A producer best known for his long-time associations with
The Smiths and
Blur,
Stephen Street began his career during the early 1980s as an engineer on reggae recordings from artists including Black Uhuru, King Sunny Ade and Linton Kwesi Johnson. He made his first appearance on a
Smiths album engineering 1985’s
Meat Is Murder, and by 1987’s
Strangeways Here We Come was serving as a full-fledged producer. The group disbanded soon after, but
Street continued collaborating with frontman Morrissey, not only producing but also co-writing much of the material which comprised the singer’s 1988 solo debut
Viva Hate. His partnership with
Morrissey continued on a series of singles later collected on the
Bona Drag compilation, after which
Street moved on to begin working with the fledgling
Blur, helming both their 1991 debut LP
Leisure and its 1993 follow-up
Modern Life Is Rubbish. After producing
Cranberries’ 1994 debut
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We, he returned to the
Blur fold for their 1994 breakthrough
Parklife. Work with artists ranging from
The Pretenders to Sleeper followed, but Street remained most loyal to
Blur, next producing 1995’s
The Great Escape as well as the quartet’s 1997 self-titled LP. He also had the production company SBS Productions (2) / SBS Productions Ltd., named after his initials.