Mike and the Mechanics have been around since 1984.
The band was originally started by super group Genesis founder-member, Mike Rutherford and, featuring vocalists Paul Carrack and Paul Young, shot to stardom with their two Top Ten singles, “Silent Running” and “All I Need Is a Miracle”.
They followed this success with “The Living Years”, an album that achieved massive global acclaim, with its title single, the legendary “The Living Years”, becoming the world’s 18th best-selling single of 1988.
Two further albums followed: 1991’s “Word of Mouth” and 1995’s “Beggar on a Beach of Gold”, continuing to cement the band’s reputation as one of the most respected contemporary melodic rock bands.
As well as the title tracks, massive hits off these albums included “Over my Shoulder” and “Another Cup of Coffee”.
Sadly, in July 2000, lead vocalist Paul Young died and the face of Mike and the Mechanics consequently changed.
After an extended sabbatical period of inactivity the group re-emerged and, in the years to 2009, the chameleon nature of the band became obvious, as it encompassed both its highly successful past and the beckoning future.
Rutherford revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that he had started writing again – the result: a new generation Mike and The Mechanics album, “The Road”, launched in 2011, featuring two new faces in the vocal department: singer/song-writer and total entertainer Andrew Roachford, and actor/singer Broadway and West End star, Tim Howar.
South African fans can now look forward to seeing the band live in August.
A compassionate side- effect of the concerts is that Mike and the Mechanics have partnered with Sun International, Famous Concerts and Harley Davidson to support the M-Net Naledi Children’s Literacy Project.
Concert-goers are urged to bring along a children’s book to drop into the M-Net Cares Box, which can be found at the concert venues.
Additionally, a portion of ticket sales will go towards helping M-Net Cares build to more children’s libraries.
The show in the Big Top starts at 3pm.
