Mike Marlin
Encyclopedia
Mike Marlin is a British singer-songwriter. He was born on the 17th February 1961 in Wimbledon, London
. He went to Oxford University where he read physics at Magdalen College
. He dropped out in his final year and never graduated. During this time he played bass in a number of student bands. After leaving Oxford, he dropped out of music to focus on technology. Initially he worked as a computer programmer and then as the founder of a series of technology businesses. He is married and has 4 children. He lives in Kilmarnock, Scotland. Throughout the 80s and 90s he continued to write and record songs, but these were never commercially released.
At the age of 48 he withdrew from business. He started a small record label, AMP Music Productions. He recorded his first album with producer James Durrant. The album was finished in December 2009. Marlin recruited a band in 2010 ("The Whethermen") and played a series of gigs in small venues throughout the UK. He recorded a session for Selector Radio that aired on the November 12th 2010. In December 2010 he supported "From The Jam" on their UK tour.
Marlin's first single was a cover of the Bee Gees
disco hit "Stayin' Alive
" from the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever
. It was released on the 21st October 2010 to mixed reviews and is not on his debut album "Nearly Man", which was released on 14 February 2011. Two singles were taken from this album: "Play That Game" (released January 4, 2011) and "No Place Like Home" (released May 23, 2011). These were critically well received and achieved significant airplay on independent radio, regional radio and BBC 6 Music. The video for "Play That Game" attracted considerable attention and featured an office being destroyed.
In January 2011 he was chosen for HMV's Next Big Thing and as part of this event played at the Jazz Cafe in London on 9 February 2011.
In March 2011, Marlin supported The Stranglers
on their 17 date UK "Black & Blue" tour. In April 2011, Marlin supported Big Country
on their 18 date UK tour.
Marlin's voice is often compared to David Bowie
. He sings in a baritone and plays a custom Babicz guitar
. He writes traditional rock songs. He cites David Bowie
, Johnny Cash
, Elbow
and The National
as influences.
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
. He went to Oxford University where he read physics at Magdalen College
Magdalen College
Magdalen College or Magdalene College may refer to:*Magdalen College, Oxford - a constituent college of the University of Oxford*Magdalene College, Cambridge - a constituent college of the University of Cambridge...
. He dropped out in his final year and never graduated. During this time he played bass in a number of student bands. After leaving Oxford, he dropped out of music to focus on technology. Initially he worked as a computer programmer and then as the founder of a series of technology businesses. He is married and has 4 children. He lives in Kilmarnock, Scotland. Throughout the 80s and 90s he continued to write and record songs, but these were never commercially released.
At the age of 48 he withdrew from business. He started a small record label, AMP Music Productions. He recorded his first album with producer James Durrant. The album was finished in December 2009. Marlin recruited a band in 2010 ("The Whethermen") and played a series of gigs in small venues throughout the UK. He recorded a session for Selector Radio that aired on the November 12th 2010. In December 2010 he supported "From The Jam" on their UK tour.
Marlin's first single was a cover of the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
disco hit "Stayin' Alive
Stayin' Alive
"Stayin' Alive" is a song by the pop group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees and produced by the Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. It was released on 13 December 1977, as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever...
" from the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
. It was released on the 21st October 2010 to mixed reviews and is not on his debut album "Nearly Man", which was released on 14 February 2011. Two singles were taken from this album: "Play That Game" (released January 4, 2011) and "No Place Like Home" (released May 23, 2011). These were critically well received and achieved significant airplay on independent radio, regional radio and BBC 6 Music. The video for "Play That Game" attracted considerable attention and featured an office being destroyed.
In January 2011 he was chosen for HMV's Next Big Thing and as part of this event played at the Jazz Cafe in London on 9 February 2011.
In March 2011, Marlin supported The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
on their 17 date UK "Black & Blue" tour. In April 2011, Marlin supported Big Country
Big Country
Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1981. They were most popular in the early to mid-1980s, but they still release material for a cult following...
on their 18 date UK tour.
Marlin's voice is often compared to David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
. He sings in a baritone and plays a custom Babicz guitar
Babicz Guitars
Babicz Guitars is a manufacturer of high-end acoustic guitars and electric guitars and a producer of innovative and licensable guitar technology...
. He writes traditional rock songs. He cites David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Elbow
Elbow (band)
Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
and The National
The National (band)
The National is an indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone...
as influences.