Mike Howlett
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Mike Howlett is an Australian-born musician and producer based in the United Kingdom. In the late 1960s he was the bassist in Sydney pop band The Affair which travelled to England after winning a music competition. He then settled in London.
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Gong
In 1973 joined renowned British progressive rock group Gong (band), which had been founded by another Australian expatriate, Daevid Allen. Howlett remained with Gong until 1977, recording several albums with them and co-writing much of their material with drummer Pierre Moerlan.
Strontium 90/ The Police
After leaving Gong, he formed the band Strontium 90 ca. 1976. Although almost unknown today, it is an important historical footnote, being the group where Sting (Gordon Sumner), Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland of The Police first met and played together -- it was Howlett who introduced the three musicians to each other. He also taped several demos of the band, including the very first version of Sting's 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' which was the first recording the trio ever made together; he also taped a London concert from the same period, which marked the first time that the future Police played together live.
Strontium 90 remained unsigned, so Sting, Summers and Copeland formed their own group, The Police and became international stars.
Production work
Howlett became an in-demand producer with a string of notable credits. He produced many hit singles and albums for leading New Wave music acts including:
- Fischer Z
- The Teardrop Explodes (When I Dream)
- Sniff 'n' the Tears
- Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (Enola Gay and Souvenir)
- Martha & The Muffins (Echo Beach)
- Tears For Fears
- Gang of Four (band) (I Love a Man in a Uniform)
- Blancmange (band) (Living on the Ceiling)
- Comsat Angels (Independence Day)
- China Crisis (Working With Fire and Steel: Possible Pop Songs Volume 2)
- Berlin (band)
- John Foxx (former lead singer of Ultravox)
- A Flock of Seagulls (numerous recordings, including their biggest hit, I Ran)
- The Thompson Twins
- Joan Armatrading
- The Alarm
- Hunters & Collectors (Payload EP).
External links
- Official website (http://web.onetel.com/~howletts/)
- All Music Guide (http://www.allmusic.com)
- 1997 interview on Calyx: the Canterbury website (http://perso.club-internet.fr/calyx/interviews/mhowlett.html)