A singer, songwriter and guitarist from the age of 13, Mike Hurst was encouraged by rock singer
Eddie Cochran after auditioning for
Jack Good's television show
Oh Boy! but in 1960, after failing to secure a recording contract, Hurst moved away from music and began to work in insurance. Later, though, after his mother answered an advertisement in
The Stage, on his behalf, for a singer for a pop/folk group, Hurst won an audition. He joined
Dusty and
Tom Springfield in
The Springfields in February 1962. After entering the
UK Singles Chart with "Breakaway", they scored a hit single in the United States with "
Silver Threads and Golden Needles", becoming the first UK vocal group to make the US
Top 20. UK chart success continued in 1963 with "
Island of Dreams" and "
Say I Won't Be There". They were voted the top British group by readers of the
NME in 1962. The Springfields' final performance was in
Sunday Night at the London Palladium, the biggest television programme of the day, where they were presented with a trophy by compere
Bruce Forsyth. The group disbanded in October 1963. In 1964, Hurst formed a band called the Methods, featuring
Jimmy Page and then
Albert Lee on guitar as well as
Tony Ashton on keyboards. After leaving the band Hurst began producing for
Andrew Loog Oldham (
Tony Rivers and the Castaways) and
Mickie Most. In September 1965, he oversaw
Marc Bolan's first recording session, at Decca when he recorded "The Wizard". In 1965, after a brief collaboration with Bolan, he discovered singer-songwriter
Cat Stevens, and signed him to the new
Deram record label (an imprint of
Decca) and produced his first five hit singles including "
Matthew and Son" and "
I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun". During this time he also produced recordings and hits for
P. P. Arnold ("
The First Cut Is the Deepest"),
The Move ("
Curly"),
Manfred Mann ("
Mighty Quinn"),
Spencer Davis Group ("Time Seller"),
Neil MacArthur (a pseudonym for
Colin Blunstone),
Warm Sounds,
Ayshea and
Alan Bown. In 1969, Hurst formed an orchestra and recorded covers of popular songs and themes of the day. In 1970 and 1971, he produced for Australian band
New World, and recorded two albums for
Capitol Records, using sidemen such as
Tony Ashton,
B. J. Cole,
Clem Cattini,
Ian Paice,
Jon Lord,
Rod Argent and
Nicky Hopkins. In 1973, he formed his own production company, Solid Gold, and wrote and produced for the band
Fancy, achieving US chart success with the singles "Touch Me" and a cover of
The Troggs "
Wild Thing". The same year he signed
Showaddywaddy to
Bell Records and produced a string of UK hit singles for them. These included "
Under the Moon of Love", "
Three Steps to Heaven" and "
When". Following his success with Showaddywaddy, he produced
Modern Priscilla (1978), a disco album for
Cilla Black, and early recordings by
Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club. In 1978, he started managing
Shakin' Stevens, and produced his first hit "Hot Dog" the same year. In 1981, he formed a vocal group with
Mary Hopkin and
Mike de Albuquerque called Sundance and toured with
Dr Hook appearing on the
Parkinson and
Russell Harty television shows. In 1984, he became head of Lamborghini Records, famous for discovering
Samantha Fox. 21st century work includes production for
Belle and Sebastian (2002), and his son's band, Jonas and Plunkett (2007). He also runs rock schools for youngsters through his Rockmaster company, and is a foremost lecturer on the history of English speaking popular music from the Middle Ages to the present day, appearing at schools, U3A groups etc. throughout the country. Hurst also appears with his new Springfields, including Andy Marlow and Alice Pitt-Carter. Hurst and wife Marjorie have seven children between them – Tim (died 2024), Alexis, Caroline, Muffin, Bryony, Jonas, and Adam – and 17 grandchildren. ==References==