Martin Rushent: Six top videos

Behind the boys and girls who front our favourite records, there's often someone almost as important lurking in the shadows. Martin Rushent, who died on Saturday at the age of 63, was one such figure.

Starting out as an engineer on songs by T-Rex and Fleetwood Mac, he became an acclaimed producer in his own right in the late '70s. He launched his production career helming albums by punk groups like the Buzzcocks and The Stranglers, as well as early Joy Division sessions. But he's best known for his work on The Human League's DARE, defining the sound of an era and winning a well-deserved Brit Award in 1982.

Watch the videos of some of our favourite Rushent-produced tracks below.

1. The Stranglers: 'No More Heroes' (1977)
Rushent's production elevates The Stranglers pub/punk melodies to something very special. A beautiful showcase for an organ riff famously yoinked by Elastica for 'Waking Up' years later.



2. Buzzcocks: 'Promises' (1978)
After an early EP with Martin Hannett, Manchester's finest moved over to Rushent for a run of tune-heavy albums that blazed a trail for the next three decades of pop-punk.



3. Joy Division: Transmission (Genetic Records Session) (1979)
Meanwhile, Joy Division went the other way, this session being a rare Rushent-recorded track before the band opted to go with Factory Records and Hannett, who produced their studio work.



4. The Human League: 'Love Action (I Believe In Love)' (1981)
From DARE, the album which won Rushent a Brit Award and laid the foundation stone for a whole era of synth-dominated pop music.



5. The Go-Gos: 'Head Over Heels' (1984)
Taken from Talk Show, the all-girl band's last album before their split in 1984, 'Head Over Heels' captures the feel of the '80s while also sounding pretty modern today.



6. The Pipettes: 'Stop The Music' (2010)
Showing he still had it, Rushent helmed the two-piece Pipettes return to the pop charts last year, including this lead single.