Mike Barson
Mike Barson | |
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 Barson performing live with Madness at Manchester Arena in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael Barson |
| Born | 21 April 1958 Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
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| Website | www |
Mike Barson (born 21 April 1958) is a Scottish-born English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning nearly 40 years, Barson came to prominence in the late 1970s as the keyboardist for the band Madness.
Early years
Michael Barson was born on 21 April 1958, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He grew up in North London with his two brothers Dan and Ben, who are also musicians. He is often known by the nicknames "Monsieur Barso" or "Barzo".[1]
Prior to forming Madness, Barson and fellow future Madness member Lee Thompson gained some notoriety as graffiti artists in the mid-1970s. After reading about the emerging New York graffiti scene, they spray-painted their nicknames ("Mr B" and "Kix") along with two friends' names "Cat" and "Columbo" around north London. They managed to spray their nicknames on George Melly's garage door, prompting Melly to write a newspaper article declaring: "If I ever catch that Mr B, Kix and Columbo, I'm going to kick their arses".[2]
Barson co-founded a band called The Invaders in 1976.[3] The band later changed their name to Madness after the song by Prince Buster.[4]
Music career
Madness became one of the most popular bands of the late seventies to mid eighties, particularly in the UK, having initial success as part of the Two-Tone movement. Barson was and is a prominent songwriter in the band, and effectively the musical director.[5] He left in 1984 after the recording of their fifth studio album Keep Moving and appearing in the promotional music videos for the two singles from that album – "Michael Caine", and "One Better Day." Two years later Madness disbanded, but Barson did join them for the recording of their final single, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train."
Madness reunited in their original line-up in 1992,[3] and Barson still plays with them. In 1995, he co-wrote and produced a number of songs for Suggs' first solo album The Lone Ranger. When No Doubt were recording songs for their fifth studio album Rock Steady, Barson was asked to play piano on the London version of the song "Everything in Time". Barson obliged and the track was produced by Madness producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The track never made it onto the album,[6] but was released a year later in 2003 on the compilation album B-Sides, Remixes and Rarities.
Both Barson and his bandmate, Suggs, have contributed to Audio Bullys' album Higher Than the Eiffel. They both appear on the tracks "Twist Me Up" and "Goodbye".
Personal life
In 1981 Barson married his first wife, Sandra. They separated in 2008. They have three sons - Jamie, Timothy and Joey. In May 2012, Barson married his long-term girlfriend. Barson is fluent in the Dutch language, having lived in Amsterdam - first moving there with his first wife in 1983/1984, when he left Madness.
References
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (2010). Ska: An Oral History. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (3 February 2015). "Spraying the 70s: the pioneers of British graffiti". theguardian.com. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ a b BBC Top of the Pops 2 Top 5, accessed 12 August 2006
- ^ "Madness". Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (2006). Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "Everything in Time (London)". Retrieved 10 November 2015.
External links
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