Yes he was pivotal. I’ve been relistening to a lot of their albums recently. His mellotron gave a unique aura to all of them when he was with the band.
Interesting that on X, John Lodge has posted a nice tribute. Justin hasn’t mentioned him though despite tweeting in the last few hours.
Very sad to hear this news.
Mike was an apprentice at Streetly Electonics where they manufactured mellotrons. He learnt to play and had a talent for songwriting. I still love a lot of his songs, he was definitely the most mystical of the Moodies.
He made a couple of solo albums after he left the band but they didn't do much as they weren't mainstream stuff, and Mike was never a pop star
I got a bit upset when they were inducted into the R&R hall of fame. During the acceptance speeches Mike was heading towards the Microphone and John Lodge purposely blocked his path, so he ended up unable to speak.
I don't know why he did that.
This track is from his 1st solo album The Promise...I love it. I mean who else could sing about Ezekial's wheels, Stonehenge & The Sphinz ?
https://youtu.be/U9ihYHOGyFw
And then there's his poetry.
https://youtu.be/hkyvYf_ttGE
