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Biography
Use British English|date=August 2011Use dmy dates|date=August 2011Infobox musical artist|name = Mike + The Mechanics|image = Mike and the Mechanics.jpg|caption = Mike + The Mechanics in 1999. L-R: Paul Young, Mike Rutherford and Paul Carrack.|image_size = 250px|background = group_or_band|origin = London, United Kingdom|genre = Rock music|Rock , Adult contemporary music|adult contemporary , pop rock |years_active = 1985Present|label = Virgin Records|Virgin , Atlantic Records|Atlantic , Rhino Records|Rhino |associated_acts =|website = URL| http://www.mike-and-the-mechanics.co.uk/|current_members = Mike Rutherford Andrew Roachford Tim Howar Anthony Drennan Gary Wallis Luke Juby|past_members = Paul Carrack Paul Young (singer and percussionist)|Paul Young Peter Van Hooke Adrian Lee Mike + The Mechanics are an England|English Rock music|rock / Pop music|pop Supergroup (music)|supergroup formed in 1985 as a side project of Mike Rutherford , one of the founding members of the band Genesis (band)|Genesis . The band is known for their hit singles " Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground) ", " All I Need Is a Miracle ", " Word of Mouth (Mike + The Mechanics song)|Word of Mouth ", " Over My Shoulder (Mike + The Mechanics song)|Over My Shoulder ", and " The Living Years (song)|The Living Years ".
The initial line-up for the band was Rutherford, vocalists Paul Carrack and Paul Young (Sad Cafι)|Paul Young , keyboardist Adrian Lee and drummer Peter Van Hooke . Carrack was generally assigned to ballads and more pop-oriented numbers, while Young sang the band's heavier work.cite episode |title= Mike + The Mechanics: The Videos|episodelink= |series= |serieslink= |credits= |network= Channel 4 |station= |airdate= 1998|season= |seriesno= |number= 1/1|minutes= 15|url= (Rutherford) Following Young's death Paul Carrack became the band's sole lead vocalist until 2004 when the band went on hiatus. The band identity was revived in 2010 with a completely new set of Mechanics working with Rutherford, including new vocalists Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar .
Biography
Formation and commercial breakthrough
During hiatuses from Genesis, Mike Rutherford had been pursuing a solo career, releasing '' Smallcreep's Day (album)|Smallcreep's Day in 1980 and Acting Very Strange '' in 1982. However, he found the process of recording a solo album excessively difficult, and the results artistically unsatisfying. He recalled, "I had a revelation, too, in this time period... that I'm not complete on my own. ...I'm much more creative and inspired when there are other people around me and I'm bouncing ideas off."Neer, Dan (1985). Mike on Mike interview LP, Atlantic Recording Corporation. However, he still felt that working only with Genesis would leave him unfulfilled, and to satisfy both his desire to create music outside the format of Genesis and his desire to collaborate with other musicians, he set about forming his own band.
Rutherford had already started a songwriting partnership with Scottish singer/writer/composer B. A. Robertson , and for the band's Mike + The Mechanics (1985 album)|self-titled debut album he enlisted the services of producer Christopher Neil . Besides producing, Neil co-wrote most of the songs, selected the material for inclusion, and performed backing vocals. He would continue to play a key role in the band's albums for their first decade of existence.
Similarly to Steely Dan , in the studio Mike + the Mechanics were not a tight-knit band but a vehicle for the songwriting of Rutherford, Robertson, and Neil, and session keyboardists, drummers, guitarists, and even lead vocalists often performed on the songs in place of the official band members. Indeed, the lineup of Mike + the Mechanics only came together over the course of recording their first album; Paul Young, who was recommended for the group by Neil and his manager, said that by the time he joined, all the backing tracks for the album had been recorded.
Rutherford was more than satisfied with the resulting album and decided to continue the band indefinitely, rather than leaving it as a one-off project. When the album was released in 1985, his decision was further bolstered by its immense commercial success. While Rutherford's solo albums had been moderately successful, he had never managed a Top 40 hit (except in Canada, where "Maxine" from Acting Very Strange sneaked in at #39); Mike + the Mechanics scored three of them, including two US Top 10s, " Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground) " and " All I Need is a Miracle ".cite web|url= http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/mike-the-mechanics/chart-history/11296|title=Mike + The Mechanics Album & Song Chart History Billboard 200|work=Billboard|publisher= Prometheus Global Media |accessdate=11 December 2010 "Silent Running" was featured in the movie On Dangerous Ground , released in North American cinemas in 1986 as Choke Canyon . http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090836/ imdb.com
Glory years
The song "The Living Years" (US No.1 single) featured on the band's second album Living Years . The lyrics were written by Robertson and centered on the unresolved dissension between Robertson and his father.cite news|url= http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/webchats/article208406.ece|title=The Mechanics fix it for Us|publisher=The Sun|date=18 June 2004 |accessdate=8 December 2009|location=London|first=Simon|last=Rothstein The song was sung by Carrack, who had lost his own father when he was only eleven years old. The album also featured the song "Nobody's Perfect," which was sung by Young and which had received considerable airtime as the music to a successful television advertising campaign for Tennent's bitter.
