Mike Vernon (producer)

For other people named Mike Vernon, see Mike Vernon (disambiguation).

Mike Vernon (born Michael William Hugh Vernon, 20 November 1944, Harrow, Middlesex, England) is an English record producer. He produced albums for British blues artists and groups during the late 1960s, working with the Bluesbreakers, David Bowie, Duster Bennett, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, John Mayall, Christine McVie and Ten Years After amongst others.

Biography

Vernon is best known as the founder of the blues record label, Blue Horizon. Several of his recordings appeared there, as well as on the lesser known labels, Purdah and Outasite. Although he is primarily associated with the blues, Vernon produced significant acts outside of that field, including Bowie, Focus, and Bloodstone.

After playing for a while in the Mo Jo Men, Vernon started working for Decca Records in 1963, entering production with an album by the Texan Curtis Jones, and following that up with projects by better known American bluesmen, Champion Jack Dupree and Otis Spann. Vernon encouraged John Mayall to record an album with Clapton for Decca, and in 1966, Vernon was in the producer's chair for Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. Vernon also produced the Bluesbreakers' only album with Clapton's replacement, Peter Green, A Hard Road.

Vernon championed Americans as well, recording Eddie Boyd, Furry Lewis and Bukka White. In the early 1970s, Vernon released a solo album, Moment of Madness. He was also a member of The Olympic Runners (1974–1979) and acted as producer for them. He was a producer and member of Rocky Sharpe and the Replays (1979–1983). With the Replays he sang bass under the psudonym of Eric Rondo.

Vernon's importance to British music went beyond the mixed results he achieved in the recording studio. In a period of about four years, during which Blue Horizon had distribution from CBS Records and Polydor Records, it issued about 60 singles and more than 100 albums, most of them blues records. In the early 1970s, Vernon produced Focus, before moving into soul music in the mid 1970s with Bloodstone and The Olympic Runners.

Over the next couple of decades, Vernon worked at various points with Dr. Feelgood, Chris Farlowe, Freddie King, Frankie Ford and Jimmy Witherspoon plus Level 42, Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Pasadenas, and The Proclaimers. He revived the Blue Horizon label in the late 1980s, and in the 1990s he set up a couple of other blues-oriented labels, Indigo and Code Blue.

Vernon came out of retirement to produce the second album by the British blues prodigy, Oli Brown. The album entitled Heads I Win, Tails You Lose was released in March 2010.

Productions (and other credits)

