Mike Patto (born Michael Thomas McCarthy, 22 September 1942 – 4 March 1979) was an English musician, who was primarily notable as lead singer for

Spooky Tooth Spooky Tooth was a rock band originally formed in Carlisle, England, in 1967. The band was principally active between 1967 and 1974, and re-formed several times in later years. History Prior to Spooky Tooth, four of the band's five founding ...

Patto Patto were an English rock band, formed in London in 1970. Founded by vocalist Mike Patto, their lineup was taken from Timebox, consisting of vocalist Patto, guitarist and vibraphone player Ollie Halsall, bassist Clive Griffiths and drummer ...

and

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Background

Patto was born in

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

, England, and first became vocalist and frontman for

The Bo Street Runners The Bo Street Runners were an English R&B band formed in Harrow, England, during 1964. The band released four singles and an extended play record. They gained prominence in the United Kingdom after winning the ''Ready Steady Win!'' band contest ...

, who won a TV band competition ''Ready Steady Win'' during 1964. He was a member of Timebox, his own band

, and Dick and the Firemen. In 1974, Patto joined

as vocalist and keyboard player. He was also a founding member of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Career

He was the lead singer of the group Chicago Line aka The Chicago Line Blues Band. Other musicians included

Tim Hinkley Timothy Alan Hinkley (25 May 1946 – 21 August 2024) was an English singer-songwriter, keyboardist and record producer. Born in London, Hinkley started playing in youth club bands in the early 1960s, with bands including the Copains, Boys and ...

on keyboards, Ivan Zagni on guitar, Mike Fellana on trumpet,

Louis Cennamo Louis David Cennamo (born 5 March 1946) is an English bass guitarist, who has recorded and/or toured with a number of important British rock/blues/progressive bands, including The Herd, Renaissance and Colosseum. Career Cennamo left school at ...

on bass and

Viv Prince Vivian Martin Prince (born 9 August 1941) is an English drummer. He played in a variety of bands during the 1960s, including Pretty Things. He was noted for his wild and eccentric behaviour, which garnered a lot of publicity for the group and in ...

on drums. The group released a single, "Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop" bw "Jump Back" on

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

BF 1488 in May 1966.

Death and legacy

Patto died of lymphatic leukemia at the age of 36.

Jim Capaldi Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he c ...

wrote the song "Bright Fighter"Originally the B-side to the 1981 single "Child in the Storm", where it is dedicated "For Patto" on the picture sleeve. The song was later included on the box set ''Dear Mr. Fantasy: The Jim Capaldi Story''. about him. His son Mike McCarthy is also a musician.

References

External links

Bo Street Runners story
1942 births 1979 deaths English male songwriters English male singers Deaths from throat cancer in England Musicians from Gloucestershire 20th-century English singers Spooky Tooth members Centipede (band) members Chicago Line (band) members 20th-century English male singers {{UK-singer-stub