Michael William Gallagher (born 29 October 1945 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, England) also known as Mick Gallagher and Mickey Gallagher is a British Hammond organ

Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

 player and best known as a member of Ian Dury

Ian Dury

Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...

 and the Blockheads and for his contributions to albums by the Clash

The Clash

The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...

. He has also written music for film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

s such as Extremes (1971) and After Midnight (1990), also the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 play Serious Money (1988).

Biography

Mick Gallagher started his musical career with The Unknowns. He played with the Animals

The Animals

The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...

 during 1965, replacing founding member Alan Price

Alan Price

Alan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....

. He moved on to form The Chosen Few, where he played alongside Alan Hull

Alan Hull

Alan Hull was an English singer-songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk rock band, Lindisfarne.-Career:...

, who later formed Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne (band)

Lindisfarne were a British folk/rock group from Newcastle upon Tyne established in 1970 and fronted by singer/songwriter Alan Hull. Their music combined a strong sense of yearning with an even stronger sense of fun...

. Other associations include Skip Bifferty

Skip Bifferty

Skip Bifferty was an English psychedelic rock band formed in early 1966. The band featured future members of Ian Dury and The Blockheads.-History:...

, Peter Frampton

Peter Frampton

Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...

's Camel

Frampton's Camel

Frampton's Camel is Peter Frampton's second album, recorded and released in 1973. It was the first album that Frampton recorded in the United States. Most of the album was written in New York...

 and Cochise

Cochise (band)

Cochise was an English country rock band that performed in the 1970s.This band is more significant for who they included than what they produced. Singer Stewart Brown had grown up with Reggie Dwight, later Elton John, and co-founded the band Bluesology with him. After the demise of Cochise, Mick...

.

His Hammond sound was a major contribution to Ian Dury and The Blockheads. He played on two of the most influential Clash albums, London Calling

London Calling

London Calling is the third studio album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 through CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 through Epic Records...

(1979) and Sandinista!

Sandinista!

Sandinista! is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side...

(1980),
and made live appearances with the band, also playing on their last album Cut the Crap

Cut the Crap

Cut the Crap is the sixth and final album by the English punk rock band The Clash, released on 4 November 1985 by Epic Records.Following the ejection of founding member Mick Jones from the group, The Clash hired guitarists Nick Sheppard and Vince White to replace him...

(1985), for which he never received a credit.

Gallagher worked with Clash drummer Topper Headon

Topper Headon

Headon was extensively interviewed for the Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten documentary film about the late Clash frontman. He related his experiences during this period, how he became addicted to heroin and how there were problems before his dismissal...

 again when they recorded Headon's Waking Up (1986), appearing with Bobby Tench

Bobby Tench

Robert Tench , also known as Bob Tench, Bobby Tench and Bobby Gass is a British vocalist and guitarist. Originally a bass player he began singing with Gass influenced by artists such as Sam Cooke and Ray Charles...

 and Jimmy Helms

Jimmy Helms

James H. Helms is an American soul singer.-Early days:Helms' first release "Ragtime Girl" was put out on Pye Records in 1963...

. He has also performed and recorded with Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

, Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams

Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...

, Dave Stewart

David A. Stewart

David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...

 and Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...

. More recently he returned to perform with The Blockheads and John Steel

John Steel (drummer)

For other persons named John Steele, see John Steele .John Steel was the original drummer of the band, The Animals, and is the owner of the rights to the band's name, by virtue of a trademark registration.Steel went to the Gateshead Grammar School...

's The Animals and Friends.