Mike Whitfield

A true child of the 60s, I really can’t remember much about it – but that is largely down to the fact that I was only five during the “Summer Of Love”! Not so much LSD, more LZD (Lucozade) for me during those heady days, when the sun always shone and the days seemed to last forever…

My first musical memory was being enthralled by the Nancy Sinatra hit ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’ every time it came on the radio. I also remember ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ being played quite a lot too. Oh, and ‘Puppet On A String’.

Fast forward to 1973 and the first LP I ever bought – ‘Tubular Bells’ – after our music teacher played it to us as an example of (the then) contemporary music echoing the compositional structures of classical music.

And that music lesson truly started my musical journey of discovery, so I am forever indebted to Mr Hughes – and EMI Record Tokens!

Along the way, I have embraced almost every type of music which, somewhat inevitably leads me to having to come up with my Top 10 list of influential/life changing/favourite albums (as at June 2016). So, here goes in chronological order – ignoring the fact that as I became more musically aware, I would explore earlier albums, such as the Beatles back catalogue, Cream, Free etc…

… oh, and to be completist, the list should really include some 300+ albums…

• Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield (obviously)

And then…

• Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
• Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
• Boston – Boston
• UFO – Obsession
• Neil Young – Rust Never Sleeps
• XTC – English Settlement
• IQ – The Wake
• Jadis – More Than Meets The Eye
• Roine Stolt – The Flower King
• Spock’s Beard – The Light

That. Is. All.