Mick Clarke first attracted attention in 1968, playing guitar in the south London-based duo
Killing Floor with Bill Thorndycraft (vocals/harmonica). They made two well-received albums, Killing Floor in 1969 and Out of Uranus the following year.
Killing Floor played in London and elsewhere in the U.K., backing American bluesman
Freddie King, and also jammed with other visitors, including
Howlin' Wolf. In mid-1972
Killing Floor folded, but
Clarke played with Daddy Longlegs before forming his own band, Salt, in the mid-'70s, recording the rare EP All Wired Up in 1978.
After a spell in the United States,
Clarke returned to the U.K. at the start of the '80s to form the Mick Clarke Band. For the next two decades the band worked extensively, touring the U.K. and Europe, receiving critical acclaim for their live shows and albums. Critics and audiences in the U.S. also reacted very favorably to the band. In 2005 the band included drummer
Chris Sharley (drums, ex-
Sassafras), Dave Rea (bass), and Dave Lennox (keyboards). Among other musicians who have worked with
Clarke over the years are keyboard player Peter Terry; bass players Mick Phillips, Len Davies,
Ian Ellis, Eddie Masters, and Russell Prett; blues harpists Stevie Smith, Dave Newman and
Mark Feltham; and drummers
Ron Berg, Slash, Mike Hirsh, and
Wilgar Campbell. An important part of the repertoire of
Clarke's bands are his own compositions, which include "Murderers' Home," "Cheap," "Walking in the Dark," "The Killingest Place," "Second Hand Dream," and "New Star Over Texas."