John Leckie

John Leckie talks to XpoNorth Live, at an event for new musicians, in 2016. Besides the Stone Roses and Radiohead, he points out, he has made records with Baaba Maal and, in India, with Shivkumar Sharma, and a good deal of electronic music. Asked what he learned from John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney in their solo days, he says a great singer, McCartney or Kate Bush, sounds right on any microphone, because the voice is what matters, and people like that come prepared.

The commonest mistake a new band makes in the studio is turning up under-rehearsed, with no intro or ending decided. He likes to go in about 80 per cent ready, which leaves room for something to happen; some bands arrive at 50. The other is gear, humming amps and guitars that won't stay in tune. He is no dictator, but a producer has to call time, because a record with a budget finishes on a Friday at six. Asked how he handled the pressure to follow “Creep” on The Bends, he says you summon the troops and get everyone vibed up, and that every band argues; some handle it and some split up. Sessions with hired players are hairier, at £500 a day each, when it is eight o'clock and nothing is done. He still sequences an album as side one and side two, and the most bombastic track is not always the one to open with.