Mike Heron

Mike Heron

Mike Heron is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Edinburgh. Born James Michael Heron in 1942, he begins his career in R&B and pop groups in Edinburgh, including The Saracens, before joining The Incredible String Band in late 1965 after auditioning for the trio with Robin Williamson and Clive Palmer.

The Incredible String Band

Heron becomes best known for his work with The Incredible String Band during the 1960s and 1970s. He is part of the group through its electric period and later performs again with a reformed version of the band from 1999 to 2006. In 1997 he also reunites with Williamson for a series of concerts.

Solo work and Reputation

While still with the band, Heron releases Smiling Men with Bad Reputations in 1971. The album combines rock, folk and world music and includes contributions from Pete Townshend, Keith Moon, Duncan Browne, Ronnie Lane, John Cale, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg, Dudu Pukwana, Elton John and Steve Winwood. After The Incredible String Band breaks up in 1974, he forms Mike Heron’s Reputation with Graham Forbes, John Gilston and Malcolm Le Maistre, all from the final electric line-up of the group. The band later shortens its name to Heron and records and tours until 1977.

Later recordings

In 1977 and 1978, while living in Glen Row cottage near Innerleithen, the former home and headquarters of The Incredible String Band, Heron records songs that are later issued as The Glen Row Tapes. He releases a solo album on Casablanca Records in 1979, then steps away from performing for several years. In the 1990s he returns with Mike Heron’s Incredible Acoustic Band and releases Where The Mystics Swim. He also records a song with his daughter Georgia Seddon, based on a poem by John Burnside, for Ballads of the Book.