1960s ;1960 to 1962 Mike Falana appeared at the AMSAC organized festival in December 1961 which was held in Lagos, Nigeria. US-artists such as
Nina Simone, Odetta,
Randy Weston, Michael Olatunji, Langston Hughes, and Lionel Hampton were part of it. Falana was incorrectly billed as Mike Falani. Along with fellow Nigerian musicians; saxophonist Bobby Benson, trumpeters Zeal Onyia and Chief Bill Friday, Falana played with closing act Lionel Hampton on his signature tune, "Flying Home". Unfortunately for Hampton the tune didn't go down well with the audience as did the rest of his appearance. In 1962 Falana arrived in London and started work straight away. He was working as part of the house band at The Establishment which was co-owned by
Peter Cook. ;1963 Now as part of the UK group the
Johnny Burch Octet, Falana participated in a live broadcast for the BBC which was recorded in March 1963. The musical selections performed by the ensemble included "Moanin’", " Early In the Morning", "All Members", " I Remember Clifford", "Going Up North", "Nightwalk" and "Del Sasser". While with the Octet, Mike Falana was at a reception at the Mayfair Hotel. While there he was photographed by
Val Wilmer . The photograph had him with
Sammy Davis, Jnr. and Davis' MD
George Rhodes. The photo and caption appeared in the May 1963 edition of
Crescendo magazine. In early August 1963, Falana, billed a solo act was appearing at the
Klooks Kleek on the same night as
Brian Auger and the Trinity and the Tony Baylis Quartet. And on Thursday he was the featured musician with the John Williams Big Band at the Acton in High Street. On Saturday August 3rd he was appearing at the Marquee as the featured artist with the
Joe Harriott Quintet, and on Sunday August 4th he was appearing at the same venue as the featured artist with the John Williams Big Band. Also that month Falana was the star soloist with the John Williams Big Band at the National Jazz Festival in Richmond. The review of the band's appearance was by
Crescendo. The reviewer made a comment about Falana's phrasing being in the Miles Davis vein. ;1964 Falana came no. 3 in the British section, New Star section of the 1964
Melody Maker Readers Jazz Poll. Falana was a member of the
African Messengers. He co-led with alto-saxophonist
Peter King on the group's recordings. In mid-May, they appeared at the Marquee, playing to an audience of more than six hundred. At the time the line-up included Humphrey Akoh on alto sax, Peter King on tenor sax, Falana on trumpet, Happy Williams on electric bass, Dick Rushton on piano, Paul Edoh on congas, and James Meane on drums. Vocalist Mel Turner performed with them and one song they did, "Work Song" managed to get an enthusiastic participation from the audience. That year the group had their first single "Highlife Piccadilly" bw "Blues For Messengers" released on the
Carnival label.. According to
Melody Maker in the magazine's May 30 issue, Falana (spelt Mike Fellana),
Mose Allison, the Jazz Crusaders, Chris Barber, the Staples Singers and The Yardbirds had been invited to the International Jazz Days festival. Also that year, an episode (one of the earliest) of
London Line featured Nigerian parish priest, the Reverend Ogundura in the UK and a music item by Falana and the African Messengers. ;1965 to 1969 In 1966 and as a member of
Graham Bond Organisation, he played at the Ram Jam Club on June 30, and the Farnborough College of Technology on July 2, the Corn Exchange on July 26, the Manor House on July 29, the Atalanta ballroom on August 1 and various other venues. For a period of time he was in
The Ramong Sound, a group fronted by
Raymond Morrison and
Clem Curtis. When Morrison was forced to depart due to legal matters,
Arthur Brown came in for a brief spell. It would eventually evolve into
The Foundations. By the time the group had a hit with "
Baby, Now That I've Found You", Falana and Brown etc. were no longer in the group.
1970s Falana played on Peter King's
Shango album which was recorded in 1974. The other musicians were Humphrey Okoh on alto sax, David Williams on bass, Paul Edoh on congas, James Menin on drums, Arthur Simon on guitar, and Peter King on sax and flute. The album remained unreleased for decades. ==Later years==