has been an integral and influential member of the UK filk community since 1988 when he attended Follycon. Mike was chairman of Contabile, the first UK filk con, and has since headed or served on the concoms for several more.
A prolific composer of serious filk, he has released two solo recordings, “The Oak, the Rowan and the Wild Rose” and “Shattered Dreams.” His song “Before the Dawn” spawned more than fifty other songs set in the same universe by multiple writers.
Mike has a very distinctive musical style which suits the fantasy settings for his songs extremely well. Mike’s talent was acknowledged when he was selected as the first Interfilk guest, in 1992.
Mike was a founding member of the filk/rock band Phoenix, and his acoustic and electric guitar work has also graced many other filkers’ projects. Without his lead-guitar prowess in particular, many rock-styled tracks and performances simply would not sound right.
He is the owner, sound engineer, dealer, and driving force behind NePalm Music, which has set a new and higher standard for filk recording in the UK.
Mike is also involved in projects to promote filk on the Internet. He helped create filknet and the filk.org.uk domain as a home for filkers on the net, and a filkers’ IRC service. This service hosts the #filkhaven channel, and a variety of filk-related mailing lists. Mike is also the administrator of the U.K. chat server in that network.
Mike and his wife Anne regularly host filks and other get-togethers at their home, the Millhouse. Mike has been an avid supporter of filkers in many ways, such as technical advice on recording, and collaborations. Mike would say this is just being a friend, but a surprising number of filkers have been the beneficiary of his energy and generosity.
For these contributions to filk music and the filk community Mike Whitaker is inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame this tenth day of April, two thousand and ten.
Photo credit: Walter Korynkiewicz