Rob May

Rob co-founded and toured with Beehive, one of the UK’s most sought after live acts, when the Acid Jazz boom was at its height. In 1997, their brilliant blend of Funk and Nu Soul won them a MOBO award for their self produced album, ‘Brand New Day’. He subsequently worked with a number of top acts including Honeyz, Misteeq, 911, Louise and Lulu. Production and mix credits include Alex Parks, Moya Brennan, RyanDan, Will Martin, All Angels, The Kenyan Boys Choir and Connie Talbot. As well as supplying music for Fame Academy 2 and Celebrity Fame Academy other TV writing and production credits include: When Jordan met Peter, Janet Saves The Monarchy, Wogan Now & Then, and Setanta Premiership, FA Cup and England Games Football. He has just composed and produced the official IOC Worldwide Broadcast Theme for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Highlights: winning a MOBO award, and writing two songs with boyhood (and adulthood!) hero, Nik Kershaw.
Lowlight: on tour, narrowly avoiding a Swiss prison cell after having to break into a guesthouse – we’d driven for 12 hours across Europe & arrived in Geneva at 3am, only to find our manager had forgotten to give us the key.

Simon Hill

Simon started his career playing drums, becoming one of the top session musicians in the UK . Whilst recording and touring with bands including JTQ, Kim Wilde, Pet Shop Boys, Westlife and Steps, he also found time to team up with Andrew and Dan Frampton to produce their self-penned album, ‘Welcome to Frampton Hill’ (Warners). He has also employed his programming, production and writing talents with an array of top acts, including S Club 7, Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, Alex Parks, Natasha Bedingfield, RyanDan, Will Martin, All Angels, The Kenyan Boys Choir, Ladysmith Black Mambozo, Moya Brennan and Connie Talbot. TV writing and production credits include: Fame Academy 2, Celebrity Fame Academy, When Jordan Met Peter, Janet Saves The Monarchy, Wogan, Now & Then and Setanta Premiership, FA Cup and England Games Football. He has just composed and produced the official IOC Worldwide Broadcast Theme for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Highlights: touring with David Bowie on the ‘Sound and Vision tour’ in 1988, and producing Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Sarm West
Lowlight: Having to mime at the World Music Awards with no drumsticks - Gota Yashiki, who was drumming with Simply Red, had hidden them – in my panicked state I thought if I moved my hands as fast as I could, no-one would notice!! Gota & Mick Hucknell we’re in the wings, crying with laughter.

Dave Healey

One of the Duck’s rising stars, Dave is a brilliant musician, writer and producer. He has Production credits on the RyanDan singles ‘High’ & ‘The Face’ as well as Will Martin’s ‘Into The West’.

Last year he worked on Connie Talbot’s debut album, ‘Over The Rainbow’, tracks for Sony’s ‘Pom Pom Party’, the Shell Perris album, ‘Have You Heard’ & the Setanta Sports Premiership Theme.

Hank Linderman

Based in Los Angeles, Hank provides an all important ‘American-feel’ to many a Sitting Duck project. A session guitarist, engineer & producer he has worked with some of  Americas biggest names including The Eagles, Don Henley, Timothy B Schmit, America, Robert Lamm and Gerry Beckley. UK credits include Honeyz, 911, Louise, Connie Talbot,  Fame Academy 2, Celebrity Fame Academy and Setanta Premiership Football.

Steve ‘Barney’ Chase

Steve Chase is one of the most sought after and prolific mix engineers of his generation. He cut his teeth engineering for albums such as ‘Sowing The Seeds  Of Love’ (Tears For Fears), ‘Journeyman’ (Eric Clapton), and ‘East Of The Sun’ (Aha) whilst he was chief engineer at The Townhouse. 

Selected mix credits include, the singles, Breathe (Toni Braxton), Stay (Eternal), Get Here (Oleta Adams), Goldeneye (Tina Turner), Knocking On Heaven’s Door (Randy Crawford and Eric Clapton),  Mary’s Prayer (Danny Wilson). Album credits include Elton John, Rza - Wu Tang Clan, Phil Collins, Bob Dylan, Oleta Adams, Lemon Jelly, Ricky Martin, Sting, Badly Drawn Boy, Mary J Blige.

