Biography
Mike + The Mechanics made their debut with their eponymous album in 1985.
Initially, the group's albums were released between Genesis albums. This ended with the temporary disbanding of Genesis in 1998.
Printed on the single Silent Running was a notation that it was from the movie "On Dangerous Ground". This was confusing as the 1986 movie it was used in was the little known movie "Choke Canyon" released in the UK as "On Dangerous Ground".[1] This has also been open for debate considering there is not a character named Tommy in the movie, yet in the music video the father addresses his son as Tommy. Also, the actors in "Choke Canyon" do not resemble anyone in the movie clips that are featured in the music video.
The song "The Living Years" US #1 single was written by both Mike Rutherford and the successful Scottish singer/writer/composer B. A. Robertson about the deaths of both their fathers. It was written about the dissension between Rutherford and his father, a situation that was never rectified prior to the death of his father. Robertson's father died just 12 weeks before the birth of his son. The song was sung by Carrack, who had lost his own father when he was only eleven years old. The album also featured the song "Nobody's Perfect" which received considerable airtime as the music to a successful television advertising campaign for Tennent's bitter.
The group's third album, Word of Mouth, followed in 1991 with less commercial and critical success although the lead single, with vocals by Paul Young, reached Number 13 in the UK.
