Welcome to Robin Millar's web site
“Who are the three most successful blind musicians on the planet? Answer: Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli and Robin Millar. Robin Who?” … from [Focus Magazine, Australia]
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 No1'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 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 have produced an 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 The Royal Academy of Music, London College of Music, 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.
Robin has been registered blind since the age of 16 and has had no sight since 1985. 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 to others.
“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 2009
I’m pretty well-balanced about having a disability nowadays. You have to either wallow or swallow and I chose to swallow it and move on.
However every once in a while something happens which brings all the hurt, all the sense of injustice and all the insincerity towards the disabled right back in front of my nose.
This week the famous Berklee School of Music in Boston proudly launches its new online scholarship programme in the UK. Patrons including Sir George Martin are prominently featured.
A few months ago I was approached by Berklee to become one of the 5 UK Patrons for scholarships for these new courses. I was quite touched and positively disposed to the idea. After sleeping on it, I got back to their UK rep Steve Mayall and said I would be happy to act as patron and that I would like my scholarship to offer a particular opportunity to a disabled or blind candidate.
Steve said he would get back to me. A week later I got a three line email from Steve saying that the Berklee website was not suitable for blind and disabled students so the answer was ‘no’. I was pretty cross at this and I telephoned Berklee in Boston and asked to speak to the Director, a Mr Brown who, according to their website, is one of the world’s most philanthropic and egalitarian humans. The polite girl in his office took all the details of my dissatisfaction and all my contacts and said I would be contacted.
I never heard another word . . . and the offer to me to act as a patron evaporated.
So don’t believe everything people tell you about how great they are.
Robin