Mike Hall was born to musical parents on New Years’ Day, 1954.  From an early age music played a very important part in his life.  At the age of three he was picking out melodies on the family piano and, indeed, it wasn’t long before he was having piano lessons with a local music teacher.  A few years on and Mike had moved on to organ lessons – making weekly trips to Nottingham for many years of tuition.  However, Mike would have to travel to Watford for his last music and organ teacher, the famous Lowrey organ exponent, Jerry Allen.  As Mike recalls, “he was a great man and a tremendous player and musician, I will always appreciate what he was able to teach, tell and show me”!

Although fascinated with the world of the electronic organ, he also had an interest in theatre pipe organs which led him to the Granada cinema in his home town of Grantham, where he played the mighty three manual Compton organ regularly and in 1968 was featured on Yorkshire Television as the youngest regular cinema organist in the country at that time.  Mike remembers, as a small boy, the console seemed so big he could hardly reach the bass pedals and turn over his music at the same time, luckily he grew taller!  He spent six years at the Granada from 1966-72 playing and entertaining both film and bingo audiences and made his very first radio broadcast from there in 1971.  He also took part in many concerts at the Granada arranged by the Cinema Organ Society and the Theatre Organ Club.  In 1966-67 he also played the famous “Decca” Wurlitzer theatre organ installed in a large ballroom in the town.  On one occasion at the Granada, while playing in the intermission of a big film, the cinema organist’s nightmare happened; the organ console lift wouldn’t go down!  As Mike recalls, “it's over thirty years ago but I can still remember as though it was yesterday, I turned round to the audience and said, you’ll never believe this but it won’t go down”.  Mike continued to play while a member of the projection box staff wound down the console by hand!

In the summer of 2000, Mike had the opportunity  once again to sit at the mighty Compton which is now in a private residence.  ‘It’s been 28 years since I saw this incredible machine and the memories just come flooding back’.  In October 2001 he was also reunited with the Wurlitzer he played back in ’66 and ’67 in the ballroom in his home town; these days it is in a private residence in Dumfries.  ‘I was in Scotland and the Lake District playing concerts when I was invited to see the Wurlitzer, it was a great feeling sitting down at the console again after nearly 35 years! 

Towards the end of the ‘60’s, he got his first tone wheel Hammond Organ – a model ‘T’, which Mike still has to this day.  ‘It’s a great organ, a real musical instrument and, of course, it’s very sentimental” Mike points out.  The Hammond led him to his first demonstration position with Sharma Cabinets.  Indeed, it was the Hammond and Sharma combination plus a couple of synthesisers that Mike first used on the BBC Radio 2 show ‘The Organist Entertains’ way back in 1975.

After Sharma, he demonstrated for several companies, but most organ enthusiasts will remember him for the 12 years he spent with Elka-Orla Musical Instruments.  He was involved in design and development at the Elka and Orla headquarters in Italy, working on many Elka models including the 20 and 30, the Evolution series, the Project series of organs  that included the EP12 and the portable version of that organ, the X30.  Mike spent weeks and many nights burning midnight oil, not to mention early mornings helping to develop the X30. He promoted the instruments at concerts and demonstrations throughout the UK, Europe and America, taking in six concert tours in the United States as well as many other visits across the pond which included trade shows, concerts and demonstrations from Florida to California, often playing live on both radio and television.

In the UK, Mike would regularly drive more than two thousand miles a week to perform at shows on Elka and Orla organs.  Who said life for a big international music company was easy?  From Elka – Orla Mike moved to the American organ company, Lowrey, for five years playing demonstration shows and concerts as well as the many electronic organ festivals throughout the UK.  He also recorded a couple of albums on Lowrey’s flagship model, the £20,000 MX2.

Over the years, Mike has demonstrated for many organ companies - Sharma, Ri-ha, Roland, Hammond, Viscount, Technics, Lowrey, Gem and, of course, Elka and Orla. These days, things have gone almost full circle; he has been reunited with the Italian influence of Orla, demonstrating their latest organs around the UK.  He also plays concerts for organ clubs and societies on the Orla GT8000 organ, travelling the length and breadth of the country.  While Mike loves the big, rich drawbar flute organ sounds from the GT8000 as well as the sweet and powerful theatre pipe organ sounds, he also likes to contrast these with the orchestral, big band and easy listening sounds that are so popular with audiences today.  Mike still has a love for the theatre pipe organ and seizes the opportunity whenever possible to perform on the Comptons and Wurlitzers that once graced those cathedrals of entertainment, the 1930’s picture palaces!

He also has his own home studio recording facilities, where he records albums for himself as well as other professional musicians.  His hobby of hi-fi and sound recording has become a useful tool in his professional capacity as a musician.  Away from music, Mike is a dedicated Formula 1 motor racing fan. As Mike says, “I love to get to Silverstone when I can as well, as other circuits.  The sight, sound and emotion plus the sheer excitement and atmosphere of a race day is quite simply out of this world”.  

Email: mikehall321@tiscali.co.uk

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