select member Mick Abrahams Don Airey Martin Allcock Barriemore Barlow Clive Bunker Paul Burgess Gerry Conway Glenn Cornick Mark Craney John Evan Andrew Giddings John Glascock Jeffrey Hammond Eddie Jobson Dave Mattacks Jonathan Noyce David Palmer Dave Pegg Peter Vettese Tony Williams

Born: April 7, 1943
Electric Guitar/Vocals
Played: 1967-1968


> This Was
> Living in the Past
> Living with the Past CD
> Living with the Past DVD


Mick Abrahams came to Tull from McGregor's Engine as did Clive Bunker. Mick formed Blodwyn Pig (1968-1970) after leaving Tull and has produced several solo efforts.

Visit the official Abrahams and Blodwyn Pig website



Mick in 2003 rock guitarist book

Catch interview excerpts in this new work featuring fifteen of rock's greatest guitarists.

Mick Abrahams

Mick was born in Luton, England, on the 7th April, 1943, which was a very long time ago. There was a war still going on at the time, which may explain why Mick can be a cantankerous old git and a right, proper and loyal gent at one and the same time.

He took up the guitar at the age of ten and went on to play in various bands in the early 60's, such as the Jesters, the Hustlers, the Crusaders and the Toggery Five; all acts in the Rock and Roll and R&B styles, before eventually moving in a more Blues-based direction.

He formed the band "McGregor's Engine" in 1967 with Clive Bunker and Andy Pyle and came to the attention of Ian Anderson when the Engine supported the John Evan Band at a club near Luton, Bedfordshire in 1967.

Mick was asked to join the band later that year, although by then, the other Evan Band members had departed, leaving only Anderson and Glenn Cornick to team up with Abrahams and Bunker in the prototype of Jethro Tull in December of '67.

Throughout the Winter and early Spring the group persevered with their Blues-based covers and original compositions, finally being blessed with a residency at London's famous Marquee Club in March, 1968.

After recording the first Tull album, "This Was", Mick left the band in the November 1968 under a cloud of bad feeling due to disagreements as to musical direction and personality clashes with Anderson and Cornick.

Mick went on to form the cult group "Blodwyn Pig" in 1969 and enjoyed success with that band in addition to his solo efforts which have endeared him to a series of fans through three decades.

He nearly gave up music after quitting Blodwyn Pig, working as a salesman of cars, double glazing and life insurance and doing humourous character voice-overs for the advertising trade.

Mick took up music once again in 1987 and continues to tour and record, both as a solo act and in various reincarnations of Blodwyn Pig, The Mick Abraham's Band and, more recently in the controversial cover band performing the music from "This Was" which recently toured the UK prompting confusion as a result of a dubious "Jethro Tull" style billing. Various albums and T-shirts are available through "A New Day Magazine", the well respected Tull fan-zine.

Ian Anderson has played with Mick live and on Mick's solo recordings of acoustic, Blues-based songs in recent years.

Mick is now very, very old -- even older than Martin Barre -- and likely to out-live all of them.