Mike Clark

This site will contain writer's demos from the artist Mike Clark recorded in 2006. These songs will remain for free download as long as contractual obligations permit. Should you wish to here more Mike Clark related material check out... http://www.soundclick.com/thecocainecowboys http://www.soundclick.com/raremike http://www.soundclick.com/mikemissilevdadinusa http://www.soundclick.com/lovemissileusa http://www.soundclick.com/earlymike http://www.soundclick.com/fragilex http://www.soundclick.com/crimsonstain www.mikeclarkonline.com

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY Although Mike Clark had started writing lyrics at 14 and had worked with a short lived band called Satan at the age of 16, it wasnt until he was 17 that he really hit prominence: when in a band named The Passengers he made his live debut at a church hall in rural West Sussex, UK. Not the most rock and roll of venues, but the ensuing riot and the subsequent closing down of the hall for all musical events by the church authorities guaranteed press coverage. This was back in 1978, when, during the furor of punk rocks early beginnings the British establishment was rocked to its foundations and such chaos was considered fashionable. The plethora of punk fanzines at the time dubbed the band The Legendary Passengers and the artist found himself the subject of full page spreads. Unfortunately another band calling themselves the Passengers got to the studio first and released a single under that name. A name change was called for and a new manager was brought in. The band became Forward Edge and a tougher, more military image was brought in by the new management. This however attracted a right wing audience who just didnt get the irony in the songs and although audiences grew, so did the violence exponentially at each gig. This came to a head when during one performance a girl was stabbed in the eye and very nearly lost her sight. Disillusioned Mike split the band and went to the University of London to obtain his degree In history. Although still working sporadically, Mike didnt really put together another coherent body of work until, while in Sudan in 1991, he teamed up with a German guitarist named Jurgan and formed a band called Barbed Wire. They played for aid workers in the poverty stricken country, but the hard line Islamic government did not appreciate his brand of the devils music and he was asked to leave the country. Subsequently, Mike found himself in Japan for the first time where he met his future wife, Caroline. The couple moved back to England, married and had a daughter, Frances. After a brief stint in Lebanon, the couple once again found themselves in Britain where Mike formed the band Fragile X. However, domesticity and music didnt really work and the couple divorced. From there the artist took a change of direction and decamped to Italy where he wrote the novelette Dear Sally, 10 Days in Pisa. He resurfaced as a musician once more in Oman of all places, where between 1996 and 1997 he wrote and recorded his first fully realized album Chapters of My Heart which included the single Beautiful Woman. The lost album Never, Never Land was also written at this time but never recorded. After promoting Chapters of My Heart with a series of radio and newspaper interviews in the Middle East and the UK, Mike found himself once more in Japan where he formed the band Crimson Stain in order to take the Oman material on the road. This band didnt last long and although remnants of the band formed the Rolling Stains playing Rolling Stones covers with a modicum of success, he was becoming increasingly frustrated with music and took a two year break. Mike was eventually dragged back into music when a close friend of his, an American rapper was involved in a horrendous car crash, and while he lay in coma Mike wrote a tribute song. Mikes friend mercifully survived and in late 2001 Mike began work on the material that would become the No Presidents album, a satirical look at the last 12 American presidents. Some close friends heard the tracks and encouraged him to put a band together to perform them live. Thus Love Missile were created. The bands first single Norika Check was Mikes first effort at writing in a foreign language. The song was an irreverent love song to the Japanese super model Norika Fujiwara intended to reward the Japanese fan base and proved very popular and was featured on national Japanese radio. However the focus was the presidents project and the second single, Me & My Monkey (Ronald Reagan) reflected this. Live shows ensued and with the US led invasion of Iraq imminent, the bands music became fashionable. The EP Washington Bullet followed and Columbia and Elektra Records expressed interest in the band. This success though was viewed with shock and horror by the Japanese members of the band who did not wish to become famous and the band split. Details are sketchy as to how Mike ended up in the States but apparently he met a mysterious woman on the internet who persuaded him to come to the states. He arrived in Dallas in November 2004 and from there he moved to Austin where from what I can gather he spent a very unhappy four or five months. During this period he wrote the songs, Any Gift, Another Girl & Strangest Dream #2. From there he moved to San Antonio where by all accounts things improved. The album Dolls and Drugs in Texas was completed by the end of 2005 which included Krystal, The Bosss Daughter and Lady in Black and the Austin songs among others. Mike put this CD out under the name The Cocaine Cowboys. In 2006 things have gotten a lot better for Mike. Apparently there is a new love in his life with whom hes very happy and she has inspired him to work on a new album with the working title Love and Redemption in Texas. The songs written for this so far include Stolen Day and Never Going Back. By Eddie Riff Former Manager of Love Missile

Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Clash, Pistols, Nirvana, Oasis, White Stripes, Razorlight.