Mick "London" Hale

MickHale2009

Mick Hale (a.k.a. Mick London) is an American musician, songwriter, music producer, DJ and programmer. Credited on over two dozen albums, EPs, singles and compilations, his body of work spans 25 years from 1983 - present^[1].

Hale got his start as guitarist/singer/songwriter with New Jersey/NYC pop-punk/garage band Mod Fun. From 1983 to 1987, he took them through a logical evolution from raw punk to more polished, energetic pop. In the process, Hale (who used the moniker "London" at the time) contributed songs, performances and production duties to 2 LPs, 2 singles, and an EP as well as touring extensively and providing tracks for numerous compilation albums. During that same time, he and his cohorts in Mod Fun were expanding their musical horizons by pursuing side projects that appealed to them. As for Mick, he also found himself playing drums in local NYC act "And Then You Woke Up" as well as bringing his guitar playing talents to "The Love Pushers" (a Hoboken, NJ group consisting of Hale, Jim Testa, Jim DeRogatis, and Howard Wuelfing). ^[2] After a European tour with Mod Fun in 1987, Mick and Love Pushers' drummer DeRogatis took their newly-formed Wire cover-band "The Ex-Lion Tamers" on tour in support of Wire themselves. While the members of Wire were performing new material, Mick and company would open by playing material from the classic Pink Flag album.

Shortly afterward, Mick and his former Mod Fun bandmate Bobby "Werner" Strete teamed with drummer John Figlar from New Jersey's psychedelic Lord John and formed a new outfit known as [[Crocodile Shop [1]]]. Drawing on many more raw and heavier influences such as The Jesus and Mary Chain and Skinny Puppy, this new act was a definite departure from the jangly, guitar-driven pop that Hale had produced earlier. Their first record (a hard to find classic entitled "Head") made it obvious that this band was moving in a more "goth" direction. Interestingly, the members of [[Crocodile Shop ^[3]]] eventually disowned that first record and, having worked with producer Dave Fielding of Chameleons UK fame on their follow-up "Lullaby", they now consider it their debut album.

Not one to stagnate, Mick Hale saw to it that [[Crocodile Shop ^[4]]] evolved as a musical unit with each new release. After a brief reunion with Mod Fun drummer Chris Collins, the group opted to use electronic percussion in most of their subsequent work. Although Collins continued behind the scenes with Crocodile Shop - engineering (and occasionally performing on) most of their releases from the early "Measure by Measure" EP up through the first few tracks on their "Celebrate The Enemy" CD. Original member Bobby "Werner" Strete also continued working with Hale and the various other musicians who contributed to the progression of Crocodile Shop's sound until 1997, at which point Hale had combined forces with keyboardist/programmer v.Markus. By then the group had explored styles ranging from goth to industrial, finally developing their touch for techno/electronica which still permeates the group's music to this day.

During the seventeen year period from 1987 to 2004, Hale continued to write, record and perform with Crocodile Shop (now known simply as CrocShop) while, at the same time, producing various side projects through his Danse Assembly Media network (DAMn!). Hale also published the fanzine DAMn! during this time in the New Brunswick area. The 2004 release of CrocShop's double CD retrospective [[S.E.A. (Self-Extracting Archive)^[5]]] coincided with the re-release by Get Hip Records of a Mod Fun retrospective CD called "Past...Forward^[6]". These events saw many of the original members of CrocShop reunite for a release celebration. The positive vibe among Hale, Strete and Collins coupled with the timliness of the Mod Fun CD re-release ultimately led to the reformation of that band. Mod Fun has since performed in Nashville, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia and all over New York and New Jersey. In addition, the reunited Mod Fun released a double CD of their own in June, 2007. Entitled "Now...and Again", the disc contains 10 new tracks and 10 re-recordings of Mod Fun classics from their 80's catalogue. In 2010 Mod Fun released a new album entitled "Futurepresent" with 15 all new recordings.

Most recently, Mick Hale has been concentrating on writing new material for the re-energized Mod Fun ^[7]as well as doing occasional film soundtrack work and DJ-ing in and around Asbury Park, NJ. Hale has also contributed a couple articles to the local "alternative" publication the Tri City News, as well as hosting an online radio show called "The Weekend MIX-Up!" ^[8].

1. ^ see http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/credits/mick-hale/594635
2. ^ See http://www.myspace.com/thelovepushers
3. ^ see http://www.lastsigh.com/interviews99/crocodileshop_interview.htm
4. ^ see http://www.amazon.com/Crocodile-Shop/e/B000AP6YFA
5. ^ see http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/crocshop3
6. ^ see http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,4617368,00.html
7. ^ see http://www.modfun.com/reviews.html
8. ^ see http://www.facebook.com/WeekendMixUp

http://www.modfun.com http://www.crocshop.com

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Name	Hale, Mick London
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