Morrissey Central "MIKE HINC, RIP" (January 9, 2023)

"Mike was the Smiths live booking agent … very funny and very irreverent in the spirit of the Blenheim Crescent age. He was also very intelligent whilst being next to incomprehensible … which was perfect for the exciting psychic disorder of Rough Trade. Along with Geoff Travis, Scott Piering, Jo Slee, Martha DeFoe, Richard Boon and Pat Bellis, he worked very hard for the Smiths from the very beginning, and his cramped All Trade hut within the record label was a hideaway sanctum of busy blackboards and choking cigarette smoke. He was much admired by John Peel and John Walters, and this certainly helped the Smiths to move quickly. I was thankful then, and I'm thankful now."
Morrissey.

MIKE HINC, RIP - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - MIKE HINC, RIP

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

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Autobiography:

"Live booking agent was Mike Hinc, operating All Trade Booking, and he dug in deeply on behalf of the Smiths to frame a careful rise.
‘You are one of the hottest tickets in London,’ he explains to all four of us, adding, in quieter tone, ‘for now ...’, a mumble I would never allow him to forget as the years passed with no sign of a popularity dip."

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The image used is sourced from Mike's old art site:

Mike Hinc in French

FWD.

 

[nicky wire's legs]

heartening to hear a thoughtful, down to earth, personal comment about someone, that isnt full of bombast and self congratulation

 

[Malarkey]

I like the Google translation from his website - the ambivalent nature of experience: the human heart balanced between monsters and wonders...

 

[Moz Fan]

Morrissey's prose is so imagetic that one can actually see the people, scenes and the situations he describes.

It's always a pleasure to read him.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

heartening to hear a thoughtful, down to earth, personal comment about someone, that isnt full of bombast and self congratulation

Yes, as this example shows, there’s probably a lot that he doesn’t give away/make public. There is a lot we may never know about him. Then again that could apply to most people of interest in general.

The question if asked, can be, why is that? Maybe people in his position want to save a part of themselves for their own, or maybe there’s a side of their vulnerability that if shared doesn’t benefit the image they want to project for reasons of their own. Both seem to point to some form of self-protection. I’m sure we could all relate to this on some level.

Anyway, a lovely Central post.

 

[Juan Dulces]

It's noteworthy that in the last twelve months, we've lost two important people related to The Smiths - and on behalf of both of them, Morrissey pulled from his 'private reserve' of heartfelt sentiments to write beautiful eulogies. It's sad in a way that the best thing I've read for a few weeks (probably) happens to be another Morrissey penned eulogy for someone he admired.

Rourke and this guy Mike (funky pic btw) were there during Morrissey's 'discovery' years, and supported him all the way. These men had great significance in his life, for different reasons but believed in the same goal.

The Smiths Are Forever. We're all so lucky. The music is so good because there was so much love. Thank you very much for helping The Smiths like you did, Mike. According to what Morrissey said here - they couldn't have done it without you, buddy.

 

[Girlmostlikely]

What a lovely and sincere message. Beautiful sendoff

 

[Lujan369]

It's grateful, that's very important, recognizing the people who have helped you or who help you is a gesture of humility and justice, Moz thoughtful and egoless, I like it much, much more. No one is saved alone

 

[Lujan369]

It's noteworthy that in the last twelve months, we've lost two important people related to The Smiths - and on behalf of both of them, Morrissey pulled from his 'private reserve' of heartfelt sentiments to write beautiful eulogies. It's sad in a way that the best thing I've read for a few weeks (probably) happens to be another Morrissey penned eulogy for someone he admired.

Rourke and this guy Mike (funky pic btw) were there during Morrissey's 'discovery' years, and supported him all the way. These men had great significance in his life, for different reasons but believed in the same goal.

The Smiths Are Forever. We're all so lucky. The music is so good because there was so much love. Thank you very much for helping The Smiths like you did, Mike. According to what Morrissey said here - they couldn't have done it without you, buddy.

Yes, but it's better that the thanks were made in life, between Moz and Marr, for example, putting aside egos and calling on the phone and talking and acknowledging how important each one was to the band. May Moz thank J Mar and vice versa. That one of the two has that impulse to call the other and thank each other for what each one contributed to have such an important band. Something that would bring relief to both of them and the fans. It's a good idea and I have faith that one day it will happen

 

[BookishBoy]

I love this bit from his old art site (linked to above by FWD):

Mike works in diverse media - celebrating transience, inadequacy and the contradictions of a commodified world. His subject is the ambivalence of experience; terror and wonderment in a human heart. His aesthetic is that of the humble postcard. The work, scribbled messages both platitudinous and profound, snatched from the frontline of the prosaic – “Weather still changeable, wish you were here”. Irony is key in an oeuvre which explores the interface between raw, felt experience and a mediated world of shrink-wrapped ideas and bite-sized epistemologies. If collage is the lingua franca of post modernism, it is also Mike's Franglais. In a world without answers, his work neither seeks completion nor finds resolution.

Sounds like a genuinely fascinating man, and from Morrissey's lovely words it sounds like The Smiths were lucky to have him on their side.

 

[celibate]

Godspeed Mike Hinc.

 

[gordyboy9]

seems like a good guy which i would think would be hard to find in the music industry.

 

[gordyboy9]

Yes, as this example shows, there’s probably a lot that he doesn’t give away/make public. There is a lot we may never know about him. Then again that could apply to most people of interest in general.

The question if asked, can be, why is that? Maybe people in his position want to save a part of themselves for their own, or maybe there’s a side of their vulnerability that if shared doesn’t benefit the image they want to project for reasons of their own. Both seem to point to some form of self-protection. I’m sure we could all relate to this on some level.

Anyway, a lovely Central post.

zoom thats why a lot of people dont like him because they know absolutely nothing about him,he gives nothing away and why should he.

 

[A Man Escaped]

Very magnanimous, particularly towards Travis and Peel.

 

[nicky wire's legs]

Yes, as this example shows, there’s probably a lot that he doesn’t give away/make public. There is a lot we may never know about him. Then again that could apply to most people of interest in general.

The question if asked, can be, why is that? Maybe people in his position want to save a part of themselves for their own, or maybe there’s a side of their vulnerability that if shared doesn’t benefit the image they want to project for reasons of their own. Both seem to point to some form of self-protection. I’m sure we could all relate to this on some level.

Anyway, a lovely Central post.

I don't know, but I'd say that if he presents himself as a dick 99% of the time, that's probably how he wants to be seen or is at least okay with it. I don't know why that is, but I feel no desire or obligation to puzzle it out. I mean, there probably are other softer sides to him, but it's not my job to give him the benefit of the doubt that underneath it all he's really quite lovely when he can't even show up for his own concerts, which is all anyone really asks of him.

 

[Moz Fan]

Nice reading:

How The Smiths’ Debut London Gig Set Them Up For Stardom - Dig!

The Smiths’ first ever London concert paved the way for greater things, including their history-making deal with Rough Trade Records.

www.thisisdig.com

 

[gashonthenail]

I like the Google translation from his website - the ambivalent nature of experience: the human heart balanced between monsters and wonders...

yes but what were his politics? have you weighed his life in the balance? is he good or bad for Morrissey?

 

[Malarkey]

yes but what were his politics? have you weighed his life in the balance? is he good or bad for Morrissey?

You're even trying to use a death. You're disgusting.

 

[gashonthenail]

Lovely words from Moz. And clearly an interesting character. Although you get the feeling that art was his true calling - and the booking agent stuff was his day job.

 

[j*e*t]

Mike introduces his art in this video and it mentions his working with Morrissey and The Smiths.