“When I got Gerry Leonard as a Producer, he was everything that I had hoped he would be. Someone who helped me weed out the songs and then helped arrange them, this overcomes the first stumbling block for any songwriter.”
– Pierce Turner
BACKSTORY
As well as an experienced sideman, Gerry has over four decades of experience working in the recording studio.
The classically trained precocious talent was still in his teens when he first stepped foot in a recording studio. He started off at as a tape operator at the legendary Lombard studios, Dublin. There he learned the craft doing jingles in the mornings and record label sessions in the afternoons and evenings.
At the weekends the studio allowed him to bring in young bands to do demo and learn the craft of production. Early sessions included guest appearances by U2’s the Edge and Sinead O’Connor. Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott came to produce some sessions.
All this experience came into focus later when legendary record boss Chris Blackwell of Island records encouraged Gerry to self-produce Hinterland’s debut album for label.
Over the years, Gerry has produced records for Suzanne Vega, Donna Lewis, Ari Hest, Czechomor, Pierce Turner, Pamela Sue Mann and many others.
Of his playing on the latter’s L’Oeuf, Laurie Anderson said:
“I’ve always been a fan of Gerry Leonard’s lush and groovy parts so that makes the listening experience even deeper.”
