by Midge Marsden
People might not have heard of Michael Farrell but they would have heard him in their homes every evening, playing on television commercials. The New Zealand popular music industry he was more than a brilliant guitarist, he was a consummate songwriter who provided endless compositions for performers and films.
It was his sparkling lead guitar that soared over the ceremony at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990. As a studio musician he worked with the best. Many a local and international producer wanted the Farrell expertise on their tracks.
But it was on the stage that he was in his element. Playing with Mike Farrell was an experience. I shall never forget his feels and his rhythms ("If it ain't got rhythm, how's it gonna get sanctified").
He turned his hand to anything. He played sweet and mean, one minute caressing, the next peeling the paint off the wall. He always played loud, as many of the musicians he played with will testify. In his playing, one hears echoes of great guitarists from Hendrix to Lowell George and Ry Cooder.
His talents spanned 30 years with musicians in bands such as Tom Thumb, Rough Justice, Red Hot Peppers and The Flyers. I was lucky enough to have Mike as my guitarist on and off for 10 years.
Born in Wairoa, Mike grew up in Titahi Bay. In Wellington in the late 60s we were both cadets with the NZBC, he as a panel technician, me as a programme producer, though it wasn't until the 80s that we joined forces. We toured the country and recorded two albums featuring five of Mike's songs, with "Carry My Blues" being one of the best.
On stage, he was such an emotional and intense musician, and every note he played counted. His feel was so big he enveloped the stage. Almost every band he played in became his. When you played with him you were either on the bus or off it, especially when Mike was the driver.
Mike always kept you honest and did not suffer fools. Every musician who played with him knew the "Farrelli look," sometimes a blessing, mostly not. He was hard work at times, especially on the road and many a cafe had to scrape badly cooked bacon and eggs off their walls.
The turning point in my career came in 1990 with "Burning Rain", an album of which I am intensely proud and for which Mike wrote the title track. His guitar work and songs contributed hugely to that album's success.
Not long after that we worked together on two oil commercials with Murray Grindley and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
I had become friends with Stevie in Texas and played him Mike's work. How privileged I was to be flanked in the studio by two of the world's finest blues guitarists, Stevie on the left, Mike on the right.
Mike worked with his own Farrelli Brothers lineup and in later years settled in as a session musician and a studio writer.
He died at the peak of his career with international offers in the wind. His funeral was attended by hundreds of New Zealand's best musicians and performers.
Six weathered guitars on their stands surrounded his casket and his lilting voice and peaceful slide guitar were coming through the speakers. It was as though he had written the music for the occasion.
Michael leaves his partner, Fiona, children Bridey, Megan, Luke and Phoebe and a vault of original songs yet to be heard. Such was his search for perfection that he never released anything under his own name.
To quote Liam Ryan when addressing Mike's children at the service: "If anyone asks you who your father was, tell them he was a legend because he is."
by Midge Marsden,
reproduced with permission from The New Zealand Herald
Mike Farrell: guitarist, songwriter
Born Wairoa, 29 August 1948, died Auckland, 20 May 2000, aged 51.