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• 1965 — Five Long Years — Eddie Boyd
• 1966 — Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton — John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
• 1966 — Art Gallery – The Artwoods
• 1966 — "The London Boys" — David Bowie
• 1966 — "Rubber Band" — David Bowie
• 1966 — Sound of Sitar — Chim Kothari
• 1967 — Champion Jack Dupree and His Blues Band — Champion Jack Dupree featuring Mickey Baker
• 1967 — "Love You till Tuesday" — David Bowie
• 1967 — Blues Alone — John Mayall
• 1967 — A Hard Road — John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
• 1967 — Crusade — John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
• 1967 — David Bowie — David Bowie
• 1967 — Eddie Boyd and His Blues Band — Eddie Boyd (Liner notes)
• 1967 — Raw Blues — Various Artists
• 1967 — Shake Down — Savoy Brown
• 1967 — Ten Years After — Ten Years After
• 1968 — The 1968 Memphis Country Blues Festival — Various Artists
• 1968 — Roosevelt Holts: Presenting The Country Blues (production)
• 1968 — 40 Blue Fingers, Freshly Packed and Ready to Serve — Chicken Shack
• 1968 — 7936 South Rhodes — Eddie Boyd
• 1968 — Bare Wires — John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
• 1968 — Blues from Laurel Canyon — John Mayall
• 1968 — Diary of a Band, Vol. 1 — John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
• 1968 — Diary of a Band, Vol. 2 — John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
• 1968 — Getting to the Point — Savoy Brown
• 1968 — Last Night's Dream — Johnny Shines
• 1968 — Fleetwood Mac — Fleetwood Mac
• 1968 — Mr. Wonderful — Fleetwood Mac
• 1968 — Undead — Ten Years After (Liner notes)
• 1968 — Bukka White - Memphis Hot Shots (Production - Liner notes - Photo)
• 1969 — 100 Ton Chicken — Chicken Shack
• 1969 — The Biggest Thing Since Colossus — Otis Spann (Liner notes)
• 1969 — Blue Matter — Savoy Brown (Percussion, arranger, assistant)
• 1969 — Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1-2 — Fleetwood Mac
• 1969 — English Rose — Fleetwood Mac
• 1969 — First Slice — Jellybread
• 1969 — Heavy Blues — Champion Jack Dupree
• 1969 — Looking Back — John Mayall (Liner notes)
• 1969 — Midnight Jump — Sunnyland Slim
• 1969 — O.K. Ken? — Chicken Shack
• 1969 - Fiends And Angels - Martha Velez
• 1969 — Patent Pending — The Johnny Almond Music Machine
• 1969 — The Pious Bird of Good Omen — Fleetwood Mac
• 1969 — A Step Further — Savoy Brown (Percussion, bells)
• 1969 — Stonedhenge — Ten Years After (Vocals)
• 1969 — Presenting the Country Blues/Furry Lewis (Production - Lines Notes)
• 1969 — Presenting the Country Blues/Mississippi Joe Callicott (Production - Lines Notes)
• 1970 — Stars of the 1969-1970 Memphis Country Blues Festival — Various Artists
• 1970 — Grease One for Me — Bacon Fat
• 1970 — In and Out of Focus — Focus (Liner notes, supervisor)
• 1970 — The End of the Game — Peter Green
• 1971 — Black Magic Woman — Fleetwood Mac
• 1971 — Bring It Back Home — Mike Vernon (Harmonica, percussion, vocals)
• 1971 — Moving Waves — Focus (Liner notes, supervisor)
• 1971 — Rick Hayward — Rick Hayward (Liner notes)
• 1971 — Thru the Years — John Mayall
• 1972 — Alvin Lee & Company — Ten Years After
• 1972 — Discovering the Blues — Robben Ford
• 1972 — Focus III — Focus (Supervisor)
• 1973 — Live at the Rainbow — Focus (Supervisor)
• 1973 — History Of British Blues Vol.1 (Various Artists) (Production - liner notes and on one song)
• 1974 — Burglar — Freddie King (Percussion)
• 1974 — Hamburger Concerto — Focus
• 1975 — Larger Than Life — Freddie King (Percussion)
• 1975 — Love Is a Five Letter Word — Jimmy Witherspoon (Percussion)
• 1975 — Out in Front — The Olympic Runners (Percussion)
• 1975 — Vintage Years — Fleetwood Mac
• 1976 — Do You Wanna Do a Thing — Bloodstone
• 1976 — Gold Plated — Climax Blues Band
• 1976 — Live — Jimmy Witherspoon & Robben Ford (Executive production, editing, mixing)
• 1977 — Best of Savoy Brown [London] — Savoy Brown
• 1977 — Edwin Starr — Edwin Starr (Tambourine, vibraslap)
• 1977 — Hot to Trot — The Olympic Runners (Percussion, vocals)
• 1977 — On the Line — Foster Brothers
• 1977 — Original Fleetwood Mac — Fleetwood Mac
• 1977 — Ship of Memories — Focus
• 1977 — Soul Survivors — Diversions
• 1978 — Focus con Proby — Focus (Liner notes, supervisor)
• 1979 — Let It Roll — Dr. Feelgood
• 1979 — Out of the Ground — The Olympic Runners (Percussion)
• 1979 — Rama Lama (Replays) — Rocky Sharpe & the Replays (Engineer)
• 1980 — Shout! Shout! — Rocky Sharpe & the Replays (Percussion)
• 1981 — Level 42 — Level 42
• 1982 — Pursuit of Accidents — Level 42
• 1983 — Stop Please Stop — Rocky Sharpe & the Replays (Percussion)
• 1984 — End of the Line — Pete McDonald
• 1986 — Mad Man Blues — Dr. Feelgood
• 1986 — On the Loose — Steve Gibbons
• 1987 — Hat Trick — Blues 'N' Trouble (Percussion)
• 1988 — Crossroads — Eric Clapton
• 1988 — Great British Psychedelic Trip, Vol. 1, 1966-69 — Various Artists
• 1988 — John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers — John Mayall
• 1989 — Level Best — Level 42
• 1989 — Singles/ The UA Years — Dr. Feelgood
• 1989 — Steel & Fire — The Mick Clarke Band (Engineer)
• 1989 — Storyteller - The Complete Anthology: 1964–1990 — Rod Stewart
• 1990 — Blues It Up — Dana Gillespie (Percussion)
• 1991 — That's What The Blues Can Do - The Innes Sibun Blues Explosion (Production)
• 1991 — Second Sight — Chris Youlden (Vocals, Engineer)
• 1992 — 25 Years - The Chain — Fleetwood Mac
• 1992 — Attack of the Atomic Guitar — U.P. Wilson (Engineer, mixing)
• 1992 — Blue Lightning — Lightnin' Slim (Mixing)
• 1992 — Blues, the Whole Blues & Nothing But the Blues — Jimmy Witherspoon (Percussion, engineer, mixing, liner notes)
• 1992 — Chiswick Story — Various Artists
• 1992 — Delta Bluesman — David Honeyboy Edwards
• 1993 — Dog Days Are Over — The Scabs
• 1993 — Delta Hurricane — Larry McCray
• 1993 — Clima Raro — Danza Invisible
• 1994 — Live Dog — The Scabs
• 1994 — Sound Like This — The Hoax
• 1994 — Al Compás de la Banda — Danza Invisible
• 1996 — A Man Amongst Men — Bo Diddley (Production, liner notes, percussion)
• 1999 — The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions — Fleetwood Mac (Production)
• 2007 — The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions — Otis Spann (Production)
• 2007 — Furry Lewis & Mississippi Joe Callicott - The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (Production - liner notes - photos)
• 2007 — The 1968 Memphis Country Blues festival - Bukka White The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (Production - liner notes - Photos)
• 2008 — The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions — Jellybread (Production - liner notes)
• 2008 — The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions — Top Topham (Production - liner notes)
• 2008 — The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions — Key Largo (Production - liner notes)
• 2008 — The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions — Gordon Smith (Production - liner notes)
• 2008 — The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions — Eddie Boyd (Production - liner notes)
• 2008 — The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions — Champion Jack Dupree (Production - liner notes)
• 2010 — Heads I Win, Tails You Lose - Oli Brown (Production)
• 2010 — Shine - Dani Wilde (Production)
• 2010 — Fun to Visit - Mingo & The Blues Intruders (Production)

