Robert John Mutt Lange

Early life

Lange was born in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia, and raised in Durban, South Africa. His German mother came from a prosperous family, and his South African father was a mining engineer. Nicknamed "Mutt" at an early age, Lange grew up a fan of country music, in particular the singer Slim Whitman. While studying at Belfast High School in what is now Mpumalanga province, he started a band in which he played rhythm guitar and sang harmonies.

Career

After his national service (1966–1967) he formed the band Sound Reason in 1969. In 1971, he started the group Hocus, recording one album and releasing 5 seven-inch singles.

In 1978, Lange wrote and produced Ipswich Town's FA Cup final single "Ipswich Ipswich Get That Goal", his connection with the club being due to their South Africa-born player Colin Viljoen. The song is derived from a previous recording "Give That Thang To Me" by Paul Jones (1977), with some parts rearranged and new lyrics.

Beginning production work in 1976, his first major hits came in October 1978 with the UK No. 1 single "Rat Trap" for The Boomtown Rats, followed in July 1979 with AC/DC's hard rock album Highway to Hell (#8 UK, No. 17 US). He produced a total of five albums for UK band City Boy from 1976 to 1979.

He produced two more albums with AC/DC, including Back in Black (1980) which is currently the second best-selling album of all time. He also worked with rock group Foreigner with 4, and with Def Leppard on their hit albums, High 'n' Dry, Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalize co-writing most of the songs.

After Hysteria, Lange bowed out of working with Def Leppard while their peak success with Pyromania. He would return to work with them years later in a more limited role in 1999, co-writing three tracks for their album Euphoria. One of these songs, "Promises", was a Number 1 hit on the mainstream rock charts for the band.

In 1991, he produced Bryan Adams's Waking Up the Neighbours, including co-writing "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", a single written for the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves that currently holds the record for the longest consecutive Number 1 UK chart single with 16 consecutive weeks at the top of the charts (7 July-26 October 1991).

Lange produced the single "Make You" from the album Great Escape by Irish singer Tara Blaise which was released in May 2008.

In the 2001 television film Hysteria – The Def Leppard Story, actor Anthony Michael Hall portrayed Lange.

Personal life

Lange is a strict vegetarian and a follower of the egalitarian teachings of Sant Mat. He has not given an interview for decades and prefers to live a secluded life, primarily in Switzerland.

Lange was once married to Stevie Vann and moved to England. The marriage broke down in the 1970s. While still married, Lange began seeing Northern Irish employee Oonagh O'Reilly, a relationship that lasted five years.

After hearing Shania Twain's material, he got in touch with her and they spent many hours on the phone. They finally met six months after the initial contact and were married on 28 December 1993; because Lange is teetotal, they had non-alcoholic champagne at their wedding. Lange also had the song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" performed as a sign of his dedication. In August 2001, their son Eja (pronounced "Asia") was born. On 15 May 2008, a spokesman for Mercury Nashville announced that Twain and Lange were separating after Lange had an affair. Lange began seeing Twain's best friend, Marie-Anne Thiebaud. The couple divorced in June 2010, and Twain is now married to Thiebaud's ex-husband Frederic.

Produced albums

Albums on which Lange produced at least three tracks

Produced album tracks

Albums on which Lange produced at least one track:

Album tracks written or co-written

Grammy Awards