Mike Vernon
Mike Vernon was an English music producer who shaped the British blues scene, working with artists such as Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, and David Bowie.
Particulars
Michael William Hugh Vernon was born on 20 November 1944 in Harrow, Middlesex. He began his music career at Decca Records in 1963 and soon founded the influential blues label Blue Horizon, through which he produced seminal recordings such as the 1966 John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton.
Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s Vernon worked with a roster of leading British blues and rock acts, producing David Bowie's debut album, Fleetwood Mac's hit single "Albatross", and albums for Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack and Ten Years After. In 1971 he and his brother opened Chipping Norton Recording Studios, which later hosted hits by Gerry Rafferty, Status Quo, Duran Duran and Radiohead.
Vernon continued to influence the music scene as a label owner, solo artist, and occasional producer, receiving a BASCA Gold Badge in 2013 and being appointed MBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to music. He died after a short illness at his home in Andalusia, Spain, on 2 March 2026, aged 81.
Compiled from source reports and Wikipedia. Automated record.