Langer was born in 1954, to a Jewish Polish father who had fled Poland to escape the Nazis, before later settling in England and enlisting in the
Royal Air Force. Having grown up in London, Langer studied at art school in Canterbury and at the
Liverpool College of Art. Prior to his record producing career he was a guitarist with the British
cult band
Deaf School. Langer sometimes performed under the alias of 'Cliff Hanger', and his production work was sometimes attributed to 'Clanger'. After Deaf School, in mid 1977, Langer joined
Big in Japan which he suggested to his friend
Bill Drummond (later founder of
Zoo Records and member of
The KLF) to form, but Langer quit shortly afterwards and began a new band, Clive Langer and the Boxes. Their releases were
I Want the Whole World, a
12" EP released in 1979 on
Radar Records. and
Splash!, an album released in 1980 on
F-Beat Records. Langer co-wrote the song "
Shipbuilding" with
Elvis Costello, and played organ on the version by
Robert Wyatt which was a Top 40 hit in the UK. As of 2025, he lives in
Hackney, London and is
tee-total. ==Albums produced by Langer and Winstanley==