Michael "Micko" Joseph Larkin (born 13 October 1986) is an English musician, most notable as the lead guitarist of the

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

Larrikin Love Larrikin Love were an English four piece indie rock band from London. Consisting of singer-songwriter Edward Leeson, guitarist Micko Larkin, bassist Alfie Ambrose and drummer Coz Kerrigan, and also occasionally including violinist Rob Skippe ...

and reformed

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

Biography

1986–2006: Early life and career

Larkin was born in Hammersmith to Irish parents. In 2005, he formed the short-lived

with vocalist

Edward Larrikin Larrikin Love were an England, English four piece indie rock band from London. Consisting of singer-songwriter Edward Leeson, guitarist Micko Larkin, bassist Alfie Ambrose and drummer Coz Kerrigan, and also occasionally including violinist Rob ...

, bassist

Alfie Ambrose Larrikin Love were an England, English four piece indie rock band from London. Consisting of singer-songwriter Edward Leeson, guitarist Micko Larkin, bassist Alfie Ambrose and drummer Coz Kerrigan, and also occasionally including violinist Rob ...

and drummer, Coz Kerrigan. The band was described in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

magazine'' as part of the fictional "Thamesbeat scene", and released one album during their career, '' The Freedom Spark'' and six singles. Larrikin Love disbanded on 4 May 2007, after the group's members began to embark on other musical projects.

2007—present: As guitarist for Courtney Love and Hole reunion

After Larrikin Love's split, Larkin moved to Los Angeles to work with former

frontwoman,

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as ...

. Mairead Nash, manager of

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

groups,

Florence + the Machine Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, and

Queens of Noize Queens of Noize were a DJ duo based in London, consisting of Mairead Nash and Tabitha Denholm. During their time as a duo they presented for MTV2 and BBC 6 Music and performed at a number of international festivals. Career Their career began in ...

recommended Larkin to Love in June 2007, and after his audition became lead guitarist of Love's solo group, unofficially titled The Courtney Love Band. Larkin joined Love's band alongside bassist Patricia "Pato" Vidal, drummer Stu Fisher, pianist Bethia Beadman, and rhythm guitarist Liam Wade. Love and the band embarked on a short tour of the United Kingdom in 2007, including one additional date in Paris, France, in July 2007. On 17 June 2009, Love and Larkin announced the reunion of Love's former band Hole via an ''

'' webblog. Larkin replaced former guitarist and Hole co-founder

Eric Erlandson Eric Theodore Erlandson (born January 9, 1963) is an American musician, guitarist, and writer, primarily known as founding member, songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole from 1989 to 2002. He has also had several musical s ...

on lead guitar. In the following months, Erlandson and former bassist, Melissa Auf der Maur claimed no reunion could take place due to a contract Love and Erlandson signed in 2002 after the band's initial split which stated that the name Hole could not be used by either without mutual involvement. Despite this, Hole's reunion proceeded. Hole's fourth studio album, ''

Nobody's Daughter ''Nobody's Daughter'' is the fourth and final studio album by the American alternative rock band Hole, released on April 23, 2010, by Mercury Records. The album was initially conceived as a solo project and follow-up to the Hole frontwoman Courtn ...

'', featured Larkin on lead guitar, as co-producer and as main co-writer on four tracks, also adding additional parts to previously-written songs such as " Pacific Coast Highway" and "

Samantha Samantha (or the alternatively Samanta) is primarily used as a feminine given name. It was recorded in England in 1633 in Newton Regis, Warwickshire. It was also recorded in the 18th century in New England, but its etymology is uncertain. Specu ...

." On 29 November 2012, Love stated on her Twitter account for her upcoming clothing line: "From now on he band is called Courtney Hole is dead", implying that she was abandoning the Hole moniker and returning to performing as a solo artist, with Larkin, bassist Shawn Dailey and drummer Scott Lipps as her backing band.Love, Courtney
Post from 29 November 2012
Twitter account: neverthebridecl She planned to release a new album, titled ''Died Blonde'', in the winter of 2013. Since 2017 he has played guitar with Liverpool-based rock band Darlia.

References

1986 births Living people English rock guitarists Musicians from Hammersmith English people of Irish descent Hole (band) members Feminist musicians {{England-musician-stub