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Mike + The Mechanics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 infamous 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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Mike + The Mechanics made their début with their eponymous album in 1985. This 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 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.
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 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 the "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.
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
The lyrics for "Silent Running" are used in an issue of the comic book, Supreme Power.
- 1985 Mike + The Mechanics : #78 UK, #26 US, #10 CAN, #9 Germany
- 1988 The Living Years : #2 UK, #1 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 The Living Years (re-issue): #67 UK
- 1999 Mike + The Mechanics (aka M6) : #14 UK, #9 Germany
- 2004 Rewired : #61 UK, #39 Germany
| 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" | 51 | - | 53 | 61 | Beggar on a Beach of Gold |
| 1996 | "All I Need Is a Miracle '96" | 27 | - | - | 81 | Hits |
| 1996 | "Silent Running '96" | 61 | - | - | - | Hits |
| 1999 | "Now That You've Gone" | 35 | - | - | 64 | M6 |
| 1999 | "Whenever I Stop" | 73 | - | - | - | M6 |
- Mike Rutherford - guitar, bass & vocals
- Paul Carrack - vocals, keyboards & guitar (1985 -)
- Adrian Lee - keyboards (1985 - 1995)
- Jamie Moses - guitar (1999 -)
- Tim Renwick - guitar (1989 - 1991, 1995 - 1996)
- B. A. Robertson - keyboards, songwriting
- Peter Van Hooke - drums & percussion (1985 - 1995, 2004 -)
- Gary Wallis - drums (1995 -)
- Paul Young - vocals & percussion (1985 - 2000)
- 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