It is with great sadness that we learned yesterday of the passing of Jethro Tull founding member Mick Abrahams. Mick had endured worsening ill health for the last 15 years leaving him finally unable to perform or interact socially to any degree. I spoke to Clive Bunker from the Choir of Southwark Cathedral to get confirmation that the reports earlier in the day were, in fact, correct. And, yes – Clive had received a phone call from Mick’s family to communicate the sad news.

Mick was vitally important to the early Tull formation out of the ashes of The John Evan Band and McGregor’s Engine, the blues band he formed with Clive Bunker in the Luton/Dunstable area.

As a strong vocalist and experienced, powerful and lyrical guitarist, Mick commanded the stage in his rendition of Cat Squirrel at the Marquee Club and every show we did together – even when we supported Cream on one occasion! As his party piece, Mick continued to add to and develop those musical ideas into a tour de force display of his instrumental talents for the rest of his performing days.

Mick and I shared a tiny twin-bunk cabin on the overnight ferry from Esbjerg to Harwich in October 1968 where I annoyed Mick by trying to play the mandolin I had just purchased from a junk shop by the ferry terminal. That night I wrote the song “Fat Man” which Mick, having tried to sleep through my compositional efforts, supposed was about him (it wasn’t) – indeed, Mick was a trim good-looking guy at the time and in better shape than us skinny runts in the early Tull. We had 11 months of mutual benefit and learning experiences before the eventual falling-out – caused primarily by our different preferences as to future musical direction. I wanted to embrace broader musical influences while Mick – died-in-the-wool rocker and blues man – wanted to stay with the more traditional style of our first album, “This Was”.

But we played together and collaborated on a few things in the following years and the mutual respect we enjoyed was a lasting link to those formative Tull years. Mick is remembered as much for Blodwyn Pig and his own off-shoot bands as he is for the Tull days. In Blodwyn Pig, they even managed to get him on a plane to the USA (suitably tranquillised due to his terror of flying). Tull’s hectic schedule of US and World tours would not have suited Mick at all. He was a homebody who liked to gig around the home counties and sleep in his own bed most of the time. These days, I feel pretty much the same way…

We all offer our condolences to Mick’s family and close friends, who can feel justifiably proud of his achievements and musical legacy.

Ian Anderson. 21st of December 2025

Salutations

Ian Anderson