Early career Rushent's first experience in a recording studio was at
EMI House in London's
Manchester Square, when his school band (of which he was the lead singer) had the opportunity to record a demo. After leaving school, Rushent, who had already experimented with his father's
4-track recorder, worked at a chemical factory before working for his father while applying for studio jobs. After numerous rejections, Rushent was employed by
Advision Studios as a
35mm film projectionist. After approximately three months, Rushent began working in the audio department as a tape operator alongside
Tony Visconti. He worked on sessions for
Fleetwood Mac,
T. Rex,
Yes,
Emerson, Lake & Palmer,
Petula Clark,
Jerry Lee Lewis and
Osibisa. Rushent stated that while at Advision, Jerry Lee Lewis threw a
tantrum as Yes had been booked into the studio when he was not ready to leave, and chased the studio staff around the complex until they locked themselves in a different studio. Rushent progressed to senior assistant engineer, staff engineer, and eventually head engineer. He then began working
freelance, where he built his reputation and was employed by
United Artists (UA). Rushent's production on
Dare frustrated the group's guitarist
Jo Callis, as the only guitar on the album was used to trigger a
gate on the synthesiser. Singer
Susanne Sulley was also frustrated by the lengthy process of Rushent's synth programming. In 1983, Rushent walked out of his own studio after Sulley made an off-the-cuff comment toward him. Rushent decided to take a break from production in the 1990s, and sold his assets – including Genetic Studios. He briefly took up a consultancy position with Virgin, but retired from the industry to raise his children. In 2005, he produced
Hazel O'Connor's album
Hidden Heart. At the time of his death, Rushent was working on a 30th anniversary version of
Dare, remixed like
Love and Dancing but using traditional musical instruments instead of synthesisers. == Personal life ==