MIKE LEVON 1944-2011

Χθες το βράδυ πήρα ένα e-mail από την Anazitisi Records, σχετικό με το θάνατο του Mike Levon, ιδρυτή του βρετανικού progressive folk label Holyground (A to Austr, Astral Navigations, Gagalactyca, Gygafo κ.λπ.). Το μήνυμα είχε ως εξής: Mike was born on 19th December 1944 on a farm near Grantham. He was always interested in the arts; literature, art and music. He came to Bretton Hall College as an English student in 1963 where he met Shirley; they married in 1970. It was at Bretton that his passion for recording developed. Holyground Records was established with a group of friends by the late 1960s, the first independent recording studio and label. From those times Mike wrote and recorded songs, collaborating with Chris Coombs who wrote the music. He also recorded other bands, encouraging young and established musicians across the region. By 1976 Holyground took a back seat when Mike and Shirley decided to start a family. From 1966 Mike worked full-time as a primary school teacher, but in 1979 he was given a secondment to make educational programmes for Radio Leeds, also taking out the radio car on a Saturday mornings to do vox pops.
From 1982 Mike worked as a Youth and Community Co-ordinator in Leeds, eventually retiring in 1999. Holyground was revived about 1989 when it was clear that there was an interest in the original material, and this led to new music and albums being produced, and interest in the label blossomed. In 2007, the 40th anniversary of Holyground and when Bretton Hall closed, many old friends gathered for a concert, which Mike recorded and released. Mike was a perfectionist, he always recorded to the best standard that was possible, editing and re-editing, whether it was for Holyground music, or for other bands that came to record. Although there are not a huge number of albums on the Holyground label, it is the quality and the care that Mike put into them that makes them so enjoyable.
He died peacefully in hospital on Sunday 4th September, 2011. Και η είδηση. Η Anazitisi Records έχει στα άμεσα σχέδιά της την επανακυκλοφορία (σε LP), όλων σχεδόν των εκδόσεων της Holyground. Η συνεργασία είχε ξεκινήσει ενόσω ζούσε ο Mike Levon και θα συνεχιστεί πλέον με τη σύζυγό του.