Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Talbot is probably best known as co-founder of
the Style Council
The Style Council were a British musical ensemble, band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/New wave music, new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previousl ...
. He has been a member of
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...
,
the Merton Parkas
The Merton Parkas were an English mod revival band, formed in the Merton area of South London in the mid-1970s, by Danny Talbot (vocals and guitar), his brother, Mick Talbot (keyboards), Neil Hurrell (bass) and Simon Smith (drums).
The group wa ...
and
the Bureau.
Career
Style Council
In 1982, he started working with
Paul Weller
Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...
to form
the Style Council
The Style Council were a British musical ensemble, band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/New wave music, new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previousl ...
, who released their first records in early 1983.
Since the break-up of the Style Council in March 1990,
Talbot has continued to play with Weller on his solo material. He has also released albums with fellow former Style Council member
Steve White, under the name Talbot/White.
He has since begun playing alongside former Style Council bandmate White and former
Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Solihull in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 sin ...
bass guitar player Damon Minchella, in the
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
/
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
band
the Players.
Other work and collaborations
Talbot played with late-1970s
mod revival
The mod revival was a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence lasted for de ...
ists
the Merton Parkas
The Merton Parkas were an English mod revival band, formed in the Merton area of South London in the mid-1970s, by Danny Talbot (vocals and guitar), his brother, Mick Talbot (keyboards), Neil Hurrell (bass) and Simon Smith (drums).
The group wa ...
,
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...
and
the Bureau and can be seen in The Bureau's music video for their song "Only for Sheep".
Talbot was a member of Dexys (formerly Dexys Midnight Runners) in 1980 and from 2003 to 2013. Talbot played keyboards in
Galliano, on tour with
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
, and on the 1991
Young Disciples
Young Disciples was a British / American acid jazz band, formed in London in 1990 by Carleen Anderson ( vocals and keyboards), Marco Nelson (bass, guitar and organ) and Femi Williams (percussion and programming).
Their most famous hit was th ...
album ''
Road to Freedom''. Talbot toured the UK in 2009 with
Candi Staton
Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton (, ) (born March 13, 1940) is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 remake of Tammy Wynette's " Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper "Young Hearts Run Free". In E ...
.
In 2014, Talbot worked with
Wilko Johnson
John Andrew Wilkinson (12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022), better known by the stage name Wilko Johnson, was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in t ...
and
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
on the collaborative studio album ''
Going Back Home''. He also worked with Daltrey and
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
on their 2014 single release "
Be Lucky." and on
Pete Williams' album ''Roughnecks Roustabouts'' (Basehart Recordings), released in March 2015.
References
Bibliography
*
1958 births
Living people
English new wave musicians
English record producers
English rock keyboardists
English songwriters
People from Wimbledon, London
The Style Council members
Dexys Midnight Runners members
Sophisti-pop musicians
Mod revival musicians
Musicians from London
Boogie Box High members
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