You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 54.234.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪JJMC89‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 05:36, 2 January 2025.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Jon Kolbert‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected .
- Start of block: 05:40, 21 February 2024
- Expiry of block: 05:40, 21 February 2029
Your current IP address is 54.234.187.160. The blocked range is 54.234.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((More citations needed|date=August 2020))
'''Hugh Rees Christopher Mendl''' (6 August 1919, [[London]] – 7 July 2008) was a [[British people|British]] [[record producer]], [[A&R]] representative, and manager who worked for [[Decca Records]] for over 40 years.

Mendl attended [[Radley College]] and then [[University College, Oxford]], where he studied [[history]]. After falling in love with [[jazz]] music in the late 1930s, he abandoned his career in foreign affairs for [[sound recording and reproduction]]. Mendl's grandfather, who was chairman of the Decca Gramophone Company, landed him his first position in the business. During [[World War II]] he worked as an announcer for jazz radio in [[Jerusalem]] and on news broadcasts in the [[Mediterranean]]. He applied for a job at the [[BBC]] after the war but soon returned to Decca. He worked as a [[song plugger]] in the late 1940s, and began producing in 1950, working early in his career with [[Reggie Goff]] (his first recording), [[Winifred Atwell]] (producing her classic recording of "Black And White Rag") and [[Josh White]].

Mendl produced [[Lonnie Donegan]]'s first recordings, which were pivotal in defining the new [[skiffle]] sound of the 1950s.  His production credits covered a wide variety of styles — he also produced the original cast recordings of [[musical theatre|musical]]s such as ''[[Hello, Dolly! (musical)|Hello, Dolly!]]'', ''[[Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be]]'', ''[[Oh! What a Lovely War]]'' and ''[[Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein musical)|Cinderella]]'', a set of speeches by [[Winston Churchill]], comedy/satire albums by [[Ivor Cutler]] and [[Frankie Howerd]], and even an LP of the [[Le Mans]] 24-hour race, inspired by his lifelong passion for motor racing.

Mendl encouraged Decca to sign rising Liverpool band [[The Beatles]] in 1962, but they were famously turned down by executive [[Dick Rowe]]. As a result of that historic mistake, Decca executives began paying more attention to Mendl's advice, and he is credited with recommending several other of the company's most important signings, including [[The Rolling Stones]] (for which Rowe ultimately took credit),<ref name="TAXI">((cite web|url=http://finaltaxi.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/rock-music-producer-hugh-mendl/ |title=The Final Taxi|website=Finaltaxi.wordpress.com))</ref> [[David Bowie]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[John Mayall's Bluesbreakers]] and [[Caravan (band)|Caravan]].<ref name="Stage">((cite web|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/feature.php/21478/hugh-mendl|publisher=[[The Stage]]|title=Obituaries - Hugh Mendl))</ref>

In the mid-1960s, Mendl was instrumental in the establishment of Decca's new 'progressive' subsidiary label [[Deram Records|Deram]] and he championed Deram's biggest act, [[The Moody Blues]] and acted as executive producer for the Moody Blues album ''[[Days of Future Passed]]'' (1967). Through his efforts, [[David Bowie]], [[John Mayall]], [[Caravan (band)|Caravan]], and [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] signed with Decca, although the records of some of these artists appeared on the Deram imprint. He gave the Moody Blues the support that enabled them to evolve from a struggling 'beat-pop' act into a full-fledged progressive rock group, and he offered them a deal to record a lavish orchestral concept album that would promote the company's DSS stereo sound system. In exchange for which Decca wiped the band's debts, which by then amounted to several thousand pounds. Mendl also backed the group's groundbreaking demand for complete artistic control over the resulting album, ''[[Days of Future Passed]]'', recorded with the [[London Festival Orchestra]], and for which he acted as executive producer, as well as writing the liner notes.

Mendl was well known for his "massive contempt" for Decca's rival [[EMI]], which he described as having "all of the arrogance of the BBC without any of the education",<ref name="IndObit">((cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/hugh-mendl-producer-at-decca-records-876686.html|title=Hugh Mendl obituary|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=25 July 2008))</ref> but his obituary noted that he largely stood apart from the often bitter and divisive office politics at Decca, where staff were habitually played off against each other by [[Edward Lewis (Decca)|Edward Lewis]].<ref name="IndObit"/><!-- Lewis was not knighted until 1961, and this paragraph does not necessarily only cover the period following. -->

Mendl suffered a [[heart attack]] at an industry Christmas party in December 1979, which he blamed on the stress of "working for a dying company". During his convalescence Sir Edward Lewis died, and a few weeks later Decca was taken over by [[Polygram]]. When Mendl returned to work, he discovered that his office had been cleaned out on the orders of the new proprietors, and all his diaries — which would have provided a unique insight into the company's operations — had been thrown away.<ref name="IndObit"/>

He left the company soon after and quit the music business, retiring to [[Devon]], where he ran an antiques shop.

==References==
((Reflist))

==External links==
*[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4317752.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1 Hugh Mendl: Record Producer at Decca]. ''[[The Times]]'', July 12, 2008.

((Authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:Mendl, Hugh))
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College, Oxford]]
[[Category:British record producers]]
[[Category:People educated at Radley College]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Hugh Mendl (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite news (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Module:Find sources (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/links (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/templates/Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Hugh Mendl.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Mendl"