Arnie Treffers
February 15, 1947 – August 25, 1995
Arnie Treffers was the main songwriter and lead singer of Netherlands rock band, Long Tall Ernie & the Shakers who became local favorites in the mid ’70s. The band’s sound fell somewhere between Elvis Presley and the Sweet. These days their recordings are prized by collectors around the world. Treffers died of lung cancer on August 25, 1995.
Mickie Most
June 20, 1938 – May 30, 2003
Mickie Most was an English producer and label owner who had a run of Number One hits with a stable of artists that included the Animals, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and Herman’s Hermits. Most started his career as a performer in London coffee houses where he met future partner and Led Zeppelin manager, Peter Grant. He had a semi-successful run during the late ’50s and early ’60s but grew tired of the touring so he explored opportunities on the business side of music. He started out in sales and merchandising and soon landed a gig in production at Columbia Records. His first act was a little band he found called the Animals who he helped record a worldwide hit with “House Of The Rising Sun,” and in turn received a Grammy for Producer Of The Year in 1964. Then came Herman’s Hermits who had a string of hits that at one time rivaled the Beatles. Other artists he recorded included Lulu, Jeff Beck, the Seekers, Nancy Sinatra, the Yardbirds and Brenda Lee. In 1968, Most partnered with Peter Grant to open RAK Management and a year later, RAK Publishing and RAK Records. Artists signed to RAK Records included Suzy Quatro, Sweet, Hot Chocolate, and Chris Spedding. By the ’80s, he had discovered Kim Wilde and produced her worldwide smash, “Kids In America.” And later appeared as a harsh judge on a British television talent program called New Faces, which no doubt helped create a future television star by the name of Simon Cowell. Most died of mesothelioma, a cancer generally associated with the exposure to asbestos.
Michael “Mick” Tucker
July 17, 1947 – February 14, 2002
Mick Tucker is best remembered as the drummer for the internationally acclaimed ’70s glam rock band, Sweet (sometimes referred to as The Sweet). In 1968, Tucker and Brian Connolly, with whom he played in a band that also included Ian Gillan, recruited Steve Priest and Frank Torpey to form a group that would eventually be known as Sweet. Over the next decade, the band released a series of albums that made them international superstars by successfully marrying the best of bubblegum with that of glam rock. Albums like Desolation Boulevard, Give Us A Wink and Level Headed produced iconic hits like “Ballroom Blitz,” “Fox on the Run,” “Action,” and “Love is Like Oxygen.” Tucker played in different formations of the band up until 1991. He was 54 when he died following a long struggle with leukemia on February 14, 2002.
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