Darren Allison (born May 1968, Ashington, Northumberland, England) is an English record producer, musician, and audio engineer, best known for his production work with artists such as Spiritualized,[1] The Divine Comedy,[2] rock band Bôa, and, more recently, Efterklang, Belle & Sebastian and Amatorski.
[3][4][5] At the age of 17, Allison moved to London, and began working at "The Firehouse Studio" in Kentish Town, which was managed by John Cale's guitarist, Dave Young (1949-2022).
Under Young's guidance, he started to develop his craft, assisting on sessions with such artists as Slim Gaillard, Ali Farka Touré, Carmel and The Pogues[6] Following a series of sessions with Dave Stewart at Ezee studios, in 1990 Allison joined Eurythmics' The Church Studios as an in-house engineer.
He remained there for five years, working on albums with indie bands such as My Bloody Valentine[7] and Curve, and on Stewart's own sessions with such rock musicians as Mick Jagger, Lou Reed, Bootsy Collins, and occasional visitor Bob Dylan.
[6] In 1995, Allison left The Church Studios, to concentrate on the production of Neil Hannon's third album under the moniker of The Divine Comedy.