Micky Groome (born Michael John Groome, 20 March 1951) is an English bassist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer.

Early life and career

Groome grew up in the

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

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 n ...

, some 27 miles (43 km) north-west of central London, and began playing in locally based bands such as Wild Wally's Rock'n'Roll Show, Eve (with guitarist/journalist Eamonn Percival, who later conducted

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

's final interview, for

International Musician ''International Musician and Recording World'' was a magazine published from 1975 to 1991. Originally launched in the UK, editions were created for the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Foundation ''International Musician and Recording ...

magazine) and The Sugar Band (with

Andy Powell Andrew Powell (born 19 February 1950) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is a founding member of the British band Wishbone Ash, whose use of twin lead guitars was influential. Early life and career Powell was born in the East E ...

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British Rock music, rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included ''Wishbone Ash (album), Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage (Wishbone Ash album), Pilgrimage'' (1971), ''Argus (alb ...

). The opening riff to Wishbone Ash's signature song ''Blowin' Free'' came about during a

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ext ...

Groome had with Powell in 1971. Another local band colleague at this time was drummer Pat McInerney, who later moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

to play for

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

and

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program '' Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award ...

, co-producing the latter's albums '' Hearts in Mind'' (2004) and ''

Intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, thei ...

'' (2012).

Influences

Groome's earlier work was influenced by pop groups of the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

such as the Beatles,

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

and the

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyth ...

. Other significant and enduring influences were harmony groups like

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

and The Four Seasons, and

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...

musicians such as

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

and

Sneaky Pete ''Sneaky Pete'' is an American crime drama series created by David Shore and Bryan Cranston. The series follows Marius Josipović ( Giovanni Ribisi), a released convict who adopts the identity of his cellmate, Pete Murphy, to avoid his past lif ...

, both of whom joined Groome on stage for a memorable appearance in Amsterdam in the 1970s. He is known for playing many cover songs during his live performances, including " Needles And Pins" by

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Way ...

, as well as introducing some light-hearted and humorous elements into his stage performances with The Barron Knights.

Ducks Deluxe and The Force

During the

Pub rock Pub rock is a rock music genre that was developed in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock an ...

era, Groome joined

Tim Roper Tim Roper (8 April 1951 in Hampstead, London – February 2003) was the English former drummer of the pub rock band Ducks Deluxe (1972–1975), as well as a member of "Reds, Whites and Blues" with Adrian "Ade" Shaw.Martin Belmont Martin Belmont (born 21 December 1948) is an English rock and country-blues guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Graham Parker & The Rumour. Life and career Belmont was born in Bromley, Kent, England. After working as a roadie ...

(guitar) and

Sean Tyla Sean Tyla (born John Michael Kenneth Tyler, 3 August 1946 – 17 May 2020) was an English rock guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and songwriter, sometimes known as the "Godfather of Boogie". Best known for his work with Ducks Deluxe and Tyla Gan ...

(vocals, guitar) as bass player for

Ducks Deluxe Ducks Deluxe are an English pub rock band of the 1970s, who continue to tour and record new material. Usually called "The Ducks" by their fans, they were known for up-tempo, energetic performances, and the successful careers of their members ...

. Groome sang lead vocal on their "

I Fought The Law "I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of the Crickets and popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, becoming a top-ten hit for the band in 1966. Their version of the song was ranked No. 175 on the ''Rolling Stone'' lis ...

" single, and appeared on two further studio releases on the French Skydog label. The group disbanded in 1975, but Groome subsequently reunited with Tyla to form The Force along with

Deke Leonard Roger Arnold "Deke" Leonard (18 December 1944 – 31 January 2017) was a Welsh rock musician, "serving a life sentence in the music business". In late 1982 Sean Tyla quit The Force, was replaced by Rob Stride, and the band name changed to another Deke Leonard's

Iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". Th ...

. Groome, Belmont and Tyla plus drummer Billy Rankin, reformed Ducks Deluxe to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their original formation in a performance on 9 October 2007 at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

in London, the same venue and band line-up of their earlier final performance on 1 July 1975, which had been recorded and released as the ''Last Night of a Pub Rock Band'' album. This line-up, which later featured

Brinsley Schwarz Brinsley Schwarz were a 1970s English pub rock band, named after their guitarist Brinsley Schwarz. With Nick Lowe on bass and vocals, keyboardist Bob Andrews and drummer Billy Rankin, the band evolved from the 1960s pop band Kippington Lod ...

, Kevin Foster and Jim Russell, finally disbanded at a farewell gig at the Half Moon in Putney on 22 December 2013, when Groome guested onstage with the band.

