Mike Whellans is a Scottish folk and blues musician from the United Kingdom. He works as a solo performer, band leader and session musician, and he appears on the British and European club, concert, TV, radio and festival circuit. He also tours in Canada and the USA.

Early life and career

Whellans is born in the Borders at the end of the Second World War. He begins playing music in the late 1950s and early 1960s on his father’s drum kit, and by the age of 14 he is playing in local dance bands. In 1969 he turns professional and soon releases his first solo album.

Bands and collaborations

In the early 1970s, Whellans is a member of the traditional Scots-Irish band Boys of the Lough. He also works for about three years in a duo with fiddler Aly Bain, playing flat-pick guitar alongside Bain’s fiddle. A 1970s recording is associated with Aly & Mike and Tivoli.

In the 1980s and 1990s he lives in Denmark and tours across Scandinavia, Germany and the Low Countries. During this period he also works in the UK with The Vindscreen Vipers Skiffle Group, alongside Tich Frier, Bill Nolan, Malky McCormack and the late Danny Kyle.

One-man band work

Whellans later returns to the Scottish Borders and performs as a one-man blues band. His setup includes guitars, mouth harp, vocals and drums, and he is known for mouth percussion. He plays electric, acoustic and 12-string guitars, writes songs, sings and performs as a drummer.

Instruments and style

His main instruments include electric and acoustic guitars, mouth harp, drums, percussion and mouth percussion. He is described as an accomplished guitar picker and harmonica player, working in a blues style that combines singing, rhythm playing and percussion within a solo performance.

Notable appearances

Whellans remains active on the live circuit and appears at the 2005 Glastonbury Festival.