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Mike and the Mechanics

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Mike and the Mechanics

Mike & The Mechanics are an English rock/pop band formed in 1984 as a side project of Mike Rutherford, a founding member of Genesis, who became a successful band in their own right. They are known for their hit singles "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)", "All I Need Is a Miracle", "Word of Mouth", "Over My Shoulder", and "The Living Years".

The main lineup for the band were Rutherford, vocalists Paul Carrack and Paul Young (formerly of chart band Sad Café), keyboardist Adrian Lee and drummer Peter Van Hooke. Carrack's pure, soulful voice was generally assigned to ballads and more pop-oriented numbers, while Young's powerful rock voice and wide vocal range was assigned to the band's heavier work[1]. From their 1995 album Beggar on a Beach of Gold until Young's death in 2000, only Rutherford, Carrack and Young were permanent members of the line-up.

Biography

Mike & The Mechanics debuted with a self-titled album in 1985.

Initially, the group's albums were released between Genesis albums. This ended with the temporary disbanding of Genesis in 1998.

Printed on the single "Silent Running" was a notation that it was from the movie On Dangerous Ground. The movie was released in North American cinemas in 1986 as Choke Canyon, and in the UK as On Dangerous Ground.[2] The music video, however, features different actors portraying different characters with at least one different name.

The song, "The Living Years," (US #1 single), also featured on the second album of the same name, was written by Rutherford and Scottish singer/writer/composer B. A. Robertson. It centered around the unresolved dissension between Rutherford and his father but also allude to the death of Robertson's father just 12 weeks before the birth of Robertson's son. 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.

The group's third album, Word of Mouth, followed in 1991 with less commercial and critical success, although the lead single, with vocals by Paul Young, reached #13 in the UK.

For the fourth album, Beggar on a Beach of Gold, both the album and first single, "Over My Shoulder," charted well and received critical praise.

The group's fifth studio album was released in 1999 and was the band's second eponymous album, Mike + The Mechanics. It is generally known as the M6 album, 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.

After a hiatus following Young's death from a heart attack on July 15, 2000, the band reformed in 2004 as "Mike + The Mechanics featuring Paul Carrack", releasing the album Rewired.

In 2007, interviewed during the Genesis Turn It On Again Tour, Rutherford stated that Mike + The Mechanics had "run its course." In his December 2009 Rolling Stone interview for Genesis' induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Mike stated that he was currently working on new material for Mike & The Mechanics. "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. We'll see. I'm enjoying it."

A new album, The Road, and 'Hit the Road Tour 2011' were announced in November 2010. The album will be released in April 2011 and will feature both Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar on vocals. Following the album release the band will undertake a UK tour, playing 22 shows across the country. [3]

The Road

Following a six-year hiatus & a massive reunion with Genesis, Mike Rutherford has joined forces with one of the UK’s most successful R&B acts Andrew Roachford & Canadian born singer & actor Tim Howar for a new generation of Mike & The Mechanics. The 'Hit The Road Tour 2011' will see the band perform at the Royal Concert Hall on 5 May 2011. [4]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

Year Song UK singles US Hot 100 Canada singles German singles Album
1985 "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" 21 6 8 8 Mike + The Mechanics
1986 "All I Need Is a Miracle" 53 5 10 26
"Taken In" - 32 39 -
1988 "Nobody's Perfect" 80 63 - - The Living Years
"Seeing Is Believing" - 62 46 -
1989 "The Living Years" 2 1 1 13
"Nobody Knows" 81 - - -
"Revolution" - - 82 - Rude Awakening Soundtrack
1991 "Word of Mouth" 13 78 36 27 Word of Mouth
"A Time and Place" 58 - - -
"Everybody Gets a Second Chance" 56 - 21 51
1995 "Over My Shoulder" 12 - 22 44 Beggar on a Beach of Gold
"A Beggar on a Beach of Gold" 33 - - 64
"Mea Culpa" - - 45 -
"Another Cup of Coffee" 51 - 53 61
1996 "All I Need Is a Miracle '96" 27 - - 81 Hits
"Silent Running '96" 61 - - -
1999 "Now That You've Gone" 35 - - 64 M6
"Whenever I Stop" 73 - - -

Band

Current Members

Past Members

Session and guest musicians

Notes

  1. ^ "Mike + The Mechanics: The Videos". Episode 1/1. 1998. 15 minutes in. Channel 4. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |episodelink=, |seriesno=, and |serieslink= (help); Missing or empty |series= (help) (Rutherford)
  2. ^ imdb.com
  3. ^ www.genesis-news.com
  4. ^ Royal Theater Concert Hall via Facebook.com

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Mike and the Mechanics.
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