Other appearances

Groome has recorded numerous sessions on other artists' albums, including

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

('' Manic Nirvana'') with Rob Stride,

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

('' Bad Reputation''), Psychic TV (''Dreams Less Sweet'' and '' Godstar''), IQ ('' Nomzamo'') and Popguns with Rob Stride (''Snog''). He has toured the world extensively as a member of

Adrian Baker Adrian Baker (born 18 January 1951, London) is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. Career Baker made his debut as a singer on Magnet Records/Epic Records in the United Kingdom. In 1975, he released his first solo album, ''Int ...

's Gidea Park (occasionally with guests such as

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-ba ...

), Nashville Teens,

Mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

, The Beagles (together with saxophonist-singer-songwriter Stewart Blandamer, former member of

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

's Q-Tips and writer of the Country song "Darlin'") and, since April 2003,

The Barron Knights The Barron Knights are a British humorous pop rock group, originally formed in 1959 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), ), p. 32 as the Knights of the Round Table. ...

, having previously sequenced the drum programming on their single "Golden Oldie Old Folks Home". From 1981 to 1996 Micky performed on and off with Rob Stride in The Bleach Boys, and in 1989 Micky and Rob formed The Late Shift. During 2004–6, Groome and Stride collaborated with ''

A Teenage Opera ''A Teenage Opera'' is a musical project from the 1960s, created by record producer Mark Wirtz. The first song released was from the project was " Excerpt from A Teenage Opera" ("Grocer Jack") recorded by Keith West in 1967. The album was not rel ...

'' composer

Mark Wirtz Mark Philipp Wirtz (3 September 19437 August 2020) was a German-French pop music record producer, composer, singer, musician, author, and comedian. Wirtz is best known for the never-completed ''A Teenage Opera'' concept album, a project he devis ...

on ''Love Is Eggshaped'', and Micky and Rob wrote and performed on their ''Spyderbaby'' album, with contributions from

Tony Rivers Tony Rivers (born Douglas Anthony Thompson, 21 December 1940, Shildon, County Durham, England) is an English singer, best known for singing with the groups Tony Rivers and the Castaways and Harmony Grass. Additionally, Rivers sang on albums by St ...

and Kris Ife.

Radio and Television

Groome has appeared on numerous radio and TV broadcasts internationally, including

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

TV in Germany (with Gidea Park, 1989), and BBC Radio's

Peel Sessions John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

(with Ducks Deluxe, 1975)

Instruments

Groome's signature instrument is the Fender Jazz bass guitar modified with replacement "Juicy Lucy" pick-ups made at Ray Cooper Guitars. He currently also plays a Höfner 500/1 violin bass.

Discography

Solo albums

*''Yo!'' (2001) Leg Room *''Soul Rider'' (2002) Leg Room *''Light of Day'' (2003) Leg Room *''Something New, Something Real'' (compilation) (2004) sHoEbOx music

With Others

Wild Wally's Rock & Roll Show *''I Go Ape'' (1971) Concord Ducks Deluxe *"I Fought The Law"/"Cherry Pie" (1975 Single) RCA 2531 *''Jumpin`'' (1975 EP) Skydog EP-005 (France) *''All Too Much'' (1975) Skydog (France) *''The John Peel Sessions'' (1975 tracks) Hux Records *''Last Night of a Pub Rock Band'' (1979) Dynamite Sean Tyla *''Just Popped Out'' (1980) Polydor *''Redneck in Babylon'' (1981) Zilch (Germany) ZL 25355 Key West *''"Can't Get Enough of You"/"I'm A Vampire"'' (1978 Single) Epic EPC 6566 *''"Love Me Tonight"'' (1979) Tabitha (Belgium) 116-330-042 116-330-042 Joan Jett *''Bad Reputation'' (1981) Boardwalk The Force *''The Force'' (1982) Zilch (Germany) 2374 195 Psychic TV *''Dreams Less Sweet'' (1983) Some Bizzare/CBS *''Godstar'' (1985) Temple Bleach Boys *''Letterbox Lane'' EP(1986) BJ Records IQ *''Nomzamo'' (1987) Squawk/Mercury 832 141-2 The Late Shift *''The Late Shift'' (1989) sHoEbOx music Robert Plant *''Manic Nirvana'' (1990) Es Paranza The Popguns *''Snog'' (1991) Midnight Music Barron Knights *''Golden Oldie Old Folks Home'' (1999 Single) Mark Wirtz *''Love Is Eggshaped'' (2005) Rev-Ola Mark Wirtz presents Spyderbaby *''Glassblower'' (2006) DreamTunes (Germany)

References

External links

barronknights.comMicky Groome at MySpace
* Micky Groome at Allmusicbr>Micky Groome at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groome, Micky 1951 births Living people People from Hemel Hempstead English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English songwriters Musicians from Hertfordshire Ducks Deluxe members British male songwriters