In collaboration with partner Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman was among the most successful songwriters of the 1970s, later enjoying considerable fame as a producer. Born in Queensland, Australia on April 15, 1947, he was in the group Tangerine Peel when he first teamed with Chinn; under the supervision of RAK Records chief Mickie Most, the duo quickly composed a series of smashes for acts including Sweet ("Ballroom Blitz"), Suzi Quatro ("Stumblin' In"), New World ("Living Next Door to Alice"), and Mud ("Tiger Feet"), in all scoring over 40 U.K. hits during the 1970s. With Sweet's Destination Boulevard, Chapman and Chinn also turned to production, helming Quatro that same year. As a solo producer, Chapman enjoyed his first hit with Nick Gilder's 1978 LP City Nights, which generated the smash "Hot Child in the City"; however, his real breakthrough was Blondie's classic Parallel Lines, which launched the blockbuster "Heart of Glass," a chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic. He reunited with Blondie in 1979 for Eat to the Beat, and also teamed with Pat Benatar for her debut In the Heat of the Night, scoring a major hit with "Heartbreaker"; still, neither was as successful as his work on the Knack's Get the Knack -- one of the best-selling debuts in pop history, it yielded the perennial "My Sharona." Chapman and Chinn formed their own label, Dreamland, in 1979; the company folded within two years, but the duo continued writing smash hits like Exile's "Kiss You All Over" and Toni Basil's "Mickey." Chapman's pace slowed considerably in the years to follow, however, with his most notable projects including albums from Debbie Harry, the Divinyls and Lita Ford. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