In recent years Steve has become one of the UK’s foremost 5.1 Surround Mix Engineers, notching up broadcast & DVD credits for Alice Cooper, Chick Corea, Deep Purple and Weather Report.

TV Credits include, The X Files, Ally McBeal ,The Simpsons, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Eastenders, Holby City and The Bill. Writing and Production TV Credits include the Olympic 2000 Theme for the BBC, and various episodes of Lonely Planet.

Highlight: mixing "Groovy Kind of Love" for Phil Collins and it getting to number 1 in America and UK.
Lowlight: working every New Years Eve for seven years on the trot.

Denis Blackham

Mastering is a vital piece of the jigsaw, when creating a great sounding track. Denis has been a mastering engineer for over 35 years, providing the finishing touches to some of the greatest songs ever recorded  - here’s a selection of artists he has worked with:
The Who, Bee Gees, Brian Eno,, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Yes, Kraftwerk, Human League, William Orbit, Ronan Keating, The Damned, Evita, Cats, Status Quo, Madness, Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Robert Plant, Marti Pellow, John Williams, Mika, Travis, Antony & the Johnsons, Labi Siffre, Rod Stewart,, Dolly Parton, The Hollies, Stewart Copeland, Fairground Attraction, William Orbit, Ronan Keating, Fairport Convention, Tears for Fears, Dr Feelgood, The Rubettes, Mike Oldfield, Roy Wood, Thin Lizzy, Buzzcocks, Slade, Cliff Richard, Beverly Knight, Wizzard, Cleo Laine, Bing Crosby, T-Rex, Jean Michel Jarre, Jimi Hendrix, Vangelis.

Ben Castle

An outstanding musician, composer & arranger, Ben effortlessly excels in any and every genre of music. An award winning Jazz musician, he has been hailed as ‘One of the most important figures to emerge onto the jazz scene for years’ (International Jazz journal). Musical Director for the Pop Idol Big band, he has also lent his talents to many pop acts over the past 15 years. It would be easier to list who he hasn’t worked with, but here goes with a short selection of those he has: Sting, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Will Young, Dizzee Rascal, Acker Bilk, Jools Holland, Jamie Cullum,  Quincey Jones, Debbie Harry, John Williams, Michael Buble, Beenie Man, Beth Rowley, Incognito, Chrissie Hynde, Supergrass, Michael Bolton, Omar, Damon Albarn, Katie Melua, Heather Small and Emma Bunton.

Career lowlight: having to turn down a tour with childhood sax hero Michael Brecker due to other commitments
Career Highlight: having to turn down a tour with Westlife due to "other commitments”

Marc Marot

Appointed MD of Island Records in 1990, Marc was the youngest MD in the UK music industry at that time, and subsequently headed every division of Island. Artists signed and/or developed by Marc while at Island included The Cranberries, Pulp, PJ Harvey, The Stereo Mcs, The Orb, Talvin Singh, Tricky & Nine Inch Nails. During his tenure, Island artists won the prestigious Mercury Music prize three times, and a total of ten albums were short-listed.

He guided U2’s career throughout the 1990’s selling over 50 million records in total. His management clients include Paul Oakenfold and composer, Trevor Jones (League Of Extraodinary Gentlemen, Last Of The Mohicans, Mississippi Burning). His film music supervision credits include Angel Heart, Notting Hill and Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. He has recently been appointed as head of music for the newly formed $106 million UK based film production fund ‘CinemaNX’, and is currently supervising director Richard Linklater’s new movie, ‘Me and Orson Welles’ and director Philip Ridley’s new movie “Heartless”.

Highlights: Watching 75,000 fans sing along to Pulp's Common People from the back of the Glastonbury field. The song had only sprung into existence three months before. Passing Bono the ball named 'Third World Debt Forgiveness' and watching him run like the wind. Sitting alone in a dressing room with Yusuf Islam and a guitar whilst he sang for me some of the greatest songs ever written.
Lowlights: The second takeover of Island records.... having to dismantle a successful company and start again by merging Island with MCA and Universal. It broke my heart. Leaving Island in 2000.... the time of the third takeover and time for me to call it a day.

Steve Travis

Steve has spent 13 years working in community development programmes with humanitarian aid and development charities. He has lived and worked in Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania where he headed up the local programmes for a charity implementing UN funded projects for refugees. More recently he has been working with World Vision, the world’s largest relief and development charity. Here, Steve headed up the team that assessed programme quality, accessed Government grants and liaised with World Vision Regional and Country Offices.

