Grammy-award winning mix engineer Mike Shipley - who has been prominent in the global music industry for several decades, having worked on projects with combined sales in the hundreds of millions - has passed away.

According to Wikipedia, Mike Shipley first became interested in a recording career while at school in the UK in the early 1970s. He completed high school in Melbourne, Australia, but quickly returned to London, where he got his first big break working for Wessex Studios, home to huge acts including QUEEN and THE SEX PISTOLS. His first engineering sessions were during the punk-music explosion of the late '70s and early '80s and included recordings with the likes of these names and others, including THE DAMNED. His contemporaries at Wessex included producer Roy Thomas Baker, Chris Thomas, and engineers Tim Friese-Greene and Bill Price. Asked to work with THE CARS, Shipley went to Los Angeles in 1984, where he had since been based.

Shipley either produced/mixed some of the following hard rock/heavy metal classics: DEF LEPPARD (Pyromania, Hysteria, High N' Dry, Adrenalize), AEROSMITH (Just Push Play), VAN HALEN (Best Of Both Worlds), SCORPIONS (Savage Amusement), RATT (Detonator), WHITESNAKE (Restless Heart), WINGER (Pull), VIXEN (Rev It Up).

Kip Winger has posted the following statement on Facebook: "I'm very sorry to hear that the great Mike Shipley has died. He was a dear friend. Mike was a kind, generous, funny, supremely talented and skilled person. He taught me how to really make a record. I owe the majority of my studio skill to him. In my opinion he was a true genius, a title I rarely give out. This is a tragic loss to the world to say the least. I'll miss you Mike. R.I.P. Mike Shipley."