Mike went from fan to Jeff’s right hand man!
asked me to get involved.
“By the time we got the band going, they had hit it big. The lads liked the band I had put together and they told me that they wanted to keep me and the band. This lasted from early ’93 until it all finished in ’96.”
His best known contribution to Take That’s success is the legendary sax solo on the boyband’s hit A Million Love Songs.
Mike, who also plays guitar and piano, then became a touring member of 10CC.
“I had a studio in London and 10CC’s Graham Gouldman had a studio in the same complex. I got to know him and we did some acoustic things together.
‘‘Then he decided to try and put together a live version of 10CC, so we collaborated on that. When we went out live, I played keyboards and sax.” Then in 2006 Take That reformed and requested Mike’s services again. “I juggled the two bands for a while. There were times when Take That were on tour and Keith Hayman came in to deputise for me in 10CC. He now does the gig full-time.’’
In 2012, Mike led the house band and was musical director for the Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, and then came his first job with Birmingham legend Jeff
Lynne.
“I’d always worked closely with [Take That’s] Gary Barlow and one of the things we did was BBC Rocks in 2013. The show wanted Jeff to perform but he’d always refused as he hadn’t got a band.
“I’d been rehearsing the house band and we always ended with [ELO’s] Mr Blue Sky. It’s such a great way to finish a long, hard day’s rehearsal. When Jeff heard us playing it with such passion, he loved it.
“Then he agreed to do BBC Rocks for Gary and I had the house band. Jeff was very Brummie and the salt of the earth. I totally got him and we got on great.
“About six months later I got a call from Jeff Smith was organising a BBC Radio 2 gig in Hyde Park. He told me that they’d been asking Jeff for years, and that this time he said he’d do it if the band would.
‘‘Talk about a no-brainer! So I used the core band that I used with Take That. Jeff left it completely to me; he just wanted Richard Tandy [Jeff’s ELO band-mate and pianist] there.”
It was to be Jeff’s first full show on UK soil for nearly 30 years. How long did rehearsals take? “I had a week with the band, then Jeff arrived from the States and we had a further week. He knows what he wants and if there was a problem he’d let me know. We actually had very few problems”
With Take That and 10CC, Mike was usually behind a bank of keyboards somewhere towards the side or back of the stage, but with Jeff Lynne’s ELO he was out front, playing guitar next to Jeff.
Mike explains how that came about.
“I play pretty good guitar and Jeff wanted me to be close for communication. He hadn’t really played on stage for ages and he wanted me there for confidence as well. He was also adamant that it would be a ‘band’ and not just him and his backing band.
‘‘He’d talk to me and give me the nod when he was ready to start the next song. It was great to be so close. I really felt a connection, and the music feels so alive when Jeff’s on song and loving it!”
Jeff labelled Mike as “the hardest working man in music” during the performance and was so impressed with his band that they were signed up to complete the ELO line-up for the forthcoming comeback tour.
Mike added: “I’m so happy to still be in ELO, a band I followed in my younger days. I still have to pinch myself when I’m on stage playing that inspiring music.
“Jeff appreciates his band and he’s proud of it. He’s got time for everyone and he’s very honest as well. Jeff’s a great and lovely guy and I’m privileged to call him a mate.”