MUSICIAN/SINGER/SONGWRITER based in East Sussex, UK

NEXT GIG....MICK BOLTON DUO at Poorboys Cafe, Queens Rd, Hastings - Sunday ?th August. 4pm till 6pm. TBC

Welcome to my website. Hopefully there is something for most music fans to enjoy, especially fans of artists I have worked with, including MOTT THE HOOPLE, DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS, LINDA McCARTNEY and PAUL BRADY. There are stories and lots of photos throughout the site. And I hope you'll enjoy my News and Views page which I update frequently with anything that comes to mind. Please come back again as I will keep adding memories from four decades of music making.

I play over a hundred solo gigs each year and I recently formed THE MICK BOLTON DUO - that's myself on vocals, piano and harmonica and Ian Roberts on drums, guitar and vocals, performing my own songs plus rocking blues and boogie. IF YOU ARE THINKING OF BOOKING US, PLEASE GO TO THE FIRST VIDEO BELOW - A COMPILATION OF SHORT CLIPS FROM LIVE SHOWS AND REHEARSALS - INCLUDING A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE KIND OF AUDIENCE REACTION WE GET EVERY TIME WE PLAY. So give us a gig and let us show you what we can do!

GIG LIST: (Saturdays to 25 September - Congress Hotel, Eastbourne); 4 Aug - Oban Hotel, E'bourne; 6 Aug - Hilton, E'bourne; 15 Aug - Hilton, E'bourne; 20 Aug - North Star, St Leonards on Sea (Duo); 20 Nov - Crowhurst Park (Jazz Breakfast 9am - Duo)

In 1973 I played Hammond Organ with MOTT THE HOOPLE. There's a list of all the gigs from that year (complete with acts that supported us - including Queen, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Iggy Pop, Joe Walsh and The New York Dolls) on my Gig History page. There are rare photos in my Photo Gallery and there is a video of me playing a solo piano version of their hit All The Young Dudes further down this page. Mott played five 40th anniversary concerts in October 2009 with the original 1969 line-up at the Hammersmith Apollo, which was the venue for the final riotous concert of our 1973 tour - see my Biography page. To coincide with the concerts, I was involved in Mott The Hoople - Meet The Keyboards - see my Mott The Hoople Reunion page.

In the 1980s I toured and recorded with DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS. See my Gig History page for excerpts from the diary I kept during the preparation for the 1985 tour to promote the Don't Stand Me Down album. I also toured and recorded with Irish singer/songwriter PAUL BRADY, playing on the same bill as U2, Van Morrison, Tina Turner, UB40 and The Pogues. For several years I was a regular visitor at Paul McCartneys' home where I worked with LINDA McCARTNEY, giving her keyboard tuition as well as co-writing and recording tracks that appeared on her album Wide Prairie. I've also worked occasionally as a session musician playing with, among others, LATOYA JACKSON, LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III and VIC GODARD. Since the 1990s I have worked mainly as a solo artist throughout Scandinavia, Europe and the UK.

I was a finalist in the 2008 UK Songwriting Contest which had over 6200 entries. See video 5 below.

Videos:

1. Promo video for Mick Bolton Duo - several short sample clips from live shows and rehearsals

2. All The Young Dudes - solo piano performance

3. Rainbow Over Michigan - (in rehearsal with Ian Roberts, drums) A song I wrote in 1974 describing life on the road with Mott The Hoople.

4. Rock And Roll Widow - live solo piano/vocal performance

5. Me And My Old Piano - a song that gained me a Finalist place in the 2008 UK Songwriting contest.