Mike Absalom
Now this post really stretches my memory. Mike Absalom appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test around 1972, singing songs from his lp Hector and Other Pecadillos. The songs I recall are Hector the Dope Sniffing Hound, and The Saga Of W.P.C. Sadie Stick. Maybe they were the songs that he played on TV that night. I saw him in concert at Sunderland Poly shortly after that. I remember several us went along and we all sang along to those songs. I can still remember the lyrics to WPC Sadie Stick: “WPC Sadie Stick! Hit me again with your big black stick! I’ll ‘ave a word with you when I find my dic—tionary!”. Great stuff; if pretty childish, in hindsight. Mike was great fun, singing anti-establishment/hippy comedy folk songs. I must have seen him again a few years later, as the ticket I found is for a gig in 1977. I checked out Mike’s site; seems he returned to him home of Canada in 1980 where he lives to this day. He’s still very active however, as his site shows: “When not giving concerts, Mike makes wooden puppets for his children’s show: “Professor Absalom and his Amazing Acrobatic Street Dolls”. He gives his shows in English, French or Spanish and also speaks fluent Swedish and German.”! Great memories of what seemed a simpler world.
13 Feb
Vintagerock's Weblog. 
Posted by sockknitter on August 30, 2014 at 3:06 pm
I was there! Was it really only 40p?
Posted by vintagerock on August 30, 2014 at 4:00 pm
It was indeed only 40p, but then “back in the day” you could buy 2 pints in the Howard Arms (cheapest pint in town at 10p), a burger at the Wimpy Bar, and still have change for the bus fare home 🙂 Cheers Peter
Posted by Mark Oliver on August 20, 2023 at 3:13 am
Just want to clarify, you mention him ‘returning to his home’ in Canada.. I think he did live there, may still do, but he’s definitely a Brit. I saw him twice at Stoke Poly and once at Alsager College of F.E., all in 1974-75. He was a wonderful, funny songwriter with great wordplay, sort of a Folk-Psych George Formby..he also could write some beautiful straight songs not unlike Nick Drake (‘Kara Du’ and ‘Old woman and the sea’ are both lovely). On one of the Stoke appearances, he’d adopted a bit of a Glam influence, with wild Dracula make-up and used some crazy mechanised props, a la Roger Ruskin Spear. After that gig, we met him and smoked a joint with him- the hash had been smuggled in an oil drum and reeked of oil.
Posted by vintagerock on August 20, 2023 at 9:34 am
Hi Mark. Great memories of a great songwriter, musician, performer and entertainer. Thanks for the clarification about him being British and sharing such great memories. A lovely man. Happy days Peter