Nellee Hooper

British composer and record producer

Nellee Hooper (born 1963, Bristol, England) is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack. He also started being a motion picture music composer with famed Scottish composer Craig Armstrong and Marius De Vries for the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet in 1996.

Nellee Hooper
Birth namePaul Andrew Hooper
Born1963
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
GenresTrip-hop, Rock, Electronica

Biography change

Hooper began his career as a DJ and as a member of the Wild Bunch, the Bristol-based group that would turn into Massive Attack.

Between 1989 and 1992 he produced the first albums for Soul II Soul (Club Classics Vol. I), Massive Attack (Blue Lines) and Björk (Debut), which in 1995 Mixmag magazine ranked the 31st, 1st and 3rd best dance albums of all time.

The 1995 BRIT Awards honored Hooper as Best Producer for his work on Massive Attack's Protection, Björk's Post and Madonna's Bedtime Stories albums.

In 1998 he won a BAFTA Award (Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music) for his work arranging the score and soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.

In the late 1990s Hooper set up the Meanwhile imprint, which is a company part of Virgin Records.

Hooper continued to work slowly into the 2000s. He received a Grammy nomination in 2003 for his work on No Doubt's Rock Steady and Lamya's Learning From Falling albums. His other work has included producing the singles "GoldenEye" (1995) for Tina Turner, "Under the Bridge" (1998) for All Saints and "Down Boy" (2002) for Holly Valance, as well as providing remixes for artists like Janet Jackson and Sade.

Most recently he has worked with Gwen Stefani on her solo albums and on U2's 2004 release How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, for which he won a Grammy Award. He also produced the first solo album of Andrea Corr of The Corrs, entitled Ten Feet High which was released on June 25, 2007.