Renowned recording engineer had soft spot for city
Three-time Juno nominee worked with the biggest names over a half decade of making music
During his more than 50 years in the music business, Nick Blagona helped record some of the biggest names in pop and rock — Deep Purple, Chicago, the Bee Gees, the Police, Cat Stevens, Alexisonfire and April Wine to name a few — in some of the top studios in North America and Europe.
But in his final years, the world-renowned sound engineer chose to work with local musicians at his Caledoniabased Psychotropic Studios, as well as Hamilton’s Grant Avenue and Halo studios.
Blagona spent his last days in Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s hospital, dying Jan. 4 due to complications from heart, kidney and lung disease. He was 74.
“He had a great love for the Hamilton music scene,” said Mary-Jane Russell, his wife and partner of 32 years. “We both loved living here much more than Toronto. We just blossomed here. He was really happy here.”
Russell noted that some of the last projects he worked on were by local R&B band Cootes Paradise and Hamilton punk pioneer Chris Houston.
Born Nicolai Nicolaiavich Blagonadegny in Germany during the final months of the Second World War, Blagona emigrated with his family to Montreal in the ’50s.
He developed a love for recorded music and studied at McGill University and Radio College of Canada before heading to England at the age of 19 to take part in the Beatles-inspired pop-rock explosion of the ’60s.
Blagona landed an apprenticeship at Decca Studios, and then found work as a staff engineer at Wessex Studios in London.
The three-time Juno nominee returned to Canada in the early
’70s to help build Le Studio in the Quebec Laurentians, hosting the Police, Chicago, the Bee Gees, Robert Charlebois, Nazareth and the McGarrigle Sisters.
In the ’90s, Blagona moved to Mississauga’s Metalworks Recording Studios where, according to his website biography, he was involved in mastering more than 2,000 projects from across Canada.
In 2005, Blagona and Russell moved to Dundas where they purchased a house and established roots in the local music community, winning a Hamilton Music Award as engineer of the year for his work with Weekend Riot Club and the Sheepdogs.
The couple moved to Caledonia in 2010, re-establishing Psychotropic Studio in their home and also working at Jukasa Studios in Ohsweken.
During an interview at Jukasa, Blagona attributed his success to being “in the right place at the right time.”
“I still get a thrill when I hear something I’ve made on the radio,” Blagona told The Sachem. “If you’re good at your craft and you work hard, eventually you’ll be found and succeed. It all depends on your definition of success. The people who succeed are the ones who take that leap of faith.”
Blagona made lasting friendships in the music industry, especially with Deep Purple lead vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover, who he worked regularly with since 1983.
“The album he did with Gillan and Glover called ‘Accidentally On Purpose’ (1988) was probably one of the highlights of his life,” Russell said. “It was a precious time for him.”
At his request, there will be no funeral for Blagona. Russell said she is hoping to organize a celebration of Blagona’s life in May at Hamilton’s Halo Studio.