Mike Berry (actor)
| Mike Berry | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Michael Hubert Bourne 24 September 1942 Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Website | http://www.mikeberry.net/ |
Mike Berry (born Michael Hubert Bourne, 24 September 1942) is an English actor and singer, known for his appearances as Mr. Spooner on the British sitcom Are You Being Served?.
Berry was born in Northampton. His parents grew up in Rhodesia but met in England and his mother was an amateur actress and singer. Six months after his birth his mother moved with him to North Wales for two years. The family then moved to Stoke Newington where he attended William Pattern Primary School and passed his eleven plus exam, winning a scholarship to Hackney Downs Grocers' School. He left the school aged 16 without qualifications to become an apprentice compositor.
Berry was a fan of skiffle and rock and roll music as a teenager and he formed his own skiffle group called "The Rebels" and then introduced electric guitars as "Kenny Lord and the Statesmen." Joe Meek became their manager and producer, and he signed up a group called the Stormers as his new back-up band, naming the new group "Mike Berry and the Outlaws."
He had three hits in the 1960s in the UK Singles Chart, his most successful being "Don't You Think It's Time," reaching No.6 in January 1963. His "Tribute To Buddy Holly" is also noted for having been banned by the BBC for being "morbid." The hit singles were all produced by Joe Meek.
In the mid-1970s he returned to the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium, as pirate radio station Radio Mi Amigo played his new record material, released on Dutch record label Pink Elephant Records. "Don't Be Cruel" made #14 in the Dutch Nationale Hitparade in May 1975. His next record, a remake of his 1960 debut song "Tribute to Buddy Holly", hit #2 in October of that same year. In 1977, "I'm A Rocker," released on Flemish record label Scramble Records (owned by Radio Mi Amigo DJ Norbert), failed to chart.
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