annie haslam and her brother michael haslam. renaissance,the beatles. somewhere out there.wmv

[faloughran]

i lived in bolton at the time michael was singing around the pubs and clubs, he has a fantastic voice and should of made the big time, far superior singer than a lot of the so called singers of that time

[fredorulz1]

@faloughran i can only agree with your comments. he should've made it and like you say his voice was far superior to nearly all the other singers around at the time. still that happens all the time i guess. you need a lot of luck to make it big.glad you enjoyed the posting though. cheers regards dave

[faloughran]

@fredorulz1 I always wondered what happened to Michael, until i came across his obituary from the Independent, i was really shocked that he died from cancer. I had a couple of dates with his first wifes brother, we used to go and watch him sing at the white hart on deane road. Did you live in Bolton?

[fredorulz1]

@faloughran sorry for the late reply. no im not from bolton,im from essex. i got to know michael through my dad. dad was on the same cabaret circuit as mike was and had the same agent. mike and his wife eileen became very close family friends and used to stay for weekends etc when mike was singing in the area. he smoked like a trouper,80 a day i guess so in the end i guess it caught up with him. silly thing was that he managed to stop smoking near the end but the damage had been done by then.

[faloughran]

@fredorulz1 I remember him smoking very heavily, working in those clubs and pubs wouldn't of helped, it would be like smoking 160 a day. Unfortunately many cancer sufferers stop smoking near the end. Mike, enjoyed his life on the club and pub scene and i guess wouldn't have changed it for the world.

[ukcomic]

How lovely to hear Mikes voice as well as Annie on here. Mike was a great mate of mine and I played golf with him many times. Such a sad loss, he was a true gentleman.

[fredorulz1]

@ukcomic hi. yes michael loved his golf and especially his golf days out with the cgs. he was a great guy and was always referred to as my 2nd dad lol. glad you enjoyed the track. regards

[Adfumbler]

What a horrible loss. RIP, Michael.

Shazanne, I am so sorry for your loss :-(

And to state the obvious, this version of this song runs rings around the one that everyone knows. No comparison.

[shazanne]

@Adfumbler Thankyou. Yes it was very sad. I have some good memories though : ) and great that we get to hear him live through the music!

[mikehaslam47]

I am also called Michael Haslam. My father was a postman in Bolton in the sixties and used to deliver Michael's mail - my dad always thought this was a great coincidence but I have discovered the poet Michael Haslam born the same year as me (1947) in Bolton. Lovely song - a sad loss.

[shazanne]

Michael is my father. Great to find this on here. Thanks for posting : )

[faloughran]

@shazanne I remember you as a baby on crescent road, I used to go out with your Mum's brother a couple of times, think we baby sat you once or twice. Sooooooo sorry for your loss, it was a shock to hear your dad had pasted away, he was liked and respected by everyone.

[shazanne]

@faloughran Hi..that wasn't me sorry..that was his first wife that lived on Crescent road. They had a boy. I lived with my Dad in London. The last time I saw him was at my wedding in 98. It was a huge shock yes. He remarried again after my Mum.Sadly I wasnt acknowledged in his obituary.

[faloughran]

@shazanne Sorry i got mixed up. I was l6 at the time and not into babies!!!!! Didn';t realise Michael had got married 3 times. It only mentioned 1 child in the Independant, and i presumed it was the baby at Crescent Road, they should get their facts correct before writing about someones life, typical of the press!!! Do you have contact with your stepbrother? You never know what is round the corner in life, Michael had so much talent, he should definitely made the 'big-time' .

[shazanne]

@faloughran No problem. I think that the child mentioned in the Independent was actually me. It was the original obituary in his home town in which I wasnt mentioned.in fact neither of us were mentioned. No I never met the half brother. I spent the first 6 years of my life with my Dad in it and I have some happy memories. I emigrated to Australia at 12 but kept in touch and always met up when I returned. I was lucky to have him at my wedding in the UK and he was a grandad before he died : )

[faloughran]

@shazanne Do you live in Australia still? Did you and your Mum emigrate when Michael and her separated. I always wondered where he ended up, didn't think he would leave Bolton, but i guess he had more chance of making it down south. He had a big following up here, you couldn't get into the pubs or clubs he played in unless you went very early.

I often pass the house on Crescent Road and remember the "good" times. I'm glad you have a happy life and Michael had a grandchild before he went.

[shazanne]

@faloughran Yes I am still in Australia. I lived back in the UK 94-98, married there then returned to Oz. My Mum married an Australian when I was 11 that is what brought us here. Dad was living in Buckinghamshire in the end. I am still in contact with my Aunt Annie and my cousins by Dads brother. Very proud of Annie and her acheivements : )

Pity Dad didnt go as far as he should have with his career!

[fredorulz1]

@shazanne hi shaz. i was still in very close contact with yr dad right till the end. he was like a 2nd father to me. i have a photo of him somewhere wearing a floppy hat after his hair fell out after the treatment. he was so vain lol but that was michael all over, kept his appearance superb. if i can find it i will forward it to you. me,mike and my dad all went out for a nice steak meal about a week before he passed and he was in good form.spoke to eileen last week.not spoke to annie for a while

[faloughran]

@shazanne Yes it was unfortunate that your dad wasn't as successful as his sister Annie, although he could of been huge if he had been properly managed by Epstein and given the right songs to sing, the ones he did record wasn't what the public was wanting at the time. Shame. Where abouts in Australia do you live? Is Michaels grandchild a girl or a boy? It's nice you still have contact with some of the family, it will help to keep his memory alive, although you have plenty of lovely memories,

[faloughran]

@shazanne Wish you and your family a very happy new year from Bolton Lancs.

[fredorulz1]

@faloughran michael ended up playing all the local clubs mainly down south. he always went down a storm and his voice never really left him even in later years. he played a lot of golf in his semi retirement lol. he loved the game but wasn't that good though lol.he was well loved by everyone and was pretty successful on the club circuit but like most people thought he should've been a lot bigger then he was.mike had a great life and as shaz said he was blessed by becoming a grandad.r.i.p michael

[faloughran]

@fredorulz1 I don't suppose you have any more songs by Michael, "There goes the forgotten Man" Gotta get a hold of myself" ??? or any. Its so sad he only recorded one with his sister, pity he didn't make an album!!! He had a few records he'd made at the house in Bolton, you don't realise it at the time, how nostalgic they would be come, Think they were just the above two songs.

[fredorulz1]

@faloughran hi. i have both of those songs plus a few others he recorded when he was with epstein. ive also got about 30 minutes of him doing his cabaret act in a club. he used to sing covers by elvis and old rockers like that. however i need to get them all transferred to dvd before i can post them on you tube as i cant get them onto my computer. as soon as i can get them sorted out i will post them. cant beat nostalgia. glad you enjoyed this posting.

[faloughran]

@fredorulz1 Wow! i can't believe you have so much material. It would be great if you could post what you have when you have the time. He always sang the big ballads, Roy Orbison was a favourite and of course Elvis, it would be standing room only in the pubs, he had regular nights at different venues, it was always a good night out when Mike was on. Can't wait for the posts.

[tippytee909]

Thank you fredorulz1. Beautiful. love it more every time I hear it. Noble

[fredorulz1]

@tippytee909 hi. yes it does grow on you more and more. i love it when mikes deep voice joins annies higher voice. its lovely. glad you enjoyed it. ty

[Ljerk]

Thx for upload. 

[fredorulz1]

@Ljerk you are most welcome. ty for listening.