Mike Edwards (musician)
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Michael Edwards (31 May 19483 September 2010), later known as Swami Deva Pramada or simply Pramada, was an English cellist and music teacher. He was a member of the
Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...
in their early years.


Early life

Mike Edwards was born on 31 May 1948 in
West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...
to Frank and Lillian Edwards. The family lived in South Ealing and he went to school at Grange Primary School. He passed the
Eleven-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academic ...
exam and went to Ealing Grammar School for Boys where an inspirational music teacher John Railton encouraged his love of music. His father was an amateur cellist, but died when Edwards was 14, leaving his mother to bring up Edwards and his older brother on her own. He studied the piano with John Railton, and cello with Maryse Chome-Wilson. He played in the Ealing Youth Orchestra. After school, Edwards gained a job in the
Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...
for a year during which he was able to decide that his career should be in music and he was able to pass the entrance audition to the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
in 1968 to study the cello with Douglas Cameron and the viola de gamba with Dennis Nesbitt. He gained a LRAM in cello teaching. As well as developing his musical skills, the academy broadened his musical experience, encouraged by tutors such as
John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...
, who introduced him to playing jazz and big band music.


Career


Electric Light Orchestra years

Edwards joined the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) in 1972 and played with the band from their first live gig in Croydon until he departed, of his own choosing, in January 1975. Previously he had had little interest in non-classical music, though he had played on recording sessions for
Barclay James Harvest Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004), a ...
. Although his bandmates remembered him as a small, shy, broadly-smiling classicist in formal attire,
Bev Bevan Beverley Bevan (born 25 November 1944) is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II. Bevan also was drumm ...
, BBC obituary, ''Last Words'', Radio 4, September 2010
his eccentric cello playing (fingering the strings with an
orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
or
grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...
) and bizarre costumes were a major ingredient of early ELO concerts: his cello solo spots, often ''The Dying Swan'' or Bach's Air, ended with his instrument exploding with the aid of
pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demolition. ...
(Edwards actually mimed to a backing track using a specially rigged instrument). He contributed to the studio albums ''
ELO 2 ''ELO 2'' is the second studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1973. In the US, the album was released as ''Electric Light Orchestra II''. It was the band's last album to be released by the Harvest label, the last (in t ...
'', ''
On the Third Day ''On the Third Day'' is the third studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the first to be recorded without input from Roy Wood. It was released in the United States in November 1973 by United Artists Records, and in the United Kingd ...
'', and ''
Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
'', and the live album, ''
The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach ''The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach'' is a 1974 live album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) recorded on the evening of 12 May 1974 at the Long Beach Auditorium in Long Beach, California; its title lampoons "The Night the Lights Wen ...
''. He was replaced by
Melvyn Gale Melvyn is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Melvyn Betts (born 1975), English cricketer * Melvyn Bragg (born 1939), British broadcaster and author * Melvyn Caplan, British Conservative politician * Melvyn Douglas (1901-1981), American a ...
.


Life after ELO

He changed his name to Pramada on becoming a sannyasin of
Osho Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (), was an Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was viewed as a controv ...
: the name means "divine contentment". During the 1980s, he lived in the group's large Medina commune near
Herringswell Herringswell is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2005 it had a population of 190. In 2007 there were 128 voters there.McNeill, Phil.Shrine of the times" ''The Telegraph''. 22 July 2007. R ...
in Suffolk, England as well as spells in Poona in India, Hamburg in Germany, and the US, and later in Vauxhall and Archway, north London. Subsequently, he appeared for three years as a duo with dancer Avis von Herder. Their work and performances were based on improvisation and included the production of his composition Vampire Madonna at the Edinburgh Festival. In later years, his work involved stage plays, arrangements and cross-genre recordings such as the album "No goal but the path" by Terra Incognita. He was always considered as a "musician's musician", and after moving to Dartington in Devon, he produced and composed music for '' The Prophet'' by
Khalil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...
with words spoken by actor Tim Brophy. He also composed and recorded music for poems by
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
. Edwards played cello and bass viol in groups of all musical genres and established a private cello and viol teaching practice. It was probably the freedom and joy that he experienced playing Baroque music that led to a workshop in Devon of the European String Teachers Association (of which he was SW region chairman) in 1999, which the violinist Margaret Faultless was invited to direct. As a result of this, the Devon Baroque orchestra was formed and Mike played in virtually every one of its 100 or so concerts in the ten years before his death. In addition to his playing with Devon Baroque he was in demand from many folk and jazz as well as classical groups in the area, some of which he helped to form including Sicilienne, L'Ardito, Ashburton Cello ensemble, Devon Early Music Group, Compagnie Giulia, Daughters of Elvin, Ta Filia and Presence.


Death

Edwards was killed on the
A381 road A381 may refer to: * The A381 road in Devon, England * The Autovía A-381, a motorway in Andalucia, Spain * The RMAS ''Cricklade'' (A381), a fleet tender to the United Kingdom's Royal Navy {{Letter-NumberCombDisambig ...
between
Harberton Harberton is a village, civil parish and former manor 3 miles south west of Totnes, in the South Hams District of Devon, England. The parish includes the village of Harbertonford situated on the main A381 road. In the 2001 census the parish ...
ford and
Halwell Halwell is a village, former parish and former manor in Devon, South West England. It is presently administered by the civil parish of Halwell and Moreleigh, itself administered by South Hams district council. In 1961 the civil parish had a po ...
near where he lived in
Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...
in Devon, on 3 September 2010, when a cylindrical hay bale weighing rolled down a hillside and collided with the van he was driving. A court case concluding on 19 November 2012 resulted in two defendants being found not guilty of health and safety charges relating to the accident. ELO co-founder
Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...
posted the following about Edwards:


See also

*
List of unusual deaths This list of unusual deaths includes unique or extremely rare circumstances of death recorded throughout history, noted as being unusual by multiple sources. Antiquity Middle Ages Renaissance Early modern period 19th centur ...


References


External links


BBC News: ''ELO hay bale death cellist Mike Edwards buried'', 22 September 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Mike 1948 births 2010 deaths People from Ealing 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English musicians Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music English cellists British rock cellists English classical cellists English viol players English Buddhists Converts to Buddhism English rock musicians People from Totnes People from Forest Heath (district) Musicians from London Electric Light Orchestra members Road incident deaths in England English classical musicians Rajneesh movement 20th-century classical musicians British pop cellists