Michael Andrew Leadbitter (12 March 1942 - 16 November 1974) was a British writer, researcher, magazine editor, and a leading authority on blues music, who had an important role in the revival of interest in the blues, particularly in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Mike Leadbitter was born in Simla

Shimla

Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, but grew up in Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...

, 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...

. He attended Bexhill Grammar School, and began buying rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 and rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 records and magazines in his mid teens, often on import from the US.

In 1962, with his friend Simon Napier, he formed the Blues Appreciation Society, which the following year led to the publication of a magazine, Blues Unlimited

Blues Unlimited

Blues Unlimited was a British monthly music magazine dealing with all aspects of blues music. Co-founded in 1963 by Simon A...

, the first English-language blues periodical. He took on the role of reviews editor, and was particularly responsible for compiling discographies of major blues artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters

McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...

, Elmore James

Elmore James

Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...

, and John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...

. In 1967-68 he compiled, with Neil Slaven, the groundbreaking discography Blues Records 1943-1966, and through a great many articles and discographical research led the way in documenting the careers and recordings of hitherto under-recognised blues musicians.

He edited a collection of Blues Unlimited articles as the book Nothing But the Blues (1971), compiled albums for various record labels, and coordinated research among a global network of blues fans. In 1972 he began working for Hanover Books, including their magazines Jazz & Blues and Let It Rock, and the following year took over the sole editorship of Blues Unlimited, at the same time as preparing two books for publication. His health suffered through overwork, and after contracting a virus he developed meningitis

Meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...

, dying in hospital in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1974 at the age of 32.

In 2009 he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame

Blues Hall of Fame

The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...

as a non-performer.