Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter.His best-remembered hit is the Tornados' "Telstar" (1962), which became the first record by a British group to reach No.1 in the US Hot 100. It also spent five weeks atop the UK singles chart, with Meek receiving an Ivor Novello Award for this production as the "Best-Selling A-Side" of 1962.Meek's other hits include "Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O" and "Cumberland Gap" by Lonnie Donegan (as engineer), "Johnny Remember Me" by John Leyton, "Just Like Eddie" by Heinz, "Angela Jones" by Michael Cox, "Have I the Right?" by the Honeycombs, and "Tribute to Buddy Holly" by Mike Berry. Meek's concept album I Hear a New World, which contains innovative use of electronic sounds, was not released in his lifetime.Meek also produced music for films such as Live It Up! (US title Sing and Swing, 1963), a pop music film which featured Gene Vincent, The Outlaws pop group, jazz musician Kenny Ball and others. Meek wrote most of the songs and incidental music, much of which was recorded by The Saints and which Meek produced.His commercial success as a producer was short-lived, and Meek gradually sank into debt and depression. On 3 February 1967, using a shotgun owned by musician Heinz Burt, Meek killed his landlady and then himself.Meek was ranked the greatest producer of all time by NME.
performer: "Orbit Around the Moon aka Husky Team" / writer: "Telstar", "Dreams Do Come True", "Been Invited to a Party", "Temptation Baby", "Orbit Around the Moon aka Husky Team", "Diggin' My Potatoes", "Bublight" / writer: "Valley of No Return" - as Robert Duke [Joe Meek]
writer: "Law and Order", "Keep Moving", "For Loving Me This Way", "Temptation Baby", "Please Let It Happen To Me", "Live It Up", "Don't You Understand?", "Don't Take You From Me"
Just for Fun
1963
writer: "All The Stars In The Sky"
La grande farandole
1962
TV Series music - 1 episode
The Johnny Leyton Touch
1962
Short writer: "Can't You Hear The Beat Of A Broken Heart" - as Robert Duke
Music Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Farewell Performance
1963
score, orchestrations, and musical direction by
Sing and Swing
1963
musical director
The Johnny Leyton Touch
1962
Short composer: song "Can't You Hear the Beat of a Broken Heart?"
$10 Million
