Rupert Hine, who produced two RUSH albums, as well as releases from The Fixx, Howard Jones, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, and more, has died at the age of 72. No cause of death has been revealed.
The veteran UK producer’s passing was reported by the Ivors Academy, a songwriting association of which Hine was a board director. “His passion, wisdom, inspiration and his immense kindness will be hugely missed,” stated the organization.
Hine produced RUSH’s gold-certified 1989 album Presto, which included the chart-topper “Show Don’t Tell”, and platinum-certified 1991 LP Roll the Bones, featuring the hit “Ghost of a Chance”.
It was in the ’80s new wave scene that Hine really made his mark, producing multiple albums by The Fixx, including the platinum-certified Reach the Beach (highlighted by the single “One Thing Leads to Another”). He also produced a handful of Howard Jones’ albums, most notably Dream Into Action.
The Fixx honored Hine on Twitter, stating, “We are all in deep mourning to learn of the passing of our dear friend Rupert Hine. We will miss you but you know that you will live on in the dimension of sound as the true North Star of our lives.”
Jones also paid tribute to Hine, revealing that he was able to see him before his passing. “Rupert Hine … An extraordinary man and one of my dearest longtime friends, my music mentor and producer, passed away in the early hours of this morning,” tweeted Jones. “I’m so fortunate to have spent a precious hour with him Tuesday.”
Hine also was the producer on Stevie Nicks’ The Other Side of the Mirror, as well as singles or albums by Tina Turner, Bob Geldof, Underworld, and many more artists.
Born in the Wimbledon district of London, Hine got his start in the music industry as an artist himself. In the early ’60s he started the folk duo Rupert & David, and went on to form the band Quantum Jump. He also recorded a number of solo albums throughout his career, some released under the name Thinkman.
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Our condolences go out to Rupert Hines’ family, friends, and musical colleagues during this difficult time. Revisit a couple of his musical contributions below with Rush’s “Show Don’t Tell” and The Fixx’s “One Thing Leads to Another”.
We are all in deep mourning to learn of the passing of our dear friend Rupert Hine.
We will miss you but you know that you will live on in the dimension of sound as the true North Star of our lives.
~ The FIXX pic.twitter.com/ccxizxUG7a— The Fixx (@FixxOnline) June 5, 2020
Rupert Hine ….An extraordinary man and one of my dearest longtime friends, my music mentor and producer, passed away in the early hours of this morning. I’m so fortunate to have spent a precious hour with him Tuesday. I will be writing about him on FB soon… luvya Roop !! pic.twitter.com/2lTSa0J35P
— Howard Jones (@howardjones) June 5, 2020
We are so saddened to post that our Board Director Rupert Hine has passed away.
Rupert played an integral part in shaping the organisation, and his passion, wisdom, inspiration and his immense kindness will be hugely missed.
A full tribute will be up on our website shortly pic.twitter.com/jKFtViLrUF
— The Ivors Academy (@IvorsAcademy) June 5, 2020
