Jesus and Mary Chain producer and Vibrators member Pat Collier dies age 72
Pat Collier, the bassist for London punk band the Vibrators and a producer for notable acts such as the Jesus and Mary Chain, has passed away at the age of 72.
In the early '70s, Collier co-founded the Vibrators with Ian "Knox" Carnochan, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John "Eddie" Edwards. The band gained initial recognition after backing Chris Spedding in 1976, which led to their signing with RAK Records.
The Vibrators went on to release over 20 albums, with their most recent being 2022's Fall into the Sky. In addition to his work with the Vibrators, Collier produced records for the Jesus and Mary Chain, Robyn Hitchcock, X-Ray Spex, Soft Boys, and others.
Robyn Hitchcock paid tribute to Collier in a series of tweets and said: “We discovered our own version of joy recording with Pat. He worked with many UK hitmakers in the 1980s and 90s, moving from his funky, spore-infested lair of Alaska Studios (under the railway arches at Waterloo) to the airy, spacious Greenhouse premises near Old Street.
“Pat was always level, considerate, and open to ideas, with a keen sense of what would work, and what wouldn’t. I hadn’t seen him for ages. We never fell out, but he drifted further east, to studios in south-east London, whilst I headed west, to Nashville and the Isle of Wight.
“He was a good man, I’m glad I got to work with him back in those earlier days, and I’m grateful.”