Mike Absalom (born 9 November 1940) is an English pop,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

and

celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considerab ...

musician, poet and children's entertainer. ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...

'' newspaper once described Absalom's musical work as "innocence with a

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

twist". His recording and performing work in the 1970s concentrated on controversial subject matter including

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

and the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

Early life and education

Michael Absalom was born in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

, Devon of Irish and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

parentage. After being raised in England and Canada, Absalom was educated at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Career

Early

Absalom worked as a busker for several years, before

Patrick Campbell-Lyons Patrick Campbell-Lyons (born 13 July 1943), is an Irish composer and musician who is one half of the cult symphonic-rock band, Nirvana, formed in London in 1967. Campbell-Lyons, a native of Lismore, County Waterford, was part of the West Londo ...

(of

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

) signed him to Vertigo Records. By the time he signed on with Vertigo, he had already released two albums, the bawdy ''Mighty Absalom Sings Bathroom Ballads'' (1965) and ''Save the Last Gherkin for Me'' (1969), which featured guitar work by Diz Disley. His skewed sense of humour and observation led to the issue of ''Mike Absalom'' in 1971 (produced by Campbell-Lyons), before ''Hector and Other Peccadillos'' (1972) garnered a larger audience. The former album featured a Roger Dean drawn

record sleeve A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl record. Alternative terms are ''dust sleeve'', ''album liner'' and ''liner''. The term is also used to denominate the outermost cardboard covering of a record, i.e. the ''record jacket'' or ''album ...

designed as a guide to Notting Hill Gate. The latter included session work by

Ray Fenwick Raymond John Fenwick (18 July 1946 – 30 April 2022) was an English guitarist and session musician, best known for his work in The Syndicats and in The Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, and as the lead guitarist of Ian Gillan's post-Deep Purpl ...

. His live work encompassed both the United Kingdom and

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. On 23 January 1973, Absalom appeared on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

'', in a line-up that included

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

and

Buck Ram Samuel "Buck" Ram (November 21, 1907 – January 1, 1991) was an American songwriter, and popular music producer and arranger. He was one of BMI's top five songwriters/air play in its first 50 years, alongside Paul Simon, Kris Kristofferson, Jimm ...

. Absalom performed "Hector the Dope Sniffing Hound" and "The Saga of W.P.C. Sadie Stick, MacLagan and Bomber Dina". The show was hosted by "Whispering" Bob Harris.

Mid- to late-career

Finding minimal lasting commercial success, Absalom relocated to Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada in 1980, and continued to work as a solo performer as well as performing on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

. In 1986, after expanding his largely folk music repertoire to incorporate celtic elements, he formed Mike Absalom & the Squid Jiggers, who became popular in Western Canada. Absalom's

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

expertise gradually included the clàrsach,

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

and

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...

. Two years later he joined Harps International, a trio in which he played the

Paraguayan harp The Paraguayan harp is the national instrument of Paraguay, and similar instruments are used elsewhere in South America, particularly Venezuela. It is a diatonic harp with 32, 36, 38 or 40, 42 or 46 strings, made from tropical wood, pine and c ...

, touring Canada, the United States and South America. A Canada Council scholarship enabled him to further study the Paraguayan harp in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, Paraguay. In 1996, Absalom performed at the Sixth World Harp Congress. Three years later he published both a book and album of his children's songs and poetry, ''Professor Absalom's Pomes For Gnomes'', and performed at the Festival of Fools in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England, on 1 April 2000. Latterly, he has made his own wooden puppets to perform his children's show; 'Professor Absalom and his Amazing Acrobatic Street Dolls'. A multi-linguist, Absalom returned to Europe in 2002, and currently lives in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, Ireland, where he both paints and draws.

Performance venues

Absalom has performed in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London, at the Grand Municipal Theatre in Punta Arenas, Chile, on BBC Television's ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (1973), and across Europe and North and South America.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Fansite
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Absalom, Mike 1940 births Living people English folk singers English folk guitarists English male guitarists English male poets English harpists English male songwriters 20th-century English painters 20th-century English male artists 20th-century English male writers English male painters 21st-century English painters 21st-century English male artists 21st-century English male writers English cartoonists British children's entertainers Celtic folk musicians Alumni of the University of Oxford Vertigo Records artists Writers from Torquay Musicians from Torquay 20th-century British guitarists 20th-century British male singers British male songwriters Artists from Torquay