country rock band Plainsong, which was formed at the end of 1971 by Andy Roberts and Iain Matthews with pianist and bass player David Richards and guitarist Bobby Ronga.Ian Clayton, In Search Of Plainsong, Route Publishing 2022, p89-91 The band's debut album, produced by Roberton, In Search of Amelia Earhart, received critical acclaim when it was released in October 1972. Record Mirror called it "The Contemporary Folk Record of the Year";Record Mirror album review, October 1972 and rock journalist Charles Shaar Murray, reviewing the album in New Musical Express, described it as "one of the classic albums of 1972".New Musical Express album review, 28 October 1972{{efn|Plainsong's back catalogue from 1972 was re-released in October 2022 as a 6-CD box set, Following Amelia: The 1972 Recordings & More by Cherry Red Records.[https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/plainsong-following-amelia-the-1972-recordings-more-6cd-box-set/ Plainsong Following Amelia] It features their debut album In Search of Amelia Earhart remastered from the original studio tapes, together with their unreleased second album Now We Are 3 and a host of BBC recordings, demos and live material.}}

The band broke up acrimoniously at the end of December 1972 and Matthews and Roberts pursued separate careers as solo artists. Matthews signed with Elektra Records and went to California to work with former Monkee-turned-record producer Michael Nesmith.Iain Matthews with Ian Clayton: Thro' My Eyes: A Memoir, Route Publishing, 2018, p122-125 Roberts recorded two solo albums with Sandy Roberton as producer which were released in 1973 on the Elektra label, Urban Cowboy[https://www.discogs.com/master/673808-Andy-Roberts-Urban-Cowboy Discogs website, Urban Cowboy] and Andy Roberts And The Great Stampede.[https://www.discogs.com/master/881006-Andy-Roberts-And-The-Great-Stampede-Andy-Roberts-And-The-Great-Stampede Discogs website, Andy Roberts and The Great Stampede]

Matthews and Roberton worked together again in 1973 and co-produced the album If It Was So Simple by Longdancer,Iain Matthews with Ian Clayton: Thro' My Eyes: A Memoir, Route Publishing, 2018, p149 a folk rock band that included Dave Stewart. Stewart found fame in the 1980s with singer Annie Lennox in The Eurythmics.

=Rockburgh Records=

In 1977, Roberton formed his own record label, Rockburgh Records. The name was derived from a combination of Rock and Roll and Edinburgh, his place of birth. Rockburgh Records existed from 1977 to 1981 and released more than 40 albums and singles by a roster of artists which included The Woods Band (Gay and Terry Woods), British singer-songwriter Allan Taylor, Australian rock band Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons, former Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson, and Iain Matthews.

He produced four albums for Iain Matthews in the late 70s/early 80s: Stealin' Home (1978), Siamese Friends (1979), Spot of Interference (1980) and Shook (1984). 'Shake It' from Stealin' Home reached no.13 in the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1979[https://www.billboard.com/artist/ian-matthews/ Billboard Hot 100 Chart History] giving Matthews his first hit single since topping the UK charts in 1970 with Matthews' Southern Comfort's cover of 'Woodstock'.[https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/woodstock/ Official Charts, 'Woodstock'] All four albums were remastered in 2005 by BGO Records as part of a series of Iain Matthews re-releases; and again in March 2022, with demos, outtakes and live recordings, as part of a 6-CD box set from Cherry Red Records, I Can't Fade Away: The Rockburgh Years (1978-1984).[https://www.discogs.com/release/22732544-Iain-Matthews-I-Cant-Fade-Away-The-Rockburgh-Years-1978-1984 Discogs website, I Can't Fade Away: The Rockburgh Years (1978-1984)]

In 1980, he and Matthews released a 27-track, double album compilation of Matthews' material, Discreet Repeat,[https://www.discogs.com/release/1675173-Ian-Matthews-Discreet-Repeat Discogs website, Discreet Repeat double album] which included tracks from the Rockburgh albums they had made together and Matthews' earlier solo 1970s albums, plus some tracks from the Plainsong 'Amelia' album. A shorter version of this compilation was released on CD by Line Records in 1988.[https://www.discogs.com/release/7258512-Ian-Matthews-Discreet-Repeat Discogs website, Discreet Repeat CD]

