Mike Shaw


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British production manager, road manager, lighting technician and coordinator, from the East End of London. Known for working for The High Numbers/The Who from 1964 to 1967. Since 1982, lived in St. Austell in Cornwall. Died November 17, 2012.

Childhood friend of Bill Curbishley and Chris Stamp. Joined the Merchant Navy with Curbishley. First worked as a lighting technician at the Hippodrome in Bristol, then Lyric Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, London. Hired by Stamp to work with Kit Lambert to make a feature film, which turned out to be about the The High Numbers, shot in August/September 1964, at The Scene Club, Soho. Lambert and Stamp became the group's managers, with Shaw as their employee, along with Anya Butler, as New Action Ltd. Shaw was responsible for playing Pete Townshend's demo of I Can't Explain to Shel Talmy over the telephone, to get him to sign the group, in November 1964. Shaw hired The Who's first roadie, Dave Cyrano Langston, on April 22, 1965, and then Richard Cole on July 28, 1965. In late 1966, helped form the Track Record label, where they worked with Thunderclap Newman, Marsha Hunt, Jimi Hendrix, T-Rex, Golden Earring, among others. Shaw and Stamp hired Curbishley to work at Track in December 1970.

Severely injured in a car crash on October 14, 1965, while driving The Who's equipment van, and permanently confined to a wheelchair.