Mickie Most

Mickie Most, a music producer who helped craft the sound of the 1960s' British invasion, is reputed to have been responsible for more number one hits across the globe than any other producer.

Mickie Most was born Michael Peter Hayes on June 20 1938 in Aldershot, Hampshire, where his father, a regimental sergeant-major, was stationed. The family subsequently moved to London, and Mickie left school without qualifications at 15.He briefly served an apprenticeship in a metal works, but after losing a toe in a factory accident quit, to try his hand at acting. Finding himself unsuited to the actor's life he immersed himself instead in the emerging British R & B scene, based around the espresso bars of Soho.

Encouraged by friends such as Wee Willie Harris, he then formed a band with Alex Wharton (later the Moody Blues's producer), which they called the Most Brothers, a name that stuck to Hayes. They signed to Decca, but after touring with only limited success, Most decided to try his luck in South Africa, the homeland of his girlfriend Christina Frisco, whom he married in 1959.

As the  frontman of The Playboys, Most soon became one of the first rock and roll stars in South Africa, enjoying a series of No 1 hits there with covers of American tracks such as Johnny B Goode and Flip, Flop and Fly. In addition, he also learned the rudiments of the recording process, and in 1962 decided to return to Britain to try his luck as a producer.

Most's particular talents - an ear for a hit single and the ability to nurture new artists - were first demonstrated in 1964, when he discovered The Animals performing in the Club A-Go-Go in Newcastle. With Most as their producer, The Animals recorded House of the Rising Sun in 15 minutes and at a cost, he later proudly recalled, of £1 10s.  Numerous hits followed including "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits, and Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" which helped to make him one of the world's top producers.  "Mickie's musical success in the U.S. stemmed from his monthly trips to New York and L.A. carrying a briefcase full of his latest tapes," said longtime friend Deke Arlon. "He knocked on the doors of top record executives and wouldn't leave until they'd heard his music."

He had the ability to stop a hit single and marry it to the right artists.  Albums were never his forte.  "Albums were for people who had money to burn," he asserted. "In fact, one of the only albums that I bought in those days was the first by Elvis Presley, and I still play that today, so I've certainly had my 30 bob's worth out of it! As most of the albums would just have one or two songs that you liked and the rest was throwaway, we were really hot for singles and we lived in this world of jukeboxes. That was our entertainment. Any cafe that had a jukebox and a pinball machine was Las Vegas for us in the '50s, and I don't think I ever grew out of that."

Through the 1970s and '80s Most worked with commercially, if not always critically, successful bands including the Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, and Hot Chocolate. He also was a panelist on the TV talent show "New Faces," renowned for his withering assessment of hopefuls' prospects.