Mike Heron
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| Mike Heron | |
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 Cover of Smiling Men With Bad Reputations, 1971
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Michael Heron |
| Born | December 27, 1942  Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, etc. |
| Years active | Since 1965 |
| Associated acts | The Incredible String Band Heron |
Mike Heron (born James Michael Heron, 27 December 1942, Edinburgh) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s.
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[edit] Career
He attended George Heriot's School, where his father was a teacher, and spent a year at Edinburgh University before leaving to start training as an accountant. He played in R&B and pop bands in Edinburgh, including The Saracens, and in late 1965 successfully auditioned to join a new trio, The Incredible String Band, with Robin Williamson and Clive Palmer.[1]
- Main article : The Incredible String Band
He has also released a number of solo recordings, mostly more rock-oriented than the Incredible String Band material. The first of these, Smiling Men with Bad Reputations, released in 1971 when still a member of the ISB, took eclecticism to a new extreme, blending rock, folk and world music into an atmospheric whole. Contributing musicians included Pete Townshend, Keith Moon, and Ronnie Lane (as "Tommy & The Bijoux"!), John Cale, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg, Dudu Pukwana, Elton John, and Steve Winwood.
The Incredible String Band broke up in September 1974. With three other members of the final "electric" ISB line-up - Graham Forbes, John Gilston, and Malcolm Le Maistre - he formed the band Mike Heron's Reputation, later known simply as Heron, with whom he recorded and toured until 1977. In 1977/78, while still living in the Glen Row cottage near Innerleithen which had been the Incredible String Band's home and headquarters, he recorded songs which were eventually issued as The Glen Row Tapes. In 1979, he released a solo album on Casablanca Records, but then withdrew from performance for several years. In the 1990s he re-emerged with a new group, Mike Heron's Incredible Acoustic Band, and released the album Where The Mystics Swim. [1]
In 1997 he reunited with Williamson for some concerts, and from 1999 to 2006 performed occasionally with a reformed version of the Incredible String Band.
He has also recorded a song with Georgia Seddon based on a poem by John Burnside for the Ballads of the Book album released in March 2007.
[edit] Solo discography
- Smiling Men with Bad Reputations (1971)
- Mike Heron’s Reputation (1975)
- Diamond Of Dreams (as Heron) (1977)
- Mike Heron (1979)
- The Glenrow Tapes (1988)
- Where the Mystics Swim (1996)
- Conflict Of Emotions (1998)
- Futurefield (2002)
- Echo Coming Back (2005)
[edit] References
- ^ a b Adrian Whittaker (ed.), Be Glad: The Incredible String Band Compendium, 2003, ISBN 1-900924-64-1
[edit] External links
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