Mike Pickering

Mike Pickering, MD of the reborn Deconstruction records, Sony Music’s dance label became a fan of Northern Soul in his youth.  Pickering was the resident DJ at the Hacienda for 11 years, and was hugely influential in its musical policy and style after visiting New York’s famous Paradise Garage to play with Larry Levan and becoming inspired by the venue.   In the eighties he formed the experimental punk-funk group Quando Quango, but achieved much wider recognition with his later band M-People, who had huge chart success in the UK and the US throughout the 90s. 

His flair for A&R started when he signed the Happy Mondays, James and other acts to Factory records in the late 80s, his knack for spotting musical talent earned him his current title at Sony Music where he has signed Calvin Harris, The Ting Tings, The Gossip, Kasabian and many others.

Set up in 1987, Deconstruction Records was founded by Pickering, music fanatics Pete Hadfield and Keith Blackhurst in the United Kingdom. This iconic (and occasionally ironic) record label helped build the careers of Black Box, Sasha, Robert Miles, M People and Lionrock (and by proxy The Chemical Brothers with their first production as Ariel and that mind-bending remix of ‘Packet Of Peace’).

And in one of the biggest music and media blowouts of the mid-nineties, they also re-launched the faltering career of Kylie Minogue with ‘Confide In Me’.  The label was reborn in 2009 under the command of Pickering, Calvin Harris who was recently announced as A&R to the label. Deconstruction artists currently include Beth Ditto, Retro/Grade, Kenneth Bager, Jack Beats, Burns, Murray James and Axwell. 

www.deconstructionrecords.co.uk