Mike Patto (born Michael Thomas McCarthy, 22 September 1942 – 4 March 1979) was an English musician, who was primarily notable as lead singer for

Spooky Tooth Spooky Tooth were an English rock band originally formed in Carlisle in 1967. Principally active between 1967 and 1974, the band re-formed several times in later years. History Prior to Spooky Tooth, four of the band's five founding members h ...

Patto Patto were an English rock band, formed in London in 1970. Founded by vocalist Mike Patto, their lineup was taken from Timebox, consisting of vocalist Patto, guitarist and vibraphone player Ollie Halsall, bassist Clive Griffiths and drummer ...

and

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Life and career

Patto was born in

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

, England, and first became vocalist and frontman for

The Bo Street Runners The Bo Street Runners were an English R&B band formed in Harrow. England, during 1964. The band released four singles and an extended play record. They gained prominence in the United Kingdom after winning the ''Ready Steady Win!'' band contest ...

, who won a TV band competition ''Ready Steady Win'' during 1964. He was a member of Timebox, his own band

, and Dick and the Firemen. In 1974, Patto joined

as vocalist and keyboard player. He was also a founding member of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

. Patto died of

lymphatic leukemia Lymphoid leukemias are a group of leukemias affecting circulating lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. The lymphocytic leukemias are closely related to lymphomas of the lymphocytes, to the point that some of them are unitary disease entities t ...

at the age of 36.

Jim Capaldi Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co ...

wrote the song "Bright Fighter"Originally the B-side to the 1981 single "Child in the Storm", where it is dedicated "For Patto" on the picture sleeve. The song was later included on the box set ''Dear Mr. Fantasy: The Jim Capaldi Story''. about him. His son (Mike McCarthy) is also a musician

References

External links

Bo Street Runners story
1942 births 1979 deaths People from Cirencester English songwriters English male singers Deaths from throat cancer Musicians from Gloucestershire Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century English singers Spooky Tooth members Centipede (band) members 20th-century British male singers British male songwriters {{UK-singer-stub