A producer best known for his longtime associations with Smiths, The and Blur — arguably the two preeminent British pop bands of their respective eras — Stephen Street began his career during the early 1980s as an engineer on reggae recordings from artists including Black Uhuru, King Sunny Ade and Linton Kwesi Johnson. He made his first appearance on a Smiths album engineering 1985's Meat Is Murder, and by 1987's Strangeways Here We Come was serving as a full-fledged producer. The group disbanded soon after, but Street continued collaborating with frontman Morrissey, not only producing but also co-writing much of the material which comprised the singer's 1988 solo debut Viva Hate. His partnership with Morrissey continued on a series of singles later collected on the Bona Drag compilation, after which Street moved on to begin working with the fledgling Blur, helming both their 1991 debut LP Leisure and its 1993 follow-up Modern Life Is Rubbish. After producing Cranberries, The' 1994 debut smash Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We, he returned to the Blur fold for their 1994 breakthrough Parklife. Work with artists ranging from Pretenders, The to Sleeper followed, but Street remained most loyal to Blur, next producing 1995's The Great Escape as well as the quartet's 1997 self-titled LP.