Mike Hurst (born
Michael John Longhurst Pickworth 19 September 1941 in Kilburn,
North West London*NW postcode area*western part of North London...
) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
and
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
.
A singer, songwriter and guitarist from the age of 13, Mike Hurst was encouraged by rock singer,
Eddie CochranRaymond Edward "Eddie" Cochran was an American rock and roll musician and an important influence on popular music during the late 1950s, early 1960s.- Early life and career :...
, when he was young after auditioning for
Jack GoodJack Good is a pioneering TV television producer, a Musical Theatre Producer, a record producer, a musician and a painter of icons.-Career:...
's television show Oh Boy!. In 1960, after failing to secure a recording contract, Hurst moved away from music and began to work in insurance.
Mike Hurst (born
Michael John Longhurst Pickworth 19 September 1941 in Kilburn,
North West London*NW postcode area*western part of North London...
) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
and
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
.
Career
A singer, songwriter and guitarist from the age of 13, Mike Hurst was encouraged by rock singer,
Eddie CochranRaymond Edward "Eddie" Cochran was an American rock and roll musician and an important influence on popular music during the late 1950s, early 1960s.- Early life and career :...
, when he was young after auditioning for
Jack GoodJack Good is a pioneering TV television producer, a Musical Theatre Producer, a record producer, a musician and a painter of icons.-Career:...
's television show Oh Boy!. In 1960, after failing to secure a recording contract, Hurst moved away from music and began to work in insurance. Later, Hurst won an audition for a pop/folk group after his mother answered an ad for a singer in
the StageThe Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
, and joined both
DustyMary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE , known as Dusty Springfield, was a pop singer and entertainer. Of all the female British pop artists of the 1960s, she made one of the biggest impressions on the American market...
and
Tom SpringfieldTom Springfield is the brother of Dusty Springfield and an important figure in the 1960s folk and pop music scene...
in
the SpringfieldsThe Springfields were a British pop-folk vocal trio in the early 1960s, who had success in the UK, USA and Ireland, but are now best remembered as the launch pad for singer Dusty Springfield....
in February 1962. They scored their first big hit single in the US with
Silver Threads and Golden Needles"Silver Threads and Golden Needles", a song written by Jack Rhodes and Dick Reynolds, was first recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956. The original lyrics, as performed by Jackson, contain a verse not usually included in later versions, which also often differed in an other minor details.-Other...
becoming the first UK vocal group to make the US Top 20. UK chart success followed with
Island Of Dreams and
Say I Won't Be There in 1963. They were voted top British group by readers of the New Musical Express in 1962. The Springfields' final performance was in
Sunday Night at the London PalladiumSunday Night at the London Palladium is a British television variety show produced by ATV for the ITV network, originally running from 1955 to 1967, with a brief revival in 1973 and 1974. The London Palladium is a theatre in London's West End...
, the biggest TV show of the day, where they were presented with a trophy by compere,
Bruce ForsythBruce Joseph Forsyth Johnson CBE is a British showman and entertainer. He became well-known through the series Sunday Night at the London Palladium, and became a household name in the UK, going on to present television series such as The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right, The Price Is Right...
. The show was watched by 23 million people, after which the group disbanded in October 1963.
In 1964, he formed a
bandIn music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band* Dansband* Fife and drum...
called the Methods, featuring
Jimmy PageJames Patrick Page OBE is an Englishcomposer and record producer.Page has been described as "unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history". In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Page #9 in its list of the 100 Greatest...
and then
Albert LeeFor the city in Minnesota, see Albert Lea, MinnesotaAlbert Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire England is a Grammy Award-winning English guitarist known for his finger-style and hybrid picking technique.-Early life:...
on
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
, plus
Tony AshtonTony Ashton was an English rock pianist, keyboardist, singer, composer, producer and artist.-Biography:...
on
keyboardsA keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organs as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
. After leaving the band Hurst began producing for Andrew Oldham (Tony Rivers and the Castaways) and
Mickie MostMickie Most, born Michael Peter Hayes , was a successful English record producer, with a string of Number One singles with his own RAK Records, and with acts such as The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, and Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group.-Early career:Most was born in Aldershot, Hampshire...
. In September 1965 he oversaw
Marc BolanMarc Bolan , was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist whose hit singles, fashion sensibilities and stage presence with T...
's first ever recording session whilst he was at Decca where he recorded "The Wizard" In 1965 he discovered singer-songwriter
Cat StevensYusuf Islam , best known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is a British musician. He is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
whilst he was performing at Hammersmith College. He had him signed up to the new Deram record label (an imprint of Decca) and produced his first five hit singles including "Matthew & Son" and "I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun". During this time he also produced hit singles for PP Arnold ("first Cut Is The Deepest"),
The MoveThe Move were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s from Birmingham, England, and were among the most popular British bands to not find any success in the US....
