Producer and remixer
Nellee Hooper was behind some of the most successful and inventive dance-oriented pop music throughout the late '80s and on through the '90s.
Hooper came up as a DJ, as a member of
the Wild Bunch -- the Bristol-based collective that would develop into
Massive Attack. Along with
Jazzie B., he produced
Soul II Soul through the release of the group's first two albums, both of which scored major hits ("Keep on Movin'," "Back to Life," "Get a Life"). Work followed for the likes of
Tracy Chapman,
Björk,
Janet Jackson, and
Sade. The Brit Awards honored
Hooper in 1995 as Best Producer for his work on
Massive Attack's
Protection,
Björk's
Post, and
Madonna's
Bedtime Stores. Later on in the '90s,
Hooper set up the Meanwhile imprint, a subsidiary of Virgin; one of his first pet projects was
Furslide. Steady work continued into the early 2000s, and he received a Grammy nomination in 2003 for his work on
No Doubt's
Rock Steady and
Lamya's
Learning From Falling.
–
Andy Kellman, Rovi