He broke into record production at Blackwell's suggestion in 1965, firstly on a single by Alex Harvey and then producing live albums by Larry Williams and Lee Dorsey. The following year, he was appointed head of A&R at Island Records. His first signing to the label was Birmingham band The V.I.P.s, who soon changed their name to Art. Stevens produced their early recordings, before they added keyboardist Gary Wright to become Spooky Tooth. Stevens also managed and produced Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, an artistic and musical collaboration between the band Art and designers Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, which led to the album "Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids".