A musician on the Sixties rock scene, Mike Evans began writing about popular music in the 1970s as a broadcaster in local radio and freelance writer, his work appearing in a variety of publications including Sounds, Cream, the Guardian, Elle and as a regular contributor to the UK's top music weekly newspaper Melody Maker. Since the late 1980s he has worked in book publishing (from 1989 to 2000 with Hamlyn/ Octopus), commissioning and editing titles on rock'n'roll, jazz, and popular culture. He wrote the much-acclaimed The Art of the Beatles (Muller Blond & White)in 1984, and more recently, in 2002, the best-selling Elvis:A Celebration (DK) which he researched and wrote in collaboration with the Elvis Presley Estate in Memphis. NYC Rock:Rock'n'Roll in the Big Apple and Waking Up In New York City both appeared in 2003 (Sanctuary Books), and The Marilyn Handbook (MQP) in 2004. He also compiled The Beatles Literary Anthology (Plexus) in 2004. His book Ray Charles: The Birth of Soul (Omnibus) was published in 2005, and The Making of Raging Bull (MQP) and Rock'n'Roll's Strangest Moments (Robson) in 2006. The Rock and Roll Age (Essential) and The Beats (Running Press) (an illustrated account of the Beat Generation) both appeared in 2007, Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World (Sterling) in 2009, and The Art of British Rock (Frances Lincoln) in 2010. Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive History (Sterling) was published in 2011, and in 2012 Neil Young (Sterling) and Ukulele Crazy (Anova). He lives and works in London, dividing his time between writing and a freelance editorial consultancy.
