Mick Thomas

Mick Thomas
Mick Thomas performing at the Ebberley Arms, Barnstaple, UK on 11 May 2007
Background information
Birth name	Michael James Thomas
Born	7 February 1960
Origin	Yallourn, Victoria, Australia
Occupations	musician, songwriter, guitarist, singer
Labels	Croxton Liberation Music
Associated acts	Weddings Parties Anything Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing

Michael James Thomas is an Australian singer-songwriter.

Mick Thomas was born in Yallourn, 7 February 1960, the middle child of three. His father, Brian Thomas, was an electrical engineer with the old State Electricity Commission. His father's family were from Tasmania and his mother, Margaret, was from northern Victoria. They met in Melbourne after Thomas's father returned from World War II.

"He served in the Pacific with the Navy during the war. He was in Japan shortly after the nuclear blast on Hiroshima. He was one of those blokes who never left Australia again. He had a normal life after the war but I'm sure his dreams were full of those things." - Thomas^[1]

The family moved with the work, from Gippsland to Colac, Horsham and then Geelong, Australia. When he was 15, in Geelong, Mick Thomas started playing folk music. In 1981 (at age 21) he moved to Melbourne^[1] and after a couple of years in Melbourne's pub rock scene with bands like Where's Wolfgang and Trial, Thomas formed the first version of Weddings Parties Anything in late 1984.

Main article: Weddings Parties Anything

The band released seven albums between 1987 and 1996, with most of the material written by Thomas. The band also won two ARIA awards and toured relentlessly - in some years spending more time on the road than not - and got quite big in Canada and parts of America. They had a couple of minor hits, "Father's Day" and "Monday's Experts", but what they really achieved was to mix bush ballads with rock'n'roll; a band who could perform a deep, highly literate song based on a poem by Bertholt Brecht to beery, Blundstoned punters in Collingwood without looking, or sounding, silly.

Following the demise of Weddings Parties Anything in 1999, Mick embarked on a solo career and eventually settled with a new band 'The Sure Thing' which has been through many different lineups. About this time he also started the now defunct label Croxton Records with friend Nick Corr.

Mick has written or co-written plays Over in the West and The Tank (with his older brother Steve) and is an accomplished music producer and engineer. He has been a mentor for many in the Australian music scene, especially in Melbourne. He is often rated with Paul Kelly as one of Australia's greatest songwriters.

Discography

Albums

Wedding Parties Anything

Main article: Weddings Parties Anything#Discography

Solo

• Under Starter's Orders: Live at the Continental - Croxton (CROXT001) (1998)
• The Tank - Croxton (CROXT020) (14 June 2004)
• Anythings, Sure Things, Other Things - Liberation Blue (BLUE0722) (13 August 2004)

Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing

• Dead Set Certainty: Twelve Songs That Wouldn't Go Away... - Croxton (CROXT004) (1999)
• Dust on My Shoes - Croxton (CROXT007) (2000)
• Live Dust (2001)
• The Horse's Prayer (2002)
• Paddock Buddy - Liberation Music (LIBCD8220.2) (12 March 2007)
• Spin! Spin! Spin! - Liberation Music (LMCD0047) (17 April 2009)

Mick Thomas and Dan Warner

• Five Bells (1999)

Mick Thomas and Michael Barclay

• A Head Full of Road Kill - Croxton Records (2010)

EPs

Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing

• Something to Fight For - Croxton (CROXT018) (2003)

External links

• Mick Thomas Official website

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Johnston, Chris (2006-12-18). "Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/gig-previews--reviews/mick-thomas-and-the-sure-thing/2006/12/18/1166290460329.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1. Retrieved 2008-10-24.