Mike Vickers
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Mike Vickers | |
---|---|
Birth name | Michael Graham Vickers |
Born | Staines-upon-Thames, England | 18 April 1940
Occupations | Musician |
Instruments |
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Formerly of |
Michael Graham Vickers (born 18 April 1940) is an English musician who came to prominence as the guitarist, flautist, and saxophonist with the 1960s band Manfred Mann.
Early life
Vickers was born in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. At the age of seven, his family moved to Scotland, and when he was eleven, to Southampton, where he attended King Edward VI school.[1]
Career
Manfred Mann
Vickers originally played flute and saxophone, but with the increasing popularity of guitars in bands, it was decided that
He was credited as a co-writer on Manfred Mann's early hit singles[clarification needed] and contributed a few tracks to albums, including "The Abominable Snowmann" and "You're for Me".[citation needed] In 1965, his bandmate Tom McGuinness described him as "the nicest one of the group…nice nearly all the time. But when he's nasty he just can't be nice about it." McGuinness added: "He collects saxophones – which we buy for him."[2]
By 1965, according to McGuinness, Vickers was already "recording with his own orchestra and looks like becoming a definite threat to
Solo
At the end of 1965, Vickers quit Manfred Mann, although his first solo album, I Wish I Were a Group Again, did not appear until 1968.[4] In June 1967, Vickers conducted the orchestra for the live recording of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love", which was shown on live TV across the world when communications satellite technology was celebrated by a worldwide linkup.
Vickers continued as a composer and
Vickers was an early user of the Moog synthesizer and found work outside his usual composing and arranging jobs as a programmer and performer of Moog equipment in the late 1960s, including teaching the Beatles how to use the Moog during recording sessions for the Abbey Road album.[6]
He also founded the Baker Street Philharmonic, releasing singles, EPs, and four albums between 1969 and 1972.[7] His instrumental piece "Visitation", composed and recorded in 1971, was used in the Polish television science series Sonda, broadcast between 1977 and 1989.[citation needed]
The Manfreds
From 1992 to 1999, Vickers was a member of the Manfreds, an amalgamation of 1960s Manfred Mann members and associates that featured both Paul Jones and his successor, Mike d'Abo, on vocals, the latter also playing keyboards. Vickers played only woodwind instruments—alto saxophone, flute, and occasionally recorder—in this ensemble. In some of the later hits, such as "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James", he reproduced woodwind parts that had been performed on the original studio versions by his successor in Manfred Mann, Klaus Voormann.[citation needed]
Discography
with Manfred Mann
- The Five Faces of Manfred Mann (1964)
- The Manfred Mann Album (1964)
- My Little Red Book of Winners! (1965)
- Mann Made (1965)
Solo
- Wish I Were a Group Again (1968)
with the Manfreds
- 5-4-3-2-1 (1998)
- Live (1999)
References
- ^ "A potted biography – Mike Vickers". 18 January 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ Sleeve note, Mann Made, HMV 1911, 1965
- ^ Sleeve note, Mann Made, HMV 1911, 1965
- ISBN 0-7535-0149-X.
- ^ Foster, Jason (4 August 2015). "The inside story of how 'This Week in Baseball' got its iconic theme music". Sporting News. Sporting News Media. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ "When Moog Arrived in the UK". 9 July 2020.
- ^ "Mike Vickers". Mike Vickers. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
External links
- Vinyl Vulture – Interview at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 January 2008)
- Mike Vickers at IMDb