The Mike Flowers Pops (also known as MFP, The Pops or The Mike Flowers Pops Orchestra) are a British

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

fronted by Mike Flowers (real name Michael Roberts). Mike Roberts was born in Liverpool in 1960, now married with 2 children & living in London, studied Painting at Chelsea School of Art (1978-81) and did an MA in Music at Goldsmiths (2012-14). In the mid-1990s he enjoyed an unlikely pop profile as easy listening bandleader Mike Flowers of The Mike Flowers Pops, including a UK No. 2 chart hit with his version of the Oasis song ‘Wonderwall’ (according to Lou Reed, one of the funniest things he’d ever heard). He has since scored music for film and television, and made music documentaries for Sky Arts and London’s Barbican Centre. ''How Art Made Pop'' is his first book and supported by the "Sounds Superb Singers" and "Super Stereo Brass". Formed in 1993, there can be up to fourteen of them on stage at any time, and they are principally known for

lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

covers of both 'classic' and contemporary

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

. The title "MFP" parodies the budget record label Music for Pleasure, also known as MFP, which produced a series of "Hot Hits" cover version albums in the 1960s and 1970s.

History

The band became famous in the UK in 1995 when they released a cover version of

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

song " Wonderwall". After seeing the band perform, BBC radio producer Will Saunders recruited Flowers for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Kevin Greening Kevin Greening (30 December 1962 – 29 December 2007) was a British radio presenter, who co-hosted ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' on BBC Radio 1 with Zoe Ball from 13 October 1997 to 25 September 1998. Early career Kevin Greening grew up in Bristol whe ...

in order to cover the 'Hits of 95' for Greening's Saturday show; "Wonderwall" was his first week's project. Chris Evans heard the song and made it 'single of the week' on his Radio 1 breakfast show, telling listeners that this was the original version of the song. The single, issued by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

under the name The Mike Flowers Pops, was released while the Oasis original was still in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and itself reached the Top 10. Flowers' version peaked at number 2 in the UK Christmas 1995 chart and got to number one in Scotland.

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

, when asked at the time whether he had heard anything by Oasis, claimed: "Not that I would know. Oh, Wonderwall? The one I know is the Mike Flowers one. That is one of the funniest things I've ever heard in my life." Following the success of "Wonderwall", The Mike Flowers Pops quickly advanced from performing shows in nightclubs and small concert halls to touring festivals and larger venues across Britain and Europe. ''A Groovy Place'' was released on 24 June 1996. At the end of 1996 they toured Britain with

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

on his last 'Who's in the Gang' tour. They played large venues including

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

and Birmingham NEC. Cover versions of

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

' "

Light My Fire "Light My Fire" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It was recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967 on their eponymous debut album. Released as an edited single on April 24, 1967, it spent three weeks at number one on t ...

", and "

Don't Cry for Me Argentina "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song recorded by Julie Covington for the 1976 concept album ''Evita'', later included in the 1978 musical of the same name. The song was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were ...

" also reached the top 40 of the UK chart. The Mike Flowers Pops played at the Shiiine On Weekender in November 2016 and at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

in London in December 2016 and December 2017.

Discography

Albums

;Studio *''A Groovy Place'' (1996) ;Compilations *''Get Easy! The Future Collection Volume 2'' (included "

MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated ...

" by The Mike Flowers Pops) (1995) *''The Freebase Connection: The Mike Flowers Pops meets

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

'' (1996) *''The Cocktail Shaker-New Groove Kitsch and Space-Age Pop'' (1997) *'' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' soundtrack (1997) *''Mike Flowers meets Cylob'' (1999) *Constant Friction - ''Collaboration 2'' (1999) * The Karminsky Experience Inc - ''The Power of Suggestion'' (2002)

Singles

*" Wonderwall" (1995), UK #2 *"

" / "

Please Release Me "Release Me" (sometimes rendered as "Release Me (and Let Me Love Again)"), is a popular song written by Eddie "Piano" Miller and Robert Yount in 1949. Four years later it was recorded by Jimmy Heap & the Melody Masters (in 1953), and with even bet ...

" (1996), UK #39 *"

" (1996), UK #30 *"

Talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

" (2005, digital single) *''Hold the Corner EP'' (2016, collaboration with

Cornershop Cornershop are a British indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh (singe ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mike Flowers Pops, The English pop music groups British parodists Parody musicians Musical groups established in 1992