Mike Heron
| Mike Heron | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Michael Heron |
| Born |
27 December 1942 Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, etc. |
| Years active | 1965-onwards |
| Associated acts |
The Incredible String Band Heron |
James Michael "Mike" Heron (born 27 December 1942) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s.
Heron was born in Edinburgh and attended George Heriot's School, where his father was a teacher. He 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. Heron has said that "It was an exploring era in the Sixties and people were rebelling from the boring pop stuff into folk and blues and world music. You couldn't sit down and listen to Buddy Holly and pass the joint around. So we tried to make the kind of music we felt was missing from our lives, that fitted with the hippy lifestyle."
Heron 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 he was 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, Duncan Browne and Ronnie Lane (as "Tommy & the Bijoux"), John Cale, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg, Dudu Pukwana, Elton John, and Steve Winwood.
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