Mike O'Neill

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Mike O'Neill (* 1938 in Lowton , Lancashire ; † October 2013 ) was a British pianist, keyboardist and songwriter .

Live and act

Mike O'Neill first worked as a steel worker before learning to play the piano by himself and moving to London to pursue a career in the music scene. After becoming a member of Colin Hicks and the Cabin Boys, he led the instrumental band Nero and the Gladiators , who performed in Roman garb and recorded a number of singles on Decca Records in 1961 , such as Entry of the Gladiators and In the Hall of the Mountain King . After O'Neill left the band, he played in the pop band The Ivy League and the John Barry Seven . He then was a founding member of Heads Hands & Feet with Tony Colton and Chas Hodges . During this time he played as a session musician with The Beatles , Jerry Lee Lewis , Dusty Springfield , Shirley Bassey , Deep Purple , Chuck Berry and Donovan ( A Gift from a Flower to a Garden , 1967). He also jammed with Jimi Hendrix and toured with Joe Cocker . When his school friend Clive Powell came to London, he first lived in O'Neill's apartment on Old Compton Street in Soho, before he made a career as Georgie Fame and also recorded songs by Mike O'Neill, such as Is It Really The Same .

In the 1970s, O'Neill worked primarily in the theater sector and was managing director of the 7:84 Theater Company . There he met his future wife, actress Rachel Bell , whom he married in 1979. During this time he worked with the playwright John McGrath and the actors Colm Meaney and Alan Ford . He died in 2013 at the age of 75 from complications from cancer.

Discographic notes

  • The Ivy League: This Is The Ivy League (Picadilly, 1965)
  • Poet and The One Man Band (Verve Forecast, 1969)
  • Heads Hands & Feet ({ Island Records , 1971)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in The Bolton News, October 17, 2013 (accessed November 14, 2013).
  2. ↑ a b Obituary in The Guardian
personal data
SURNAME O'Neill, Mike
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British musician and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Lowton , Greater Manchester , Lancashire
DATE OF DEATH October 2013