Mike and Michelle Jackson

Mike and Michelle Jackson were an Australian multi-instrumental duo principally known as children's entertainers. Between 1979 and 1986, the pair featured in a national TV Show (Playmates on ABC Television),[1] created ten albums (three Gold and one Platinum),[2] produced three songbooks and they teamed up with Western Australian author/storyteller Kel Watkins to create an instructional book, String Games for Beginners.[3] They had two albums released through A&M Records in Canada and toured extensively throughout Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S. (Alaska).

For other people named Michael Jackson, see Michael Jackson (disambiguation).

History

Mike and Michelle, both singers and multi-instrumental musicians, met on stage at the 1979 Kapunda Celtic Music Festival and married soon after.[4] They toured Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. almost non-stop for 7 years and in between tours they created three songbooks, co-wrote an instruction book for string figure novices and recorded ten albums - two collections of Australian folk music for adults and eight for children. The bulk of their thousands of performances together were Arts in Education performances designed to introduce children to a wide range of unusual instruments and encourage them to play music.

Mike and Michelle's children's albums were a huge success with their second, Playmates going Platinum and the rest of their first four kids' discs going 'Gold' in Australia. They had two North American releases, Bunyips, Bunnies and Brumbies and Playmates, which were released in Canada on Sharon, Lois and Bram's Elephant Records label, distributed by A&M Records. They were featured artists on the ABC TV program Playmates and regular contributors to many other 1980s Australian children's shows.

In 1986, the pair went their separate ways. Mike Jackson has continued touring, writing and recording both in Australia and internationally.

The duo

Mike Jackson
Main article: Mike Jackson (Australian entertainer)

Mike Jackson (born Fishtoft, Lincolnshire, England) emigrated to Australia in 1970. He taught himself harmonica in high school and acquired a taste for comic songs from his grandfather and the radio. He branched out onto other instruments and acquired a reputation for being able to get a tune out of almost anything.

Michelle Jackson

Michelle Jackson (born Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia) already played guitar; fiddle; and mandolin when she met Mike and quickly added a number of other instruments to her list of skills.

Discography
Title Details Certification
Patchwork
  • Released: 1980
  • Label: Larrikin Records (LRF052)
Bunyips, Bunnies & Brumbies
  • Released: 1981
  • Label: Larrikin Records (LFN 8308)
The Roaring Days
  • Released: 1982
  • Label: Larrikin Records (LRF-101)
Playmates
  • Released: 1983
  • Label: ABC Records (L 27115)
Ain't It Great To Be Crazy
  • Released: 1985
  • Label: ABC Records (L 27156)

References
  1. The Guide Sydney Morning Herald page 7 26 March 1984
  2. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Accredited Awards - April 1993 Playmates ARIA accredited Platinum Disk, May 1993 Bunyips Bunnies and Brumbies ARIA accredited Gold Disk, January 1995 Dances for Little Kids ARIA accredited Gold Disk, November 2007 Ain't it Great to be Crazy ARIA Accredited Gold Disk
  3. Published 1986. National Library of Australia catalogue ISBN 0-949575-46-1
  4. "Taking folk on the road and loving it". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 November 1980. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  5. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 December 2021.


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