Mike Silver

Born in 1945, singer-songwriter Mike Silver absorbed childhood influences that ranged from the 1950s pop favored by his older brothers—Lonnie Donegan, Buddy Holly, and Phil Harris—to blues figures such as Blind Lemon Jefferson and Muddy Waters, along with the British garage band the Preachers and fingerstyle players like Gerry Lockran. Although he first picked up a guitar at nine, Silver did not own an instrument until he turned fourteen; thereafter he maintained steady involvement in music, performing with assorted ensembles across London and Kent. Signing with Elton John’s Rocket Recordings in 1973, he issued recordings and took his music through Europe and North America. He later made his home in Launceston, Cornwall, where his sixth album, Heaven in Mind, appeared in 2006.