NIGEL WRIGHT

Born: June 13th, 1955, Bristol (United Kingdom)

Nationality: British

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Since the early 1980s, Nigel Wright has been a producer, arranger, songwriter, and sound engineer. The first act he successfully produced was jazz funk band Shakatak. Wright also released disco medleys under the pseudonyms Enigma (‘Ain’t No Stopping’, 1981), Mirage, and Mojo. Other artists for which he worked, include Barbra Streisand, Take That, Sarah Brightman, and Boyzone. He produced five UK number one hits and over forty top-20 successes. 

For Andrew Lloyd Webber, he has produced several of his musicals, including Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1991) and Evita (1996). Wright co-produced ‘You Must Love Me’, which was written for Madonna and part of the soundtrack of the movie version of Evita; in 1997, it won the Oscar for best original song in a film. Since 2004, he has worked as a musical director in various televised talent shows, including X Factor.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Nigel Wright was involved in arranging and conducting two Eurovision entries: firstly, in 1992, he helped the Icelandic group Heart 2 Heart with their song ‘Nei eða já’, adapting the initial arrangement which had been written in Iceland by Jon Kjell Seljeseth and two members of the group. In the festival final in Malmö, Wright conducted the orchestra for the Icelanders, who finished 7th on the night. 

One year later, Wright produced, arranged, and conducted the UK entry ‘Better The Devil You Know’, performed by Sonia; this song finished runner-up behind Ireland’s Niamh Kavanagh and her ‘In Your Eyes’.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1992 Malmö

Country – Iceland

Song title – “Nei eða já”

Rendition – Heart 2 Heart (Sigrún Eva Ármansdóttir / Johan Asmundsson / Sigriður Beinteinsdóttir / Haliðor Hauksson / Friðrik Karlsson / Gretar Örvarsson)

Lyrics – Stefán Hilmarsson

Composition – Friðrik Karlsson / Grétar Örvarsson

Studio arrangement –  Friðrik Karlsson / Grétar Örvarsson / Jon Kjell Seljeseth / Nigel Wright

Live orchestration – Nigel Wright

Conductor – Nigel Wright

Score – 7th place (80 votes)

1993 Millstreet 

Country – United Kingdom

Song title – “Better The Devil You Know”

Rendition – Sonia Evans

Lyrics – Dean Collinson / Brian Teasdale 'Red'

Composition – Dean Collinson / Brian Teasdale 'Red'

Studio arrangement – Nigel Wright

Live orchestration – Nigel Wright

Conductor – Nigel Wright

Score – 2nd place (164 votes)