Mike + The Mechanics are an English rock/pop band
formed in 1985 as a side
project of Mike Rutherford, a
founding member of Genesis, that became a
successful band in its own right. They are best known for the
international hit singles "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)", "All
I Need Is a Miracle", "Over My Shoulder" and "The Living Years".
The main lineup for the band were vocalists Paul
Carrack and the late Paul Young (formerly
of chart band Sad Café), keyboardist
Adrian
Lee and drummer
Peter
Van Hooke. By their 1995 album Beggar on a Beach of Gold
only Rutherford, Carrack and Young were permanent members of the
line-up until Young's death in 2000.
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Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Pop
Culture References
- 3 Discography
- 4 Singles
- 5 Band
- 5.1 Mike
+ The Mechanics
- 5.2 Session
and Guest Musicians
- 6 External
links
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Biography
Mike + The Mechanics débuted with their eponymous album in
1985 which highlighted Rutherford's innovative guitar work and the
vocal talents of the two Pauls, amongst other guest vocalists.
Initially, the group's albums were released between Genesis albums.
This ended with the temporary disbanding of Genesis in 1998.
The classic song "The Living Years" from the album of the same
name was to be the height of their critical success to date; the US #1
single was written by the successful Scottish singer/writer/composer B.A.
Robertson about the dissension between him and his father, a situation
that was never rectified prior to the death of his father - just 12
weeks before the birth of his son - sung with great passion 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 received
considerable airtime as the music to a successful television
advertising campaign for Tennent's bitter. Their third album Word
of Mouth followed in 1991 with less commercial
and critical success although the lead single, with vocals by Paul
Young, reached the Top 20 in the UK. The fourth album Beggar on a Beach of Gold
was a high watermark in the quality of their material, with both the
album and first single "Over My Shoulder" charting well with many
considering the album the band's best work. Their fifth studio album
was released in 1999 and was the band's second
self-titled album, Mike + The Mechanics. This album
is generally known as the M6 album, with a
"Greatest Hits" album being their fifth release. As the band no longer
had a distribution deal with an American record label, M6
was available 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.
Pop Culture References
In the BBC television series The Office,
Tim identifies Gareth's favourite band as Mike + The Mechanics.
"All I Need Is A Miracle" is the theme song to The Edwin J. Hill
Social Club
Discography
- 1985 Mike + The
Mechanics : #26 US, #10 CAN, #9 Germany
- 1988 The Living Years :
#2 UK, #13 US, #12 CAN, #16 Germany
- 1991 Word
of Mouth : #11 UK, #107 US, #24 CAN
- 1995 Beggar on a Beach of Gold :
#9 UK, #21 Germany
- 1996 Hits :
#3 UK, #6 Germany
- 1999 Mike + The
Mechanics (aka M6) :
#14 UK, #9 Germany
- 2004 Rewired :
#61 UK, #39 Germany
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 |
Mike + The Mechanics |
| 1986 |
"Taken In" |
- |
32 |
39 |
- |
Mike + The Mechanics |
| 1988 |
"Nobody's Perfect" |
80 |
63 |
- |
- |
Living Years |
| 1989 |
"The Living Years" |
2 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
Living Years |
| 1989 |
"Seeing Is Believing" |
- |
62 |
46 |
- |
Living Years |
| 1989 |
"Nobody Knows" |
81 |
- |
- |
- |
Living Years |
| 1989 |
"Revolution" |
- |
- |
82 |
- |
Rude Awakening Soundtrack |
| 1991 |
"Word of Mouth" |
13 |
78 |
36 |
27 |
Word of Mouth |
| 1991 |
"A Time and Place" |
58 |
- |
- |
- |
Word of Mouth |
| 1991 |
"Everybody Gets a Second Chance" |
56 |
- |
21 |
51 |
Word of Mouth |
| 1995 |
"Over My Shoulder" |
12 |
- |
22 |
44 |
Beggar on a Beach of Gold |
| 1995 |
"A Beggar on a Beach of Gold" |
33 |
- |
- |
64 |
Beggar on a Beach of Gold |
| 1995 |
"Mea Culpa" |
- |
- |
45 |
- |
Beggar on a Beach of Gold |
| 1995 |
"Another Cup of Coffee" |
65 |
- |
53 |
61 |
Beggar on a Beach of Gold |
| 1996 |
"All I Need Is a Miracle '96" |
27 |
- |
- |
81 |
Hits |
| 1996 |
"Silent Running" |
61 |
- |
- |
- |
Hits |
| 1999 |
"Now That You've Gone" |
35 |
- |
- |
64 |
M6 |
| 1999 |
"Whenever I Stop" |
73 |
- |
- |
- |
M6 |
Band
Mike + The Mechanics
- Mike Rutherford - guitar, bass
& vocals
- Paul Carrack - vocals, keyboards
& guitar (1985 - 2006?)
- Adrian Lee - keyboards (1985 -
1995)
- Jamie Moses - guitar (1999 -)
- Tim Renwick - guitar (1989 -
1991, 1995 - 1996)
- B. A. Robertson -
keyboards, song writing
- Peter Van Hooke - drums & percussion
(1985 - 1995, 2004 -)
- Gary Wallis - drums (1995 -)
- Paul Young - vocals
& percussion (1985 - 2000)
Session and Guest Musicians
- Dereck Austin - keyboards
- Ray Beavis - saxophone
- Alan Carvel - backing
vocals
- Katie Cassoon - backing vocals
- Clem Clempson - guitar
- Rupert Cobb -
keyboards, programming & trumpet
- Martin Ditcham - percussion
- John Earle - saxophone
- Sal Gallina - Yamaha
WX7
- Paul McGee - backing vocals
- Louis Jardin -
percussion
- John Kirby - vocals
- Alan Murphy - guitar
- Christopher Neil - backing vocals
- Andy Newmark - drums
- Tessa Niles - backing vocals
- Abbie Osmon - backing
vocals
- Pino Palladino - bass
- Steve Piggot -
keyboards
- Gene Stashuck - vocals
- Linda Taylor -
backing vocals
- Ian Wherry - keyboards
- Paul "Wix" Wickens - keyboards
- Sharon Woolf -
backing vocals
External links
