Vale Les Francis ~ The diminutive sound engineer was a giant of the Adelaide advertising industry
The ad industry will be saddened to hear of the passing of highly regarded sound engineer, Les Francis, has passed away after a prolonged illness.
It was a time of quarter-inch tape and razor blades, when the creative heavyweights of Australia would jet in from agencies like The Campaign Palace, Y&R and Clemenger with scripts in hand, to descend upon a small studio in Halifax Street, Adelaide.
At its peak, Street Remley Studios was the nation’s centre of excellence for radio and sound production, and Les was an integral part of that globally awarded team for over two decades, along with Bobby Dennis, Philip Webster, Jim Berinson, Streeter himself and a passing parade of young, up and coming sound engineers, writers and actors.
All of the creative brilliance and mayhem was impeccably wrangled by Street’s long-time producer, the inimitable Leanne Vine, who would later become Les’ partner.
The interior walls of the bluestone cottage housing the studio were barely visible for the countless awards hung upon them. Trophies from every major award show in Australia and the world adorned shelves, cupboards, speakers, and acted as doorstops – Clio, Mobius, London International, New York Festivals, D&AD, Golden Stylus and AWARD.
However, the fastidious Francis only ever focused on the job at hand for the sake of the job. Awards, should they come later, were a welcome bonus. Industry veteran Andrew Killey best summed it up when he said, “Les was the most terrifyingly pedantic, perfect engineer I ever worked with.”
Throughout his 54-year career, Les worked in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Singapore and London. He was a regular speaker at international sound production seminars and workshops, and judged numerous national and international awards.
The diminutive Les was a giant of the ad industry in Adelaide and, along with mentoring a large number of young sound engineers and writers, was commissioned to train aspiring voice-over artists.
Les was a passionate supporter of the local ad industry and dedicated himself tirelessly to the Adelaide Advertising and Design Club over many years. He twice won the coveted AADC Master‘s Chair for excellence in Craft and in 2010 was awarded the President’s Award for his outstanding contribution to the industry.
An exceptional talent and a thoroughly decent and kind man, his contribution was enormous and he will be sorely missed.
RIP Les.
James Rickard
Creative Director & Copywriter
AADC President
11 Comments
had the pleasure of working with les and street back in the 90’s. both true legends, and gentlemen.
Great engineer. Great bloke. Commiserations to Leanne and his family.
Sad to hear this – another Ad legend passes and leaves us less than we were. Commiserations Leanne, family and friends. RIP, Les – say ‘Hi’ to all the others x
The times I had working with Street and Les shaped my career and gave me an enduring love for the craft of radio. His soft speaking voice and calm demeanor disguised his fierce dedication to his craft. He shall be very much missed.
– Brilliant bloke even listened to a suit like me once or twice
Small in size, but a giant in stature, I loved working with Les. He helped me produce (and improve) many pieces including Golden Stylus success for a campaign on behalf of SGIO way back during the nineties. I totally agree with Andrew Killey – pedantic, but addicted to perfection. I would happily fly to Adelaide and work with him when ever I could. A total gentleman, when you could not get access to Street (if he was interstate or overseas), there was none better than Les. He spent a little time in Perth working at Brainestorm when Marty was away. Sincere condolences to his friends (especially Leanne) and family.
We were recording a radio spot where the M and F talent were meant to be lovers in bed together. Standing awkedly besides each other in the booth, the desired chemistry just wasn’t there. Les’ solution? Run a mic lead out of the studio, down the hall, and up the narrow stairs, where Les got the talent to sit squished in shoulder to shoulder as they did their lines. Suddenly, Love Was in the Air. What a legend was Les! He could even make my crummy scripts sound good. Sadly missed.
RIP Les.A perfectionist.
Rest in peace wonderful friend. Thank you for your advice over the years, for coming to our rescue when we needed it, for the Triabunna crayfish the camping trips and the ice creams around a campfire on the Murray. Thank you for introducing me to Polly (my business partner), to Sam (sound designer) and to Fox Creek Vixen sparkling shiraz nearly twenty years ago. Thank you for coming sailing with me, even if I did have to prise your bony, stubborn fingers from the wheel sometimes when it was blowing like buggery and you needed a break.
And quite apart from all of that you really did have the best pair of ears in the business. And one of the best senses of humour.
Great tribute James. Thank you for posting it.
Traveling from Sydney, with its own excellent sound production studios, to Adelaide may have seemed indulgent and unnecessarily expensive merely to record some radio commercials, but in one particular case an enlightened client insisted on it. Street always improved my scripts, and Les recorded them meticulously. For all his expertise, he always had a very modest presence.
Sad news. A wonderful engineer and a wonderful man.