Fact #91607

Chris Blackwell (founder, Island Records) : I had some input, and I was overridden. Even though I love Brian Eno, and his work, I didn't think he was the right producer for them at the time they first wanted to use him [for 1984's The Unforgettable Fire]. They'd got this cult status, but I felt it was the time where they just needed that hit record. I had Jimmy Iovine [Bruce Springsteen's producer] lined up to produce them, but they wanted to go with Eno. So I went to have a meeting with them in Ireland, and I was all ready to say, "Now come on, this is how it's going to be," but they really talked me out of it. They said, we want Brian Eno for his intelligence, which was a great way of explaining that they didn't want Jimmy Iovine.
(Source : interview with Andrew Perry, Daily Telegraph, 20 May, 2009)