Born and brought up in Liverpool, Mike McCartney was educated at the Liverpool Institute High School, tried to get into Art School, but ended up a ladies hairdresser. From here he entered ‘showbiz’ in a band which eventually became The Scaffold. Because of Beatlemania, Mike had to change his name to ‘McGear’, and was an integral part of the 60’s Merseybeat era, but on the more theatrical, poetic side.
He wrote Scaffolds 1967 top 5 single ‘Thank U Very Much’ and in 1968 their big hit ‘Lily the Pink’ reached the top of the National Charts and stayed at number 1 for 5 weeks. McCartney has been a photographer during his entire career, and has published over 10 books, including ‘ Mike McCartney’s Liverpool Life’, ‘Live8 Coolpix’, ‘Sonny Joe’, ‘Mike McCartney’s North Highlands’ etc…He has exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and Smithsonian Institution in the USA, and in July opens his Scottish exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio. Martin Scorsese commissioned several of Mike’s photographs for his recent ‘Living In The Material World’ film, and more will feature in the coming Time Magazine. In 2010 he had the honour of meeting President Obama at the White House and the following year of showing the Queen round his ‘Mike McCartney’s Liverpool’ exhibition at the new £72 million Museum of Liverpool. In March this year the ‘Wall Street Journal ‘ flew over from New York to interview Mike about the re-issue of his 1968 ‘McGough Mcgear’ album, his other albums and his photography.
www.mikemccartney.co.uk