Mike Harrison

Mike Harrison (30 September 1942 in Carlisle, Cumberland, England – 25 March 2018, Carlisle and as a solo artist. He was also the lead singer in the V.I.P.'s, Art, and the Hamburg Blues Band, among others.

Spooky Tooth

Mike Harrison began his musical career with the Ramrods a band originating from Carlisle in the historic county of Cumberland, the northern part of the ceremonial county of Cumbria. This was to develop the foundations of a career that led to him being notable as the lead singer of Spooky Tooth, a band that he initially co-founded, with Mike Kellie, Luther Grosvenor and Greg Ridley, and which Gary Wright then joined. Harrison, Grosvenor, Ridley and Kellie had previously been in a Carlisle-based freakbeat band called the V.I.P.'s, which also included Keith Emerson. When Emerson left in early 1967 to co-found the Nice, the remaining band members changed the band's name to Art and released one album in late 1967 on Island Records. Label owner Chris Blackwell took an interest in the band, encouraging them to work with Gary Wright and arranging for Jimmy Miller to be the band's producer. With the addition of Wright, the band became known as Spooky Tooth, releasing four albums between 1968 and 1970, before breaking up for the first time, and three more albums during their reformation and final breakup in the 1972-1974 period. The band's sound was considered to be particularly unique in that it involved two keyboard players, Harrison and Wright, whose singing style often involved alternating vocals, similar to the Righteous Brothers or Hall & Oates. The reason for his extended departure from music was primarily financial. Beyond a weekly stipend from Island Records, band members received no further benefits, including royalties.

Discography Solo 1971 Mike Harrison (Island) 1972 Smokestack Lightning (Island) 1975 Rainbow Rider (Island) 2006 Late Starter (Halo)

With The V.I.P.'s

With Art 1967 Supernatural Fairy Tales With Spooky Tooth 1968 It's All About 1969 Spooky Two 1970 Ceremony (with Pierre Henry) 1970 The Last Puff 1973 You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw 1973 Witness 1999 Cross Purpose 1999 The Best of Spooky Tooth: That Was Only Yesterday 2001 BBC Sessions 2007 Nomad Poets (DVD)

With the Hamburg Blues Band 2001 Touch - billed as "Mike Harrison meets The Hamburg Blues Band"