James ‘Jimbo’ Barton
When Peter Collins’ trusted engineer Julian Mendelson found himself moving on to larger roles, he recommended Peter take a look at Jimbo Barton as his replacement. “They had a very similar sort of sound,” says Peter. “He had a very hyped-up, hi-tech sound which was perfect for what I was doing in the early 80s.” Jimbo assisted Peter on a number of projects, not least with Blancmange and Gary Moore, and when Peter was invited to produce ‘Power Windows’ for Rush, Jimbo was his preferred choice for engineer.
Since working on ‘Power Windows’ and ‘Hold Your Fire’, Jimbo has worked with a wide variety of artists including Enya, Alphaville, Kiss, Gary Moore (again), Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Eric Clapton, Queensrÿche (with Peter Collins and Paul Northfield). Jimbo was awarded a Grammy for his efforts on Eric Clapton’s ‘Unplugged’. “I’ve never seen it,” he laughs. Jimbo then collaborated with Alex to produce and mix the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack to ‘Rush In Rio’. And indeed, what about Rush? “Astounding musicians, I wish I could say there was a weak one in the bunch,” says Jimbo. “The way they do what they do, it’s something to be watched. If you can adhere to it they really are great, great people, it goes against the grain.”