Mike Bennett (born 1962 in Cheltenham, England) is a British writer and record producer. His first involvement with the music industry came when he was asked to write and produce Toyah Wilcox's Dreamchild and "Out of the Blue". The songs were released on Cryptic Records and featured collaborations.

Career

Early years
Bennett has been writing since he was 16 and received his first commission for the BBC at the age of 17 from producer Ted Beston. During this period, he wrote for Playground (BBC Radio 1 & BBC Radio 2) and Show (Radio 1). He also wrote and co-starred in the children’s series "Bill Wonder"  alongside Maggie Philbin on Radio 2.

1980s and 1990s

He subsequently went on to co-write and produce Hazel O'Connor's album Ignite, as well as co-writing Hidden for Hazel O'Connor and Clannad's Moya Brennan. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Bennett continued to produce artists, including Bad Manners, Hazell Dean, and Diane Charlemagne.

Bennett also co-wrote and produced with Kim Fowley. During this period, the sessions culminated in the albums  "Let the Madness In" and "Trip of a Lifetime". The latter album featured collaboration with William Orbit and Teenage Fanclub. He went on to produce the album "Hidden Agenda At the Thirteenth Not"  for Kim Fowley and the BMX Bandits (band). 

He went on to produce and co-write several albums for The Fall, including The Light User Syndrome.

Bennett went on to produce albums for Wishbone Ash, including Timeline, Live in Japan, as well as co-writing and producing Trance Visionary and Psychic Terrorism.

Whilst working as an in house producer Bennett produced and remixed several artists including The Specials, The Selecter, Dennis Brown, and Desmond Dekker, and collaborated with the dubplate of Bionic Rats which was first featured on the Trojan Jungle series. Bennett also remixed several Bob Marley and the Wailers tracks including "Soul Shakedown Party" and "Mr. Brown," which were featured on the Bob Marley compilation Behind the Legend.

Other remixes during this period include "Too Much Too Young" by The Specials and "A Train to Skaville" by The Selecter.

He went on to work for producer Mike Jackson as a scriptwriter in residence at Children’s ITV. During this three-year period, he wrote for many noted TV presenters and celebrities, including Bernard Bresslaw, and he also wrote Children’s ITV Summer Mornings, presented by Mark Granger and produced by Mike Jackson, and was a writer on Primary Science and Fun Factory.

Playwright
Bennett went on to work as a playwright at the Mermaid Theatre, where he wrote Safety In Numbers and It's All In The Stars, the latter with astronomer Nigel Henbest. Both these children’s plays made national tours, as well as running in the west end at The Mermaid Theatre and The Arts Theatre. He also wrote for the Unicorn Theatre Company. His other west end credits include the critically acclaimed musical All Cloned Up.

He has written and co-written many plays and farces which have been seen at theatres such as Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, Harlow Playhouse,Derby Playhouse, and the Edinburgh Playhouse. He also wrote the acclaimed play about Mari Lloyd called The Good Old Daze, which was presented at The Wimbledon Theatre. Artists appearing in his plays included Bob Grant, Mollie Sugden, and Jack Douglas.

Bennett has also written and scripted for many well-known comedians and performers, such as Jim Bowen, and Anita Harris, for whom he wrote and directed four talking books.

Singer
Bennett joined The Blockheads in May 2022 as lead vocalist

References

External links
 
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1962 births
Living people
British record producers
British writers
Writers from Cheltenham