Highlights: Implementing community services, education and health in Congolese and Burundian refugee camps in Tanzania. It was difficult and stressful at times, but despite circumstances, we were working with some amazing, vibrant and innovative people. I also have fond memories of sitting and chatting with Congolese refugees, village chiefs in Senegal, a group of young people who lived on the street in Calcutta, a community on the high plateau of Bolivia, and a remote Indian tribal village, where as it happens, I now have a road named after me.

Lowlights: I’ve been struck by a fork of lightning and caught in two cyclones. One of them destroyed my small humble mud hut, tearing the roof off while I was in it, and then quickly turning it into a paddling pool. Princess Di’s guide in Angola when she was visiting de-mining work, nearly killed me. I went with him to watch him set off some unexploded devices in Mozambique. “You will be safe if you stand here” he said, wandering off into the distance with wires and explosives under his arm. Ten minutes later, white hot shrapnel is falling with thuds on the ground all around me. His mates dived under the Land Rover and just stared at me with scared expressions of ‘He is in a bad place standing there’!

Julie Sharpe

Julie is a London based composer, arranger and orchestrator. Her versatility as a musician has led to many exciting collaborations with studio producers and live artists. Previous orchestration and scoring credits include TV Ads for Max Factor & Sky, Connie Talbot’s Christmas Album, short films, ‘Indians’ and ‘Processed’, and the title music for the Metro-Boulot-Dodo art installation. Composition credits include Setanta Sports FA Cup & England Game Themes. She has also composed the Official Broadcast Theme for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Career highlight: Johnny Morris narrating ‘Peter and the Wolf’ for an orchestral gig. Lovely.

Career lowlight: Picture the scene: An under-rehearsed am-dram musical, an expectant audience, extremely nervous performers… The one thing that would have oiled the show-wheels would have been a pianist who could actually see the conductor or at least some of the players. Needless to say I could not (the piano was possibly the tallest I’ve ever played) and the drummer had to relay the timing around the corner. The only thing more disastrous than the show was the pittance for a fee!

Susan Arnison

Susan’s music publishing life started at SBK Songs, then to George Harrisons’ ‘Handmade Films', before working at Hit and Run Music Publishing for 10 years, administering the royalties of Phil Collins and Genesis. Currently Susan works for Air-Edel as their Publishing Manager with film composers such as Hans Zimmer and Patrick Doyle. She also independently looks after the publishing of artists such as Marillion, Billy Ocean, Gabrielle, Rozalla and Francis Rossi.

Claire Freeman

After studying film-making and music composition at Brighton University, Claire worked for many years composing synthetic scores and sound-scapes for television and a number of independently commissioned shorts, including ‘Invaders’, ‘Goodbye Cruel World’ and ‘The Knowledge’. During this time she worked on several films in a variety of production roles including 3rd assistant director  (‘Kiss me Quick’ & ‘Conchie’) & sound recordist (‘At First Sight’ & ‘Edge’). She continued composing music in her own right, releasing three independent albums, ‘Access Memory’, ‘Mindfields’ and  ‘Little Dreams’. After a two year stint, co-producing the ‘The Night Train’ for Brighton Festival Radio, she made the move into music management working as assistant to Marc Marot, at Terra Firma. Clients include Paul Oakenfold, Lemon Jelly, Connie Talbot, film composer Trevor Jones, Mike McEvoy & Ian Green.

Now working as a music supervisor with Marc, recent credits include Marcus Warren’s thriller ‘The Heavy’, Richard Linklaters 1930’s period drama ‘Me and Orson Welles’ starring Claire Danes and Zac Efron, Phillip Ridleys ‘Heartless’ starring Jim Sturgess, and Jonathan Lynn’s ‘Wild Target’ starring Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt.

Career highlights: moving into music supervision in 2008 - most exciting work I’ve ever done.
Scoring music for Vitto Rocco’s 'Goodbye Cruel World'  in 2003 which was screened on Carlton and at the National Film Theatre.
Screening of first short film at BP Expo, Riverside studios in 1992
Career lowlight: being spotted working as catering assistant at Brighton university canteen by ex tutor who commented on how well my career in the music industry appeared to be going!