8 been speeded up or the track has been stripped down. Yours keeps the flavour a lot more.
I haven`t heard the others, but there are some times where remixes change the original too much.

Ant two of the members of Heaven 17 used to be in The Huma League - and you`ve worked with Phil Oakey...
Yes, i did a whole album with him. That`s a funny coincidence! I never met Heaven 17, and i only met Phil and the two girls - the backing singers from the group.

What was it like working with Phil Oakey?
Very nice. We`re talking 12 years ago, but he`s a very nice guy, very professional. I think i wrote most of the songs for Electric Dreams and i think he wrote all lyrics. It worked quite well. He`s a great singer, he was well prepared; if you write the lyrics then you should know the song, but some singers come in the studio and they don`t know the song at all. That wasn`t the case with Phil.

Together In Electric Dreams was included in an album of early 80s electronic songs, called Electric Dreams, promoted on TV...
That`s funny, because just yesterday i listened to a remake of the song by a Canadian group, Contact, who did quite a good job actually; it was quite nice. But the version with Phil is still the best.

You`ve worked with Sigue Sigue Sputnik as well.
Ah, taht was quite an, er, adventure. We had a lot of fun - God, crazy guys.

Who`ve you most enjoyed working with?
Practically everyboby - i wouldn`t say one. Like Elton John and RuPaul: we did the whole recording in two hours. And David Bowie: we started at 9:30 or 10 o`clock in the morning and it was done an hour and a half later, which is quite unusual. The real professionals, great superstars, they just do it two, three times, sometimes just once or twice, and it`s there.

That`s your definition of a professional?
There are good singers and not-that-great singers. I`ve noticed that the not-so-great singers come less prepared, sometimes they don`t even know the song. Other come with their voices warmed up and ready to go, while it takes an hour for others to clear their throads. So it`s quite nice to work with professionals.

It is easier to work with new or established artists? Do the latter dictate a working method?
Yes. To sum it up, i did a song ten years ago with Cher. I was told bevore that she might not be punctual and she may be an hour or two or five hours late. But, to my surprise, she was there on time. I said, `Wow! I`m shocked you`re here.` She said, `Yeah, for the first recording i am.` Meaning for the second one she may be late. You have to adapt.

What`s your view on modern technology? You`ve seen everything change from analog to digital.
I like it. I use Performer for my sequencing. I don`t have time to spend building sounds.

But you`re associated with a very analogue sound due to your disco heritage.
I`m quite happy to be associated with that sound, and with its revival. But in a non-dance song i would use sampled basses. If you want to make a good dance song, though, you still need the 303, an analogue drum machine (instead of nice sounding digital one) and a miniMoog.
- I rely on things in Digital Performer. You can put a vocal in, for example, at 100bpm and tell the computer make it 110bpm. You come back five minutes later and it`s done. and there are three-dimensional effects: you can slow down the tape in real-time but not change the pitch. I`ve had a go with virtual sounds, especially woodwind, on the Yamaha VL-1. That`s going to be great in the future.
- But, in general, i try to stay away from all the new stuff. You have to really know it well. But i don`t have the time, or really the desire, to learn - there are too many details to make it work so i prefer to have my musicians know it.

You`re more of a hands-off producer, directing people to do things, co-ordinating the process...
I do demos and i use my sounds - some are great, some are plain. Then my musicians take it and add the detail. I`ve worked this way all my live. I`ve rarely done a whole recording by myself.

You`ve been involved in the music industry for three decades. What`s your advise to someone who wants a career like yours?
Get a good manager or agent - i didn`t have one until a few years ago. It does cost a lot of money but you need someone to fight for you. Also, it`s tough for someone to say to someone else, `No, i don`t to produce you`, because it becomes personal. But a manager can explain it and it`s less direct than saying no. Competition is fierce so you need someone on your side to llok for jobs and keep the momentum up.