Mike Steyn

Founder of Tangent Records (2). Born Cape Town 23 July 1931, died London 3 January 1999. Mike played an unusual part in the musical life of the UK, particularly in the folk revival of the Sixties and Seventies. While other record companies and producers responded to public interest by promoting the forgotten or neglected treasures of Anglo-American folk music, Steyn went beyond the confines of the West, to Africa and Asia. He launched a number of outstanding musicians and singers, some celebrated in their own countries but unknown in Britain, others new and obscure, and launched their international careers. Their music inspired and influenced musicians and singer-songwriters as diverse as Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel, and bands such as Genesis and Fairport Convention.