("Curly"),
Manfred MannManfred Mann were a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboard player and founder, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Mann's Earth Band.-Beginnings :...
("Mighty Quinn"),
Spencer Davis GroupThe Spencer Davis Group was a mid-1960s British beat group from Birmingham, England. In its heyday the group consisted of Spencer Davis, Steve Winwood, Muff Winwood and Pete York; Jimmy Miller was their producer...
("Time Seller") and
Colin BlunstoneColin Blunstone is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.-Biography:He attended St Albans County Grammar School for Boys.Blunstone's plaintive, wistful voice was one of the...
.
In 1970 and 1971 he recorded two albums for Capitol records, utilising sidesmen such as Tony Ashton,
B. J. ColeBrian John Cole is an English pedal steel guitarist. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles of music, ranging from mainstream pop and rock, to jazz and eclectic experimental music.He played with Marc Bolan / T.Rex on their 1974 album Zinc...
,
Clem CattiniClem Cattini was the drummer for the 1960s English band, The Tornados as well as being a session musician. Cattini is one of the most prolific drummers in UK recording history, appearing on hundreds of recordings by artists as diverse as Engelbert Humperdinck and Lou Reed...
,
Ian PaiceIan Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the seminal rock band, Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band still performing with the group.-The Early Years:...
,
Jon LordJon Lord is an English composer, Hammond organ and piano player.Lord is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms. He has most famously been a member of Deep Purple, as well as of Whitesnake, Paice, Ashton & Lord,...
,
Rod ArgentRod Argent was a founding member of the 1959 English pop group The Zombies and the 1970s band Argent.While at St Albans School, he met Paul Atkinson and Hugh Grundy...
and
Nicky HopkinsNicky Hopkins Nicky Hopkins Nicky Hopkins (born Nicholas Christian Hopkins (February 24, 1944 – September 6, 1994) was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on some of the most important British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely...
.
In 1973 he formed his own production company Solid Gold and wrote and produced for the band
Fancy (band)Fancy were an early-mid 1970s pop group. The band was made up of session musicians produced by Mike Hurst. They had a surprise U.S. hit single in 1974 with a version of the classic "Wild Thing" and a second U.S. hit with "Touch Me" . They were initially fronted by Penthouse Pet, Helen Caunt and...
, achieving US chart success with the singles "Touch Me" and a cover of the Troggs "Wild Thing". The same year he signed
ShowaddywaddyShowaddywaddy are a 1970s pop group from Leicester, England. They specialised in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s, and dressed as Teddy Boys.-History:...
to Bell Records and produced a string of UK hit singles for them. These included "Under The Moon Of Love", "
Three Steps to Heaven"Three Steps to Heaven" is a 1960 single by Eddie Cochran. It became a posthumous UK number-one hit for Cochran following his death in a car crash.Showaddywaddy's 1975 cover version of this song was also a hit, reaching No. 1 in Ireland and No...
" and "When".
Following his success with Showaddywaddy he produced
Modern PriscillaModern Priscilla is the title of Cilla Black's tenth solo studio album and her last to be completed before the end of her 15-year contract with the EMI group...
a disco album for
Cilla BlackCilla Black OBE is a British singer, actress and television performer who has been successful as an entertainer from 1963 through the present day. She is most famous worldwide for her successful singles "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "You're My World", and "Alfie"...
and started managing Shakin Stevens in 1978, producing his first hit single "Hot Dog" in 1980. After parting company with Stevens in 1982 he formed a vocal group with
Mary HopkinMary Hopkin is a Welsh folk singer. She is best known as one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label and for her 1968 single "Those Were The Days", a Top 10 hit single in the UK and the U.S....
called Sundance and toured with Dr Hook. In 1984 he became head of Lamborghini Records, famous for discovering
Samantha FoxSamantha Karen "Sam" Fox is an English former glamour model and dance-pop singer.- Background :As the eldest daughter of the late Patrick John Fox and Carole Ann Wilken, Samantha Karen Fox came from a family of market traders in the East End of London...
. Mike Hurst has achieved a career total of 52 hit singles and 25 gold and platinum albums, making him one of the most successful British producers to date.
Recent work includes production for the bands
Belle & SebastianBelle & Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow, Scotland in January 1996. They are one of the best-known Scottish bands and are one of the most celebrated groups of the 1990s. Belle & Sebastian are often compared to influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such...
(2002) and his son's band, Jonas and Plunkett (in 2007). Mike also runs rock schools for youngsters through his Rockmaster company, and he also lectures at schools throughout the country.
External links