Michael Softley (26 September 1939 – 1 September 2017) was an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A figurehead during the British

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

scene, Softley set up his own

club, released three albums and worked with performers such as

Mac MacLeod Keith MacLeod (popularly known as "Mac" MacLeod) (9 July 1941 – 16 November 2020), was an English musician who was a part of the Hertfordshire Folk music, folk and blues scene from 1959 onwards. He played in St Albans alongside Mick Softley a ...

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

, and

Maddy Prior Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police dr ...

covered two of Softley's songs ("Goldwatch Blues" and "The War Drags On") in 1965. Dave Berry also covered two of Softley's songs ("Walk Walk Talk Talk" and "I Love You Baby") in 1966.

Early life

Born at

Danbury Palace Danbury Place was an English country house, first built by Walter Mildmay in the time of Elizabeth I, dated to 1589. It is situated on one of the highest points of the county of Essex. The house was demolished and rebuilt on an adjoining site aro ...

Emergency Maternity Hospital,

South Woodford South Woodford is an area of east London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Woodford Green to the north, Walthamstow to the west, Snaresbrook and Wanstead to the south and Redbridge to the east, and is north-east of ...

, Softley grew up in Essex near

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

.Eder, Bruce
Mick Softley Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 6 November 2013 His mother was of Irish origin (from

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

) and his father had

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

tinker Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Description ''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling groups and Romani p ...

roots, going back to a few generations. Softley first took up

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

in school and became interested in traditional

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. He was later persuaded to become a singer by one of his school teachers, and this led to him listening to

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

and promptly changed his attitude to music, to the extent of him buying a mail-order guitar and some tutorial books and teaching himself to play. By 1959, Mick Softley had left his job and home and spent time travelling around Europe on his motorbike, with a friend, Mick Rippingale. He ended up in Paris, where he came into the company of musicians such as

Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, the Palmer C ...

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

, and

Wizz Jones Raymond Ronald Jones (born 25 April 1939), better-known as Wizz Jones, is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England and has been performing since the late 1950s and sound recording an ...

. Here he improved his guitar skills and spent time

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

with friends until his return to England in the early 1960s. He set up a

club at The Spinning Wheel in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

.Young, Rob (2011) ''Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music'', Faber & Faber, , p. 176Frame, Pete (1999) ''Pete Frame's Rockin' Around Britain: Rock'n'roll Landmarks of the UK and Ireland'', Omnibus Press, , p. 51

''Songs for Swingin' Survivors''

Softley began singing in 'The Cock', a pub in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, which was a hang out for beatniks and hippies and attracted musicians down from London. Informal sessions were common. This was where he met a young

Leitch, to whom he taught cross-picking guitar techniques.Dicaire, David (2011) ''The Folk Music Revival, 1958–1970: Biographies of Fifty Performers and Other Influential People'', McFarland & Co. Inc., , p. 292 (Leitch later cited Softley as a "major influence"). Donovan was soon snapped up by a record label and shot to stardom, but this enabled him to bring Softley to the attention of producers and record companies. His first release was the 1965 single "I'm So Confused", released by

Immediate Records Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene. History Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...

.Larkin, Colin (2006) "Softley, Mick" in ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Oxford University Press USA, , vol. 7, p. 591 He went on to work with

Peter Eden Peter Eden (born 1943) is a British former record producer and record label executive, best known for his work in the mid-1960s with Donovan, and later with jazz musicians such as John Surman. Biography Eden was born in Hadleigh, Essex. In his ...

and

Geoff Stephens Geoffrey Stephens (1 October 1934 – 24 December 2020) was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British so ...

, and his debut album ''Songs For Swinging Survivors'',Irvin, Jim (2007) ''The MOJO Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion'', Canongate, , p. 59 which was a purely

record.Unterberger, Richie
''Songs for Swingin' Survivors'' Review
,

. Retrieved 6 November 2013 The album featured only Softley and his acoustic guitar and includes the songs "The War Drags On" (covered by

on his ''Universal Soldier'' EP),Leitch, Donovan (2006) ''The Hurdy Gurdy Man'', Arrow, , p. 131Lazell, Barry (ed.) (1989) ''Rock Movers and Shakers: An A-z of the People Who Made Rock Happen'', Billboard Books, , p. 150 and Softley's own interpretations of

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

's "

Strange Fruit "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black ...

", and

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

's "The Plains of the Buffalo". In 1964 he opened a folk club, in the Spinning Wheel restaurant in Hemel Hempstead. It was shut down by the police after only a year, however, for "various reasons", mainly health and safety; a very small basement room, with only one way in (and out). Softley did not look back on this time favourably claiming during production he had gone "through a lot of hells and no heavens, a terrifying amount of personal pain" to the extent that he quit the music business for over four years. During this time he survived as a market trader in

, fathered two children, in 1963 and 1964, and still played gigs frequently in folk clubs around the south east. He returned to life on the road in 1968. Due to contractual issues he never received any royalties in the later years.

''Sunrise'' and ''Street Singer''

After his absence, Softley returned with an electric group, Soft Cloud, Loud Earth. The group was soon trimmed down to a duo consisting of Softley and

called Soft Cloud. They only performed a few times before they split up and Softley went on to pursue a solo career. Meeting Donovan again, he was persuaded to record for a second time. This time Tony Cox was on board for production and Softley claimed that "everybody all along the line was really good. Totally different to what I'd been through five years before – No-one was trying to make a fast penny out of me, and they were prepared to let me do everything exactly how I wanted to". Softley recorded three albums during this period, which have a different tone from the first album, due to the variety of instruments and styles showcased on these albums, from upbeat rock ("Can You Hear Me Now?") and folk ("Goldwatch Blues") to eastern-inspired

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

pieces ("Love Colours") and skiffle ("Ragtime Mama"). In 1971 he performed on French television programme ''Grande Affiche''.Paris
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', 23 January 1971, p. 60. Retrieved 6 November 2013

Later years

Avoiding capitalising on the opportunity of stardom, Softley continued to travel and play for free, preferring to watch people enjoy his music than make money. He moved to

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, in 1984, eventually settling in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

. He was a well recognised character in the town and he also performed occasionally at the Belfast Folk Festival. In later years he has concentrated on writing poetry, some of which has been published. In 2011, Softley suffered a head injury after being knocked off his bicycle, and spent a considerable time in hospital recovering. In an effort to counter the unfounded rumours of his death, a

Facebook page Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of ...

was set up and amassed a following of over 1,000 friends. In August 2011, an evening of entertainment featuring Softley's music and poetry was held in Cafe Merlot in Enniskillen, with all proceeds being donated to the brain injury unit at Altnagelvin Hospital.

Death

Softley died on 1 September 2017, aged 77.

Albums

*'' Songs For Swingin' Survivors'' (1965), Columbia – reissued on CD in 2003 by Hux Records and as part of ''The Folk Eve Recordings'' CD (2014) *''Sunrise'' (1970),

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

*''Street Singer'' (1971), CBS *''C'est la Fête à Malataverne'' (1971), Expression Spontanée – one track, "Time Machine" record live in French folk festival *'' Any Mother Doesn't Grumble'' (1972), CBS *''Capital'' (1976), Doll Records *''Mensa'' (1978), Doll Records *''War Memorials'' (1985), Doll Records Note: ''Sunrise'' and ''Street Singer'' were reissued as a two-CD set on BGO Records, 2009

References

External links

Home.arcor.de

Myspace site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Softley, Mick 1939 births 2017 deaths English folk guitarists English male guitarists English male singer-songwriters People from Woodford, London