The great producer Mike Vernon died om March 2nd at the age of 81, a man who couldn’t singlehandedly define the sound of British blues in the late ’60s and early ’70s only because he needed two hands to work the desk. Vernon’s label, Blue Horizon, became synonymous with that vernacular strand of the music genre he championed, and if not for Mike such ensembles as FLEETWOOD MAC. SAVOY BROWN and TEN YEARS AFTER might not have happened. It was him who directed the sound of the seminal “Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton” album – but there was so much more to the veteran.
Vernon never limited his musical interests to the blues alone – after all, among his productions include David Bowie’s eponymous debut, FOCUS’s classic platters and even LEVEL 42’s first longplay – and masterminded the funk of OLYMPIC RUNNERS a little later, yet not a lot of people know Mike was a good vocalist. He released a couple of solo records back in the day, 1971’s “Bring It Back Home” and “Moment Of Madness” in 1973, and about a decade ago formed first THE MIGHTY COMBO with whom Vernon not only released "Beyond The Blue Horizon" but also toured, and then, quite recently, CAT SQUIRREL, whose "Blues What Am" proved that Mike wasn’t ready to retire as he seemed to have done in the late ’90s.
No wonder, the veteran was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2020 – he was justifiably proud, although not as proud as of his creative achievements and of his protegees’ achievements, because Mike Vernon was a warm person, full of life and brimming with good jokes. He will be sorely missed and always remembered.
Photo courtesy of Manhaton Records
