Robert John "Mutt" Lange - Biography

Biography

Robert John Lange was born in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).Raised in Durban, Kwa-zulu natal, South Africa his mother came from a prosperous family in Germany, 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. Sent to study at Belfast High School in South Africa, he started a music band in which he played rhythm guitar and sang harmonies.

He eventually married Stevie van Kerken (a.k.a. Stevie Vann) and moved to England where, in 1970, he started the band Hocus in which his wife sang. His marriage to Stevie broke down in the 1970s. Whilst still married, his personal attentions then turned to Belfast born employee Oonagh O'Reilly for five years.

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 African born player Colin Viljoen.

Beginning production work in 1976, his first major hits came in October 1978 with the UK #1 single "Rat Trap" for The Boomtown Rats, followed in July 1979 with AC/DC's heavy metal album Highway to Hell (#8 UK, #17 US). He produced two more albums with AC/DC, including Back in Black (1980) which is currently the third best-selling album of all time. He also worked with 1980's pop-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. Though he did not produce AC/DC's 1983 album Flick of the Switch, it was rumored that during the completion of that album he was asked to help his long time engineer Tony Platt finish it up by giving it a listen.

After Hysteria, Lange bowed out of working with Def Leppard while they were at their peak. 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 #1 hit on the mainstream rock charts for the band.

In 1991, he produced Bryan Adams' Waking Up the Neighbours, including co-writing "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", a hugely successful 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 number one (7 July-26 October 1991).

After hearing Shania Twain's material, he got in touch with her and they spent many hours on the phone with each other. They finally met six months after the initial contact and were married on December 28, 1993. Because Lange is a teetotaller, 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 May 15, 2008, a spokesperson for Mercury Nashville announced that Twain and Lange were separating after Lange had an affair whilst still married, his personal attentions turned to Twain's best friend, Marie-Anne Thiebaud. The couple have since divorced and Twain is now married to Thiebaud's ex-husband Frederic.

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

In the 2001 made-for-TV movie Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story, actor Anthony Michael Hall portrayed Lange.