Mick Softley
Encyclopedia
Michael 'Mick' Softley is a British singer/songwriter
and guitarist. A figurehead during the British folk
scene, Softley set up his own folk
club, released three albums and has been known to work with Mac MacLeod
, Donovan
Leitch and Maddy Prior
. Donovan
even covered two of Softley's songs (Goldwatch Blues & The War Drags On) on his early albums.
, Softley first took up trombone
in school and became interested in traditional jazz
. He was later persuaded to become a singer by one of his school teachers, and this led to him listening to Big Bill Broonzy
and promptly changed his attitude to music, to the extent of him buying a mail-order guitar
and some tutorial books and teaching himself to play.
By 1959, Mick Softley had left his job and home and spent time travelling around Europe
on his motorbike. Ending up in Paris
, he came into the company of musicians such as Clive Palmer
, Ramblin' Jack Elliott
and Wizz Jones
. Here he improved his guitar
skills and spent time busking
with friends until his return to England
in the early 1960s. Setting up a folk
club at The Spinning Wheel in Hemel Hempstead
, he became well respected amongst his peers due to the truly bohemian
nature of his life during the previous six years.
after only a year, however, for "various reasons", and Softley began singing in The Cock, a pub in St Albans, where he met a young Donovan
Leitch, singing together on many occasions (He later cited Softley as a "major influence"). Donovan
was soon snapped up by a record label and shot to stardom, but this enabled him to bring Softley to the attention of producers and record companies. He then worked with Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens
, and his debut album Songs For Swinging Survivors , which was a purely folk
record. The album featured only Softley and his acoustic guitar
, and includes the songs The War Drags On, (Covered by Donovan
on his 'Universal Soldier
' EP), and Softley's own interpretations of Billie Holiday
's 'Strange Fruit', and Woody Guthrie
's 'The Plains of the Buffalo'.
Softley does not look back on this time favourably claiming during production he had gone "through a lot of hells and no heavens, a terrifying amount of personal pain" to the extent that he quit the music business for over four years. During this time, he returned to life on the road until late 1967. Due to contractual issues he never received any royalties in the later years.
called Soft Cloud. They only performed a few times before they split up and Softley went on to pursue a solo career. Meeting Donovan
again, he was persuaded to record for a second time. This time Terry Cox
was on board for production and Softley claimed that "everybody all along the line was really good. Totally different to what I'd been through five years before - No-one was trying to make a fast penny out of me, and they were prepared to let me do everything exactly how I wanted to".
Softley recorded three albums during this period, which have a very different tone from the first album, notably due to the variety of instruments and styles showcased on these albums, from upbeat rock (Can You Hear me Now?) and folk (Goldwatch Blues) to eastern-inspired sitar pieces (Love Colours) and skiffle (Ragtime Mama).
He moved to County Fermanagh
, Northern Ireland
in 1984, eventually settling in Enniskillen
where he still lives. He writes poetry and is a well recognised character in the town. He also performs occasionally at the Belfast Folk Festival.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and guitarist. A figurehead during the British folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
scene, Softley set up his own folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
club, released three albums and has been known to work with Mac MacLeod
Mac MacLeod
Mac MacLeod is an English musician who was a part of the Hertfordshire folk and blues scene from 1959 onwards. He played in St Albans alongside Mick Softley, Maddy Prior and toured with John Renbourn...
, Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
Leitch and Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
. Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
even covered two of Softley's songs (Goldwatch Blues & The War Drags On) on his early albums.
Early life
Born to Irish parents from County CorkCounty Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Softley first took up trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
in school and became interested in traditional jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. He was later persuaded to become a singer by one of his school teachers, and this led to him listening to Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
and promptly changed his attitude to music, to the extent of him buying a mail-order guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and some tutorial books and teaching himself to play.
By 1959, Mick Softley had left his job and home and spent time travelling around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
on his motorbike. Ending up in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he came into the company of musicians such as Clive Palmer
Clive Palmer
Clive Palmer is a British folk musician and banjoist best known as a founding member of the Incredible String Band.Born in Edmonton, North London, he first went on stage at the age of 8, and took banjo lessons from the age of 10. Around 1957 he began playing with jazz bands in Soho...
, Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Ramblin' Jack Elliott is an American folk singer and performer.-Life and career:Elliot Charles Adnopoz was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents in 1931. Elliott grew up inspired by the rodeos at Madison Square Garden, and wanted to be a cowboy...
and Wizz Jones
Wizz Jones
Raymond Ronald Jones better-known as Wizz Jones is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been performing since the late 1950s and recording from 1965 to the present...
. Here he improved his guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
skills and spent time busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
with friends until his return to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the early 1960s. Setting up a folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
club at The Spinning Wheel in Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
, he became well respected amongst his peers due to the truly bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
nature of his life during the previous six years.
Songs for Swinging Survivors
His folk club was shut down by the policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
after only a year, however, for "various reasons", and Softley began singing in The Cock, a pub in St Albans, where he met a young Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
Leitch, singing together on many occasions (He later cited Softley as a "major influence"). Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
was soon snapped up by a record label and shot to stardom, but this enabled him to bring Softley to the attention of producers and record companies. He then worked with Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens
Geoff Stephens
Geoffrey 'Geoff' Stephens , was one of the top British songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
, and his debut album Songs For Swinging Survivors , which was a purely folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
record. The album featured only Softley and his acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, and includes the songs The War Drags On, (Covered by Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
on his 'Universal Soldier
Universal Soldier
- Music :* "Universal Soldier" , a 1964 song by Buffy Sainte-Marie* Universal Soldier * Universal Soldier * Universal Soldier - Film :* Universal Soldier...
' EP), and Softley's own interpretations of Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
's 'Strange Fruit', and Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
's 'The Plains of the Buffalo'.
Softley does not look back on this time favourably claiming during production he had gone "through a lot of hells and no heavens, a terrifying amount of personal pain" to the extent that he quit the music business for over four years. During this time, he returned to life on the road until late 1967. Due to contractual issues he never received any royalties in the later years.
Sunrise/ Street Singer
After his absence, Softley returned with an electric group Soft Cloud, Loud Earth the group was soon trimmed down to a duo consisting of Softley and Mac MacLeodMac MacLeod
Mac MacLeod is an English musician who was a part of the Hertfordshire folk and blues scene from 1959 onwards. He played in St Albans alongside Mick Softley, Maddy Prior and toured with John Renbourn...
called Soft Cloud. They only performed a few times before they split up and Softley went on to pursue a solo career. Meeting Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
again, he was persuaded to record for a second time. This time Terry Cox
Terry Cox
Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums....
was on board for production and Softley claimed that "everybody all along the line was really good. Totally different to what I'd been through five years before - No-one was trying to make a fast penny out of me, and they were prepared to let me do everything exactly how I wanted to".
Softley recorded three albums during this period, which have a very different tone from the first album, notably due to the variety of instruments and styles showcased on these albums, from upbeat rock (Can You Hear me Now?) and folk (Goldwatch Blues) to eastern-inspired sitar pieces (Love Colours) and skiffle (Ragtime Mama).
Later years
Avoiding capitalising on the opportunity of stardom, Softley continued to travel and play for free, preferring to watch people enjoy his music than make money.He moved to County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
in 1984, eventually settling in Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
where he still lives. He writes poetry and is a well recognised character in the town. He also performs occasionally at the Belfast Folk Festival.
Albums
- Songs For Swingin' SurvivorsSongs for Swingin' SurvivorsSongs for Swingin' Survivors is Mick Softley's first album, which was released by Columbia Records in 1965. The album was produced by Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens, who had previously discovered Donovan...
(Released LP 1965 - ReReleased CD 2003) - Sunrise (1970)
- Street Singer (1971)
- C'est la Fête à Malataverne (one song "time machine" record live in French folk festival) (Expression Spontanée 1971)
- Any Mother Doesn't GrumbleAny Mother Doesn't GrumbleAny Mother Doesn't Grumble is an LP released in 1972 by Mick Softley, under the CBS record label in the UK and the Netherlands, and the Epic record label in Japan.- Track listing :# Song That I Sing# Hello, Little Flower # Sing While You Can...
(1972) - CapitalCapital (album)Capital is an album by Mick Softley released in 1976 - Track listing:# Ode To The Fair # Les Eaux De Finance # El Senor # The Anti-Gravity Device # Silence # Transylvanian Highway# Lady May # Knighthood...
(1976)
External links
- http://www.impartialreporter.com/archive/2003-09-11/news/story6555.html
- http://www.polenta.dircon.co.uk/micindex.html
- http://home.arcor.de/kai63/msoftley.html