Michael Mulligan was born on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea, in Essex,
which is where he purchased his first single, 'School's Out' by Alice
Cooper. As a teenager he'd buy as many as five music newspapers each
week (when there were such things) and would gauge the growth of his
music knowledge by his ability to finish the crossword puzzle.
Shortly before NOW That's What I Call Music Volume 17 was
released he got a job in his local record shop. For the next twenty-five
years he worked in all manner of music retailers, and more recently he
has been a consultant for record labels, mining their archives for
overlooked gems.
He lives in north London with two cats, a
patient and indulgent wife and a 'no way too large' record collection.