Editing Mike Howlett (section)

==Career==
In the late 1960s, Howlett was the bassist in Sydney pop band [[The Affair (band)|the Affair]], which included vocalist [[Kerrie Biddell]]. The group travelled to England after winning a prize in the [[Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds]] band competition. Howlett settled in [[London]] and in 1973 joined renowned British [[progressive rock]] group [[Gong (band)|Gong]], which had been founded by an Australian [[expatriate]], [[Daevid Allen]]. He remained with Gong until 1977, recording several albums with them and co-writing much of their material later in this period with drummer [[Pierre Moerlen]].

After leaving Gong, Howlett formed the short-lived band [[Strontium 90 (band)|Strontium 90]], which consisted of himself, [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], [[Stewart Copeland]] and [[Andy Summers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://planetgong.co.uk/maze/blurbs/howlett.shtml |title=Planet Gong: Tribal: Maze: Mike Howlett |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030306030914/http://www.planetgong.co.uk/maze/blurbs/howlett.shtml |archive-date=6 March 2003 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In addition to being the band's lead bassist and chief songwriter, Howlett performed most of the lead vocals in live performances. The band recorded several demos and played at a Paris Gong reunion concert in May 1977, but disbanded when Summers left to join Copeland and Sting's other project, [[the Police]]. An archival collection of Strontium 90 material was released two decades later as ''[[Strontium 90: Police Academy]]''.

A few months after the breakup of Strontium 90, Howlett served as bassist for the one-off studio band The Radio Actors, which also included Gong bandmate [[Steve Hillage]] on lead guitar and Strontium 90 bandmate Sting (who came to the group by way of Howlett's recommendation) on lead vocals.<ref>Williamson, Harry (1994). "Earthdate Summer 1977". In ''Nuclear Waste'' (pp.7) [CD booklet]. Durham: Voiceprint.</ref> The band's single, "Nuclear Waste" b/w "Digital Love", was reissued on CD in 1995 with liner notes and three bonus tracks, though none of the bonus tracks involved Howlett.

In the 1980s, Howlett became an in-demand producer, with a string of notable credits. He produced many hit singles and albums for leading [[new wave music]] acts including [[A Flock of Seagulls]], [[the Alarm]], [[China Crisis]], [[Martha and the Muffins]], [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]], [[Stephen Duffy]], [[Gang of Four (band)|Gang of Four]] and [[Comsat Angels]]. He also produced the album ''[[Secret Secrets]]'' for [[Joan Armatrading]] in 1985.

Gong performs occasional reunion gigs around the world, and Howlett usually joins them. In 1993, he launched a record label, Mauve, which released albums by singer-songwriters Rafa Russo, Debbie Cassell and Jay Fisher. From 2005 to 2009, Howlett was chairman of [[the Music Producers Guild]] (MPG).<ref name=mpg>{{cite web |url=http://www.mpg.org.uk/members/48 |title=Music Producers Guild – Members Directory – Mike Howlett |access-date=7 February 2010}}</ref>

Howlett was awarded a PhD on the subject of record production in 2009 and has lectured in music technology at several universities, including the [[University of Glamorgan]] (now the [[University of South Wales]]) in [[Pontypridd]], Wales and [[Thames Valley University]] ([[Ealing]], London).<ref name=mpg/> In 2009, he became Head of Music at [[Queensland University of Technology]] in [[Brisbane]], Australia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/mus/howlett_mike.html |title=Calyx – The Canterbury Website: Mike Howlett biography |access-date=7 February 2010}}</ref> and is an adjunct professor for QUT.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}