Paul Carrack (born April 22, 1951 in Sheffield, England) is a British keyboardist, singer and songwriter who worked with numerous groups, including Ace and Squeeze.

Career Overview

Ace was Carrack's first band, and he wrote "How Long", their debut single and a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1972, but no further recordings caught on.

In 1977, Ace disbanded and Carrack began working with Frankie Miller , followed by turns in Roxy Music, as a solo artist and in Squeeze, where he worked on their best-known album, East Side Story. Carrack joined up with Nick Lowe and then went back to a solo career, scoring a minor US hit before working for a period with Eric Clapton.

Mike & the Mechanics

He then joined Mike Rutherford (of Genesis) in Mike & the Mechanics. This latter group found some success, and Carrack released another solo album, One Good Reason , which yielded a Top Ten hit in "Don't Shed a Tear". Mike & the Mechanics released a #1 hit with the title track to 1988's The Living Years . After that, the hits rather dried up, both as a solo recording and with Mike & the Mechanics. Following a hiatus, the band reformed in 2004 as Mike & the Mechanics featuring Paul Carrack.

Session Work

He has also worked widely as a session musician, for example on Roger Waters' "Radio K.A.O.S." (1987) and subsequent tour; on Elton John's "The Big Picture" (1997); and on The Smiths' same-titled debut album (1984).