At this point Carrack began to take a much larger role in the band, joining their stable of songwriters and adding keyboards to his repertoire. The group's third album, Word of Mouth (Mike + The Mechanics album)|Word of Mouth , followed in 1991 and scored another trio of hits, with Word of Mouth (Mike + The Mechanics song)|the lead single becoming one of their most popular songs yet. Despite long hiatuses due to Rutherford's work with Genesis, there seemed no end to the band's success.
Their fourth album, Beggar on a Beach of Gold , did not appear until 1995. When it did, however, it was met with resounding critical acclaim and yielded both the hit title track and the smash single " Over My Shoulder (Mike + The Mechanics song)|Over My Shoulder ".
Dissolution
In 1995, the band began to fall apart: Adrian Lee and Peter Van Hooke left, and Christopher Neil's long tenure as songwriter/producer for the group ended. However, Rutherford opted to continue Mike + the Mechanics as a singer/songwriter trio. The group's fifth studio album was released in 1999, Mike & The Mechanics (1999 album)|Mike & The Mechanics . It is generally known as M6 , the "Hits" album being their fifth release. As the band no longer had a distribution deal with an American record label, M6 was available to the American market as an import only. Moreover, its only hit, "Now That You've Gone", barely cracked the UK Top 40.cite web|url= http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php? id=4507|title=Chart Stats Mike + The Mechanics|publisher=Chart Stats|accessdate=2 June 2011
Another blow struck the following year: On July 15, 2000, Paul Young died from a heart attack.cite web | url = Allmusic|class=artist|id=p13677/biography|pure_url=yes | first = Stephen Thomas | last = Erlewine | authorlink = Stephen Thomas Erlewine | title = Mike + the Mechanics: Biography |publisher=allmusic | accessdate =25 September 2010 The band regrouped in 2004 as "Mike + The Mechanics featuring Paul Carrack". As implied by the new name, Carrack played a larger role than ever, performing all the band's lead vocals and keyboards and co-writing all the songs. They released the album Rewired , which became their first album to lack a hit. Peter Van Hooke briefly worked with the band again during this time, however not as an official member but, as a co-producer of Rewired . He also performed drums and percussion on the album and its tour.
Shortly after, Carrack became too involved with solo work to devote time to the group. In a 2007 interview Rutherford stated that Mike + The Mechanics had "run its course."
Second incarnation
Over several months of 2009 and 2010, Mike Rutherford formed a new band. Since there was no hope of the original group ever reforming, he opted to again use the Mike + the Mechanics name. In a December 2009 interview, Rutherford stated that "I'm actually doing a new Mike and the Mechanics album. I kind of thought I had put it to bed, but I still enjoy songwriting. Working with a few new co-writers and a couple of new faces for the band. Paul Carrack is doing some solo stuff, so we have a guy called Andrew Roachford , an R& B kind of singer. It's a little different, but the soul seems to be there."Greene, Andy (December 15, 2009). http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/genesis-rutherford-and-banks-reflect-on-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction-20091215 Genesis' Rutherford and Banks Reflect on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction, Rolling Stone.
A new album, The Road (album)|The Road , and the 'Hit the Road Tour 2011' were announced in November 2010. The album was released in April 2011 featured both Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar on vocals, Luke Juby on keyboards, Gary Wallis on drums, and Anthony Drennan on guitar and bass. The tour included performances across the UK, Germany, and various other European cities.cite web|url= http://www.genesis-news.com/news-Mike-The-Mechanics-The-Road-album-tour-update-n217.html |title=Genesis News Com / Mike Rutherford / Mike + The Mechanics: "The Road" - album + tour update |publisher=www.genesis-news.com |date=2011-04-27 |accessdate=2011-10-30
Discography
Main|Mike + The Mechanics discography
Mike + The Mechanics (1985 album)|Mike + The Mechanics (1985)
Living Years (1988)
Word of Mouth (Mike + The Mechanics album)|Word of Mouth (1991)
Beggar on a Beach of Gold (1995)
Hits (Mike + The Mechanics album)|Hits (1996)
Mike & The Mechanics (1999 album)|Mike & The Mechanics (1999)
Favourites/The Very Best Of (2000)
Rewired (2004)
Rewired + Hits (Mike + The Mechanics album)|Hits The Latest + The Greatest (2004)
The Road (Mike + The Mechanics album)|The Road (2011)
http://www.facebook.com/mikeandthemechanics? sk=wall& filter=1/ Official Facebook page
Mike + the Mechanics Category:Mike & The Mechanics| Category:Musical groups established in 1985 Category:English pop music groups Category:English rock music groups Category:British soft rock music groups Category:Genesis (band) Category:Supergroups
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