Born on September 3, 1943 in Strasbourg, France, producer, musician, and composer Mark Wirtz grew up in Cologne, Germany. He relocated to London in 1962 to study art at the Fairfield College of Arts and Sciences. While living in London he started his first band, The Beatcrackers. By the time they released their only single, EMI had renamed the band Mark Rogers & the Marksmen. Wirtz was then hired by EMI and began working with producer Geoff Emerick, recording such artists as Keith West, Tomorrow (featuring guitar legend Steve Howe) and Kippington Lodge (featuring a young Nick Lowe). In 1967, he envisioned A Teenage Opera, an ambitious concept project that would incorporate rock music and orchestra, which would have been one of the first official rock operas. However, it was an idea that would never be completed. The Keith West single “Excerpt from A Teenage Opera” was the first peek at the incomplete project, but there have been subsequent releases that offer glimpses at what could have been. Wirtz then moved on to the concept album Philwit and Pegasus in 1969. By the 1970s, he had emigrated to the U.S., recording two albums for Capitol Records: Balloon and Hothouse Smiles. He then recorded his 1979 album The Lost Pets, which was shelved and never released. He took a 20 year hiatus from music and pursued other interests including art and various jobs completely unrelated to the music and entertainment industries. He was coaxed back into producing in the mid-2000s and worked on a handful of projects. In 2010, he recorded The Lost Pets 2, the sequel to his unreleased 1979 album. The Lost Pets 2 was officially released in 2013. Mark Wirtz died from Pick’s Disease on August 7, 2020.
