Howard James Gray was born in Sydney, Australia, shortly after his parents emigrated from their native Liverpool.
11 Facts About Howard Gray
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The family returned to Liverpool when Gray was six months old, and the city played its role in forming the young Gray's musical passions.
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In 1980, during his last year at school, Howard Gray landed a job as a tape operator at Richard Branson's notorious Manor Studio, the residential facility built on a country estate near Oxford.
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Some many artists Howard Gray worked with include Public Image Ltd, the Stranglers, Kirsty MacColl, the Armoury Show, Japan, Rip Rig + Panic and Van Morrison.
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Howard Gray was Virgin's house engineer on Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's album Architecture and Morality, and engineered producer Adrian Sherwood's groundbreaking Dub Syndicate album The Pounding System.
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When Howard Gray broke away from the Virgin studio system, he initially went to work as Steve Lillywhite's engineer, which led to him working with such diverse artists as Simple Minds, XTC, the Pretenders, UB40 and Abba's Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
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Howard Gray had previously worked with the band at the Townhouse on their UB44 album.
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Still only 21 years old, Howard Gray engineered and co-produced UB40's next album Geffery Morgan.
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Some other artists Howard Gray produced through the mid- to late '80s include the Pale Fountains, Head, the Screaming Blue Messiahs, Hugh Cornwell, Red Guitars, Danny Wilson and Age of Chance.
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Howard Gray has collaborated with John Fortis on the production of The Cazals, Eight Legs and Art Brut's debut album Bang Bang Rock and Roll.
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Howard Gray was co-producer of the Josh Bray album Whiskey and Wool.