Christopher Merrick Hughes, born 3 March 1954,in London, England, also known as Merrick,is a British music producer and drummer, acoustic guitarist and keyboards player. His career began with Adam and The Ants as drummer and producer of Kings of the Wild Frontier. Yielding three hit singles, the album earned Hughes Music Week 's 'Producer of the Year Award'. Best known as producer of Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair, and as the co-writer of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", Hughes has a joint background as a musician, songwriter and producer.
In February 1994, Hughes released Shift, his first solo album, which was re-released in July 2008.Shift was a tribute to American minimalist composer, Steve Reich. In 1972, Hughes' father took him to London to see Reich's performance of Drumming. Hughes credits Reich as a driving influence in his career. Shift uses fragments of Reich's work and "subjects it to subtle manipulations using the technology of recorded sound".
He works with many artists including: Adam and the Ants, Tears For Fears, Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Wang Chung, Tom McRae, Electric Soft Parade, Propaganda, Howard Jones, Lloyd Cole, Jon Bon Jovi, Tori Amos and The Tearjerkers.