Bibliography

• Bob Brunning, Blues: The British Connection, Helter Skelter Publishing, London 2002, ISBN 1-900924-41-2 - First edition 1986 - Second edition 1995 Blues in Britain
• Bob Brunning, The Fleetwood Mac Story: Rumours and Lies, Omnibus Press London, 1990 and 1998, ISBN 0-7119-6907-8
• Martin Celmins, Peter Green - Founder of Fleetwood Mac, Sanctuary London, 1995, foreword by B.B.King, ISBN 1-86074-233-5
• Dick Heckstall-Smith, The safest place in the world: A personal history of British Rhythm and blues, 1989 Quartet Books Limited, ISBN 0-7043-2696-5 - Second Edition : Blowing The Blues - Fifty Years Playing The British Blues, 2004, Clear Books, ISBN 1-904555-04-7
• Christopher Hjort, Strange brew: Eric Clapton and the British blues boom, 1965-1970, foreword by John Mayall, Jawbone 2007, ISBN 1-90600-200-2
• Paul Myers, Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues, Vancouver 2007, GreyStone Books, ISBN 1-55365-200-2
• Harry Shapiro, Alexis Korner: The Biography, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster, ISBN 0-7475-3163-3
• Mike Vernon, The Blue Horizon story 1965-1970 vol.1, notes of the booklet of the Box Set (60 pages)

External links

• FleetwoodMac.net information
• Oli Brown lures legendary producer out of retirement