Welcome to Robin Millar's web site
The original ‘Smooth Operator’ Robin Millar is one of Britain’s most successful ever record producers with 150 gold silver and platinum discs and 44 No 1's to his credit, including Sade’s iconic ‘Diamond Life’ album.
His productions have sold 55 million copies, earned the UK over £400 million in foreign income and have won most of the major global music awards including Brit and Grammy Awards.
He is known as ‘the man behind Sade’, the producer of the first acid jazz record and was dubbed ‘Golden ears’ by Boy George.
More recently, Robin has become equally recognised as an academic, a coach and mentor to FTSE business leaders, one of the most charismatic and in-demand keynote speakers and panellists, a major fundraiser and champion for vulnerable people and as a spokesman to the Government for the whole music sector.
In November 2007 he was awarded Honorary Professor status at Thames Valley University, Britain’s largest Uni with over 62,000 students.
Robin is the only British person to produce the Olympic Games opening ceremony [Atlanta 1996].
He is Hon. Patron of the Music Producers Guild, a member of the Human Genetics Commission and of The UK Sector Skills Council.
Robin has owned and run businesses in and out of the music industry for 25 years, including Power Plant, Maison Rouge and Whitfield Street Studios, Rent-A-Ferrari, Scarlett Group PLC and Arts Media.
He has been a visiting professor and lecturer in commercial music for 15 years at establishments including The Royal Academy, Surrey University and The University of Modena in Italy.
His outstanding work for the world’s most oppressed people has involved work as patron of UNICEF UK, patron of UNHCR Geneva, trustee of The Playing Alive Foundation and a long-time trustee of the Vietnamese Boat Peoples’ Appeal. Robin was awarded the 2002 Windrush Award for his work with minorities.
His amazing life as a punk guitarist, Ferrari renter, nude model, academic and producer of ‘Smooth Operator’ is still full of adventure, fun and a source of inspiration.
Robin has been registered blind since the age of 16 and has had no sight since 1985.
“I’ve made and lost many millions, broken all the rules and I’ve developed a strong and deep understanding of how lucky some of us are. I’m more of a rough diamond than a smooth operator . . . adventure should be real and not imagined.”
Robin Millar
Thought for June 2008
Cold Play – ah yes, that reminds me . . .
A New Cold Play album out this month. CP have just reached that plateau of enormity when every [ex-band member whose band didn’t quite make it that big so they became journalists] Tom Dick and Hayley with an opinion decides it’s time to say ‘this lot are rubbish’ ‘they have ruined the rock business’ ‘another greedy stadium tedium band’ and so on.
A couple of years ago I was putting together a rather over-ambitious show at the Royal Albert Hall in London to raise money for United Nations High Commission For Refugees. UNHCR were desperate for cash to protect the displaced people of Darfur.
We had artists orchestras and personalities committed and a booking on the hall. Suddenly we were told that without a £60,000 deposit paid by the end of that week the Royal Albert Hall would have to take another firm booking. Fair enough but where the hell was I going to get that sort of money [non-returnable] in 3 days?
I’ll tell you how. At ten thirty on Tuesday morning I contacted Cold Play and Franz Ferdinand. At two that afternoon I got a call from the CP office “We have a cheque for £50,000 for you. Who should we make it out to and where would you like it biked?”
At four o’clock same day I got a call from Cearne Canning, manager of Franz “The band would like to donate their entire mercury Music prize money i.e. £20,000 to your show and asked if that would be enough”.
Both bands asked that we do not publicise their gifts, and FF also decided to make a special recording and video for us to play on the night.
Before you [and I mean YOU] point the finger at bands because they have made it big I ask you to have a look at what YOU did lately.