Mike Harding

Mike Harding
Harding at Fairport's Cropredy Convention in 2007
Background information
Born	(1944-10-23) 23 October 1944 (age 72) Crumpsall, Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
Genres	Folk music Easy listening
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, author, poet, broadcaster
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, concertina, harmonica, hammer dulcimer, autoharp, cittern, tin whistle
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Rubber Records Philips Records Moonraker Records
Website	Official website

Mike Harding (born 23 October 1944 ) is an English singer, songwriter, comedian, author, poet, broadcaster and multi-instrumentalist. He is sometimes known as 'The Rochdale Cowboy' after one of his hit records. In addition, at various times of his life, Harding has been a photographer, traveller, filmmaker and playwright.

Harding's father, Louis Arthur "Curly" Harding, was a navigator in the RAF, who was killed during the Second World War, a few weeks before his son's birth. Harding is of Irish ancestry on his mother's side.

He was educated at St Anne's, Crumpsall, and St Bede's, Manchester. After a varied career as a road digger, dustbin man, schoolteacher, steel erector, bus conductor, boiler scaler and chemical factory worker, he took a degree in English and Education at the University of Manchester.

Harding began performing as a folk singer and as a member of several local Manchester bands in the 1960s, making his first recordings for the Topic label. He began telling jokes between songs, eventually extending them into longer humorous anecdotes which became the main focus of his act. He released his first album, A Lancashire Lad, in 1972, followed by Mrs 'Ardin's Kid in 1974. In 1975, the single release of "The Rochdale Cowboy", reached number 22 in the UK Singles Chart and brought him national attention.

As a stand-up comic he made several series for the BBC and appeared on numerous TV and radio programmes, including two series of travel films in Ireland and the Appalachian Mountains of America. He also played rock and roll with his band, the Stylos, with the Lowe Brothers. He has had many albums and singles released, whilst the latter included "Man 'nited Song". As well as comedy, he has released albums of serious songs, most notably Bombers' Moon, the title track of which tells of his father's death. The album also contains "The Accrington Pals" and cover versions of Bruce Springsteen's "Factory" and Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda".