Nellee Hooper

British producer and remixer.

Born: 15 March 1963 in Bristol, England, UK.

Producer Nellee Hooper was behind some of the most successful and inventive dance-oriented pop music throughout the late 1980s and on through the 1990s. Hooper came up as a DJ, as a member of the Wild Bunch – the Bristol-based collective that would develop into [a=Massive Attack]. He also played percussion for [a=Nasty Rox Inc.].

Along with [a=Jazzie B]., he produced [a=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 [a=Tracy Chapman], [a=Björk], [a=Janet Jackson], and [a=Sade]. The Brit Awards honoured Hooper in 1995 as Best Producer for his work on Massive Attack's "Protection", Björk's "Post", and [a=Madonna]'s "Bedtime Stories".

Later on in the 1990s, Hooper set up the "Meanwhile" imprint, a subsidiary of [l=Virgin], with one of his first pet projects being called [a=Furslide]. Steady work continued into the early 2000s, and he received a Grammy nomination in 2003 for his work on [a=No Doubt]'s "Rock Steady" and [a=Lamya]'s "Learning From Falling".