Mike's solo album 'Smiling Men With Bad Reputations' - produced by Joe Boyd, originally released in 1971 and then reissued in 2003 - featured a once-in-a-lifetime stellar cast from the aristocracy of folk-pop-rock musicians, including Pete Townshend, Richard Thompson, Elton John, Jimmy Page, Steve Winwood, Keith Moon, Dave Pegg and Ronnie Lane.
The ISB, together with a dance troupe called Stone Monkey, went on to form the nucleus of a late-Sixties artistic community at Glen Row in the Scottish Borders and took in enthusiastic experiments with theatre, film and a wide variety of musical approaches until their final incarnation as a six-piece folk-rock band.
Cited as “an inspiration and a sign” by Robert Plant, admired by artists as diverse as KLF and Paul McCartney, the ISB have always exerted an influence of legendary proportions that continues to this day.
Since the break-up of the ISB in 1974, Mike has continued to write songs in epic quantities (many re-released recently on the Glen Row Tapes CD) and has fronted a variety of bands, most recently his Incredible Acoustic Band. In the late 1990s he, Robin and Clive reformed the Incredible String Band for several years.
Mike's solo album 'Where the Mystics Swim' revealed a songwriter forever pushing the boundaries, but retaining his originality, creativity and musical integrity. In 2006 he was commissioned to write music for John Burnside's poem 'Song For Irena' as part of a poetry/music project entitled Ballads Of The Book at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections. More recently he was invited to play at Syd Barrett's tribute in London, a testament to the groundbreaking role Mike has played in the British music scene over four decades.
Mike performs in a duo with his daughter Georgia (keyboards, percussion and vocals), whose own songwriting and performance has been described in a recent Scotsman review as “arrestingly artless" and "the nu-folk answer to Martha Wainwright". They have also performed at the Crossing Borders festival at the Hague, Holland, and an all-star Folk Britannia event at the Barbican. Their unique performances are a potent mix of new songs and much-requested ISB favourites.
Mike and Georgia will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl in June 2008, having been invited to take part in a unique collaboration with The Album Leaf in a concert also featuring Gilberto Gil and Devendra Banhart
