Mike Pickering

Mike Pickering is an icon of the early-90s 'Madchester' acid house movement. He is a former DJ at the legendary Hacienda nightclub. The Face magazine even once described him as 'England's most revered DJ'.

Mike Pickering worked for Factory records, signing both James and the Happy Mondays, and also produced the first Happy Mondays EP. Afterwards he went on to join the deConstruction record company and spent a lot of time signing up, producing and remixing other artists.

He entered the pop arena in his own right as a founding member of M People. In the 7 years after they released their first single How Can I Love You More in 1991, the band had 10 top 10 hits.

They were voted Best British Dance Act at the Brits in 1994 and won the Mercury Music Prize for their album Elegant Slumming.

Mike recently returned to the decks to play a set for the film 24 Hour Party People in a mocked-up version of the Hacienda, the former Manchester superclub.

Question of Pop asked Mike:

(o)   Tell us about the film '24 Hour Party People'?
(o)   What projects are you working on at the moment?
(o)   Do you spend a lot of time in Manchester?
(o)   What do you think of the current music scene?
(o)   How about the club scene?

Click here to read a transcript of the interview