Mike Pickering

About

The sound

Mike Pickering is a Manchester musician, DJ, producer and A&R figure whose career runs through Factory Records and the Haçienda. He worked for Factory and helped programme the club from its opening, later playing a central role in its embrace of house music through the Hot, Nude and Shine nights. He co-founded Quando Quango with Hillegonda Rietveld and T-COY with Simon Topping before forming M People in 1990. His record-industry work included co-founding Deconstruction Records and signing artists across several generations. At Factory he worked with Happy Mondays and James; his later A&R work included Calvin Harris, Kasabian, Gossip and The Ting Tings. His memoir Manchester Must Dance follows that career through Manchester’s music and club culture. An archive held by the University of Manchester preserves records from his work in music, with material spanning 1980 to 2000.