= Worlds End Management =

In the early 1980s, Roberton's involvement as a record producer ended and his focus shifted to working with and managing other record producers. The last of the 55 albums he is credited with is producing Well Kept Secret[https://www.discogs.com/master/60358-John-Martyn-Well-Kept-Secret Discogs website, Well Kept Secret]{{efn|Recorded at RAK Studios, a former Victorian schoolhouse in St John's Wood, London in May 1982, Well Kept Secret was released in September 1982. Produced by Sandy Roberton, the album charted for seven weeks, reaching the Top 20.[https://www.johnmartyn.info/sleevenotes/well-kept-secret-remastered-and-expanded John Martyn One World, Well Kept Secret]

}} by John Martyn, whose management Roberton had taken over in 1980.[https://spiralearth.co.uk/farewell-sandy/ Spiral Earth, 1 August 2022] It was the second of two John Martyn albums released on WEA, the first being 1981's Glorious Fool produced by Phil Collins, and commercially his most successful.[https://www.johnmartyn.info/sleevenotes/well-kept-secret-remastered-and-expanded John Martyn One World, Well Kept Secret]

{{Quote box

| quote = "I started winding down towards the end of the 70s. The last record I produced was a John Martyn record, Well Kept Secret. Phil Thornalley was an engineer I was using and I was really getting fed up with being in the studio all the time and I asked him what he was doing next and he said he didn't know..... so I said let me find you a project and I got him a job and I thought there's a business here... Very few people were doing it at that time, representing producers."

| author = Sandy Roberton

| source = The Art of Music Production interview (2004)[http://www.theartofmusicproduction.com/Sandy_Roberton_Interview.html The Art Of Music Production interview]

| width = 25%

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}}

Roberton founded the Worlds End Management Company in Chelsea, London, in 1980 with business partner Paul Brown. The name came from the area of Chelsea in which they had their offices.[https://www.billboard.com/pro/sandy-roberton-manager-producers-engineers-worlds-end-dead/ Billboard, 29 July 2022] The company billed itself as "probably the first full service company to ever solely represent record producers, mixers and sound engineers". One of the first clients managed by Worlds End was British record producer Tim Palmer, who Roberton first encountered as a tape operator in the 1980s.[https://www.arpjournal.com/asarpwp/transcription-of-producer-and-engineer-wing-event/ Sandy Roberton on Tim Palmer, Journal on The Art of Record Production, 24 March 2008] Palmer became Roberton's client for nearly 40 years, along with such artists as Robert Plant, David Bowie, Tears For Fears, Pearl Jam.

Worlds End's base moved to Los Angeles in 1985. Roberton became sole owner,[https://worldsend.com/about/ About Sandy Roberton, Worlds End Management & Music] and the company represented producers such as The Matrix, a songwriting collective consisting of Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards and Scott Spock, that had a big hit in 2002 with Avril Lavigne's debut studio album Let's Go. He later worked with artists such as Britney Spears, Shakira, Korn and Liz Phair.[https://variety.com/2022/music/news/sandy-pemberton-dead-record-producer-manager-1235327350/ Chris Willman, Variety, 27 July 2022]

In 2007, Roberton set up the independent record label Beverly Martel, which released music by acts such as The Philistines Jr., Amelia Carey, the High Divers and Josh Difford.[https://beverlymartelmusic.com/about/ About Beverly Martel Music] In 2007, with his daughter Niki, he co-founded the IAMSOUND record label that helped to launch the careers of artists such as Florence and the Machine, Lord Huron, Nikki Lane and Charli XCX.[https://celebrityaccess.com/2022/09/14/niki-roberton-named-svp-creative-at-rca/ CelebrityAccess.com, 14 September 2022]

The Worlds End management company represented over 75 producers during the 1990s and early 2000s. By the time of Roberton's death in 2022, it represented producers and mixers including Tim Palmer, Stephen Lipson, Larry Klein, Brad Wood, Stephen Hague and Ted Hutt.[https://worldsend.com/ Worlds End Management & Music website]

Personal life

Roberton married Dinah (née Cullen), his former personal assistant at music publishers Chappell & Co, in December 1968. They had two children, Christian and Nicola.Billboard Business News, 29 July 2022. Roberton died in London on 25 July 2022, aged 80, after a short battle with cancer.