Mike Atherton
Born in Derbyshire fairly recently (he claims), Mike first developed an interest in writing through his father, an English teacher and author. His first foray into the not-yet-printed word was at grammar school with 'Private Ear', a scurrilous handwritten broadsheet based on a well-known satirical magazine but without the finesse. He wrote regularly for, and eventually edited, his weekly student newspaper before embarking on a language teaching career which took him to south-western France, London, Hertfordshire and Surrey, ending up with ten years as head of languages at a leading prep school in Sussex. He left this post several years ago after ascertaining that the new headmaster was a jerk. Heartbroken, the school died two years later.
His musical interests, which centred around soul, blues and vintage reggae (though he also gives house room to '60s French music and The Ventures) led him into writing as a sideline. Beginning with (Black) Echoes, for whom he still writes, he contributed to The Daily Telegraph, Record Collector, Blues & Rhythm, Blues & Soul and The Wire. A keen interest in out-of-date transport led to his work being published in Railway World, Old Glory and Canal Boat magazines. He was also active as a club, radio and mobile disc-jockey, and to date has had over 100 sets of LP and CD liner notes published.
He and his wife Marion celebrated their silver wedding in 2012. They divide their time between their rural Norfolk home, an apartment on the Costa del Sol and a narrowboat moored in Oxfordshire.
24 articles
List of articles in the library
Denise LaSalle, Rockin' Sidney: Rockin' Sidney and Denise LaSalle: The Toot Toot Route
Report by Mike Atherton, Black Echoes, 20 July 1986
Sidney Simien spent part of 1984 recording new songs at his home studio in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Unremarkable as this information may seem, it was ...
Profile and Interview by Mike Atherton, The Wire, September 1987
Our blues section opens with a profile of the man who put a chill on the heart of the music. ...
Report and Interview by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2002
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, has been a music town for over half a century. In the early 1950s, Lillian McMurry's Trumpet label made Sonny Boy Williamson into ...
Obituary by Mike Atherton, Record Collector, June 2003
FEW SOUL FANS would expect one of their heroes to adopt the UK as his spiritual and literal home. Even fewer would expect such a ...
Report and Interview by Mike Atherton, Record Collector, July 2003
Mike Atherton delves into the revitalised world of the renowned reggae label Trojan. ...
Rico Rodriguez: Rico – Trombone Man: Anthology 1961-71 (TJDDD2222)
Sleeve notes by Mike Atherton, Trojan, 2005
FROM THE Duke Reid Group to the Jools Holland Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, from ghetto studios to the stage of Top Of The Pops, from ...
Ann Peebles: Brand New Classics
Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, May 2006
THE RETURN OF two legendary names from the past: Track Records, the label which gave us Jimi Hendrix and the Who, not to mention fine ...
The Dells: Originals: The Dells
Retrospective by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2008
THE RAYS, formed by five youngsters from Harvey, Illinois in 1952, were just one of the thousands of doo-wop groups springing up in America's cities ...
Obituary by Mike Atherton, unpublished, 2008
RAY TOPPING, who has died aged 65, was arguably the world's foremost researcher of and authority on rock'n'roll and blues. ...
The Harder They Come: Playhouse Theatre, London
Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, Summer 2008
AS AN OTHERWISE unmemorable comedian used to remark, it's the way you tell 'em. It's not much of a story on the face of it: ...
Book Review by Mike Atherton, Record Collector, March 2009
WE ALL KNOW Tommy Hunt the former member of star doowop group the Flamingos, the '60s 'Human' hitmaker, the '70s UK 'Loving On The Losing ...
The Jones Girls, Johnny Otis: Various Artists: Good To The Last Drop – Ember Soul
Sleeve notes by Mike Atherton, Fantastic Voyage Records, June 2009
EMBER RECORDS was founded in London in 1960 by Jeffrey S. Kruger. A longtime jazz fan – he played piano in his own band Sonny ...
Roben Jones: Memphis Boys – The Story of American Studios (University Press Of Mississippi)
Book Review by Mike Atherton, Blues & Rhythm, 2011
"THOSE SEVEN MUSICIANS, the American rhythm section, are the most creative and innovative studio musicians I know," said Memphis promotion man Marty Lacker, who, having ...
Tim Brown: The Wigan Casino Years (Outta Sight)
Book Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, February 2011
THE TITLE of this striking new book is carefully chosen. Of course there was Northern Soul before the Wigan Casino and, almost 30 years after ...
The Album Cover Art Of Studio One Records (Soul Jazz)
Book Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, December 2011
WITHOUT STUDIO ONE there would still have been reggae music, but it might well have developed differently. ...
Bobby "Blue" Bland: Two Steps From The Blues (Soul Jam)
Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2012
WHEN BOBBY BLAND'S debut LP Two Steps From The Blues crept out over here on Vogue in the early '60s, one reviewer, whether through bitchiness, ...
Noel Hawks and Jah Floyd: Reggae Going International 1967-1976 – The Bunny "Striker" Lee Story
Book Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2012
IN 2002, BUNNY LEE asked seasoned music journalist Noel Hawks when he was going to write up his story in book form. In the best ...
Various Artists: For Northern Soul Collectors Volume 1 (EMI)
Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2012
OVER THE YEARS, the mighty EMI company has come to control many American catalogues, from giants like Capitol, Liberty and United Artists to smaller and ...
Various Artists: 100 Years Of The Blues (Universal)
Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, February 2012
BLUES HAS BEEN an integral part of popular music for decades, and this new 4CD set celebrates its birth, its growth and its ever-widening influence. ...
George Faith, Lee "Scratch" Perry: George Faith: Super Eight (Trojan)
Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, May 2012
TROJAN RECORDS' resolution for 2012 was obviously to make all fans of creative, forward-looking, barmy producer Lee "Scratch" Perry very happy indeed, and so far ...
Fairport Convention: Fairport's Cropredy Convention
Live Review by Mike Atherton, Record Collector, November 2012
IN MIDDLE ENGLAND, an Oxfordshire field came back to life to celebrate the 45th anniversary of folk-rock pioneers Fairport Convention, whose acoustic set launched this ...
Various Artists: Blue Beat 1962
Review by Mike Atherton, Secret Records, December 2012
NUMBER ONE in a field of one, and an increasingly fertile field at that, isn't a bad place to be. That's where the Blue Beat ...
Lovey's Original Trinidad String Band: Calypso Dawn (Bear Family)
Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2013
THIS IS A REMARKABLE album. It captures the music of a Trinidadian dance band which, while undertaking a tour of the USA, recorded sessions for ...
Various Artists: Behind Closed Doors (Kent)
Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2013
AARON NEVILLE is a remarkable bloke. Muscular and tattooed, he looks like a bodybuilder or a bouncer, until he opens his mouth and sings: the ...
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