Australian producer and one time pop star Mark Moffatt has died in Nashville at age 74.
Mark was the in-house producer for EMI Records in the 70s where the worked on The Saints debut album ‘I’m Stranded’.
Mark had his own 15 minutes of fame in 1980 with The Monitors. Their two hits ‘Singing In The 80s’ and ‘Nobody Told Me’ reached no 16 and no 32 in Australia in 1980/1981. The group also included Ricky Fataar, who was also a one-time member of The Beach Boys and drummer for Bonnie Raitt.
Mark produced Tim Finn’s ‘Escapade’, Jenny Morris ‘Body and Soul’ and ‘Shiver’, Mental As Anything ‘Cyclone Raymond’, Yothu Yindi ‘Tribal Voice’ and Eurogliders ‘This Island’ and ‘Absolutely’ in his long list of work.
10 years ago, he and John Swan formed Kilo Band.
One of Mark’s last productions was Richard Clapton ‘The House of Orange’. Richard posted, “We just lost one of the true greats of Australian music. Vale Mark Moffatt. Mark relocated to Nashville in the Nineties, and became an Ambassador for Australian music.Before leaving Australia he produced albums for Tim Finn and The Saints and worked on my album “Dark Spaces”. His legacy is enormous and far too rich for me to detail here, but if you Google him you can find out for yourself. In 2016 I temporarily moved to Nashville and Mark produced “The House of Orange” album. He assembled the creme de la creme of Nashville, like Dan Dugmore ( Linda Rondstadt, Stevie Nicks,Don Henley, James Taylor and pretty much everybody), David LaBruyere ( John Mayer ) Billy Nobel (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill) – and the top session players in Nashville, ex pat Aussie Sam Hawksley etc etc. In this photo from the sessions Mark is the big tall guy in the middle towering over the rest of us. Most of all, Mark was a true gentleman who will be sorely missed”.
THIS NEWS IS BEING UPDATED
Here is the official statement on the passing of Mark Moffatt:
September 6, 2024, Nashville, TN…Mark Moffatt, lifelong musician and producer who devoted his life to music, died Friday, September 6, 2024 at age 74 in Nashville, Tennessee. He had battled pancreatic cancer for a more than a year.
As much as Moffatt loved his music, his first love was his family. He is survived by his wife, Lindsey, step-daughter Dana and two granddaughters—the loves of his life—his son Geordie, and extended family in Australia.
Moffatt was one of the most experienced and respected producers to emerge from Australia. He was also an accomplished musician, engineer, writer and a Grammy nominee. Producing more tracks in the APRA Top 30 Songs of All Time than any other single producer, Moffatt produced an astonishing 15 ARIA Hall of Fame inductees.
A proud Australian, Moffatt chased his musical passions from his hometown of Maryborough to Brisbane, then hopped a boat to the UK to work on London’s famed Denmark Street for several years. When he found himself back in Brisbane in 1976, the stars aligned and Moffatt’s production of The Saints’ “I’m Stranded” kicked his burgeoning career into overdrive.
Production stints with EMI and TCS Studios in Melbourne led him to Sydney in 1980, where he became Festival Records’ in-house producer, working on some of the biggest names in Australian music for more than a decade.
Moffatt relocated to Nashville in 1996 and quickly became part of its prolific music scene, helping countless Aussie artists as a mentor, producer, studio musician, and all-around coach. A fresh-faced Aussie artist coming to Nashville could find no better cheerleader and teacher than Mark Moffatt.
Moffatt’s overriding focus for the past two decades has been to bridge the international divide on behalf of the Americana Music Association, serving as its Board President for three terms, and educating everyone in his musical orbit on the complexities and history of this storied genre of music. He was a founding board member of the Americana Music Foundation, served for ten years as APRA’s Nashville Ambassador, and was awarded the CMA Global Achievement Award for his remarkable international efforts.
At the time of his death, Moffatt was putting the finishing touches on a full album for KILO, a band he formed with Australian rock singer John “Swanee” Swan, for which they have already released several music videos.
On the very day of his passing, Australian magazine The Music released an article hailing Moffatt as “an unsung hero of Australian music.” From The Saints to Keith Urban to Tim Finn to Yothu Yindi and well beyond, Mark Moffatt has influenced the Aussie—and world—music sphere in innumerable ways, and done so with the quiet confidence that only he could bring.
A celebration of his life is being planned. Further details to follow.
APRA AMCOS statement on the passing of Mark Moffatt
APRA AMCOS is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of award-winning producer and guitarist, Mark Moffatt, late last week.
Moffatt was the music rights organisation’s inaugural Nashville Member Relations Representative when he was appointed in 2014, working tirelessly for over a decade to create opportunities for both resident and visiting APRA AMCOS members until he retired from the role in June 2024.
Adam Townsend, Director, Writer Services at APRA AMCOS, says: “It was amazing to celebrate Mark’s achievements back in June when he officially stepped down as our APRA AMCOS Nashville representative, a role he held for 10 years. So many of his friends and colleagues took to the stage and hailed him as the gentleman and trailblazer we all came to love.
“He is without a doubt a legend of our industry and more importantly, a kind and wonderful person to have known. I was lucky enough to work with Mark for the past decade and he was always an incredibly supportive person, who taught me the important art of being selfless. Many will be saddened by this news, and we want to extend our condolences to our Nashville members and Mark’s family.”
Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS, adds: “Mark was a dear friend and colleague and will be sorely missed both in Nashville and in his home country. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife Lindsey, stepdaughter Dana, son Geordie, and his two granddaughters.
“Mark offered unfaltering support to countless members making their way to Nashville over the years, providing them with networking opportunities and connections to engage with key players in their respective genres. His legacy will forever live on with those members, and through his incredible music.”
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YOUTUBE and updated regularly. See things first SUBSCRIBE here: Noise11 on YouTube SUBSCRIBE
