Mike Vickers
Mike Vickers is best known as the resident multi-instrumentalist in the original Manfred Mann, but he has participated on and played significant roles in the recording of dozens of successful (and occasional monster hit) records by everyone from the Beatles to Gentle Giant, in addition to composing numerous film scores. Vickers' jazz background and multi-instrumental skills made his musicianship a centerpiece of Manfred Mann's sound; his guitar, sax, and flute highlighted their live shows and dozens of their sides from the beginning of their career in 1963 through his departure from the group in October of 1965. His exit from the lineup marked the beginning of the end for the original group. Vickers' decision to leave Manfred Mann was apparently at least reasonably amicable, because the other bandmembers participated extensively on his debut solo album, I Wish I Were a Group Again, released in 1968, which is virtually a lost Manfred Mann record. Upon leaving the band, he began a career as a composer of film music, debuting with the comedy Press for Time in 1966. He also began a career as a composer, arranger, and conductor, working in the idioms of rock, jazz, and orchestral music. Among other projects, Vickers was the conductor of the 13-piece core ensemble playing behind the Beatles on their live broadcast (and record) of "All You Need Is Love" on June 25, 1967, and he later played synthesizer on their final album, Abbey Road. Since then, he has worked across the entire spectrum of English popular music, with singers as diverse as Cilla Black, Francoise Hardy, and Ella Fitzgerald in various capacities as arranger, orchestrator, or conductor, with groups as different as the Hollies, the Bee Gees, and Gentle Giant, and even turned up playing synthesizer on the original 1971 recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. The '70s also saw him move into the scoring of films with more of an international exposure, including Dracula AD 1972 and At the Earth's Core. Since the end of the '90s, Vickers has also been a participant in the Manfreds, a reunited ensemble of the original and principal second lineup members of Manfred Mann (without co-founder/keyboard player Manfred Mann himself), who have toured extensively and released a live recording in the year 2000.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
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Discography
10 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Kpm 1000 Series: A Moog for More Reasons
Jazz - Released by KPM 1000 LP Series on 1 Jan 1975
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Wish I Were A Group Again (1999 Remaster)
Pop - Released by Parlophone UK on 1 Jan 1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kpm 1000 Series: A Moog for All Reasons
Jazz - Released by KPM 1000 LP Series on 1 Apr 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dracula A.D. 1972
Film Soundtracks - Released by BSX Records, Inc. on 1 Jan 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dracula A.D. 1972 - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Mike Vickers, Hammer Studio Orchestra
Soundtracks - Released by BSX Records on 17 Oct 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
From Sci-Fi To Space - Electronic Music
Mike Vickers, STANDARD MUSIC LIBRARY
Electronic - Released by Bucks Records on 27 Oct 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Planet Earth
Soundtracks - Released by Music House - Atmosphere on 15 Sep 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dracula A.D. 1972 - Main Theme from the Hammer Motion Picture
Soundtracks - Released by BSX Records on 29 Feb 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Technicolour
Soundtracks - Released by Music House - Industry on 15 Sep 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kpm 1000 Series: Brass Plus Moog
Jazz - Released by KPM 1000 LP Series on 1 Jul 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo