Michael Des Barres


Michael Philip Des Barres, the 26th Marquis Des Barres, is an English actor and rock singer. He is known for playing the recurring role of Murdoc on the television show MacGyver, appears as Nicholas Helman on the new reboot of MacGyver and for replacing Robert Palmer in the band Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert.

Early life

The only child of Marquis Philip and Marquise Irene Des Barres, Michael Philip Des Barres was born and brought up in Hove, Sussex. He attended Repton School, a boarding school in Derbyshire, and went on to attend the Corona Academy drama school in London and appeared in several plays.

Career

Music

Des Barres formed in England in 1972. The band released two albums and disbanded.
He then moved to Los Angeles, where he formed the band , personally signed to Swan Song Records by Jimmy Page.
Following the break-up of Detective in 1979, Michael formed in 1982.
Des Barres met the members of Duran Duran when Chequered Past opened for a few shows during their 1984 tour. In 1985, when Robert Palmer withdrew from the Duran Duran side project Power Station just before their American summer tour, Des Barres was chosen to take his place as lead vocalist.
On 5 November 2013, The Michael Des Barres Band released a live album, Hot n Sticky Live, which was recorded at the Viper Room in Los Angeles in November 2012. The album is available as high quality mp3 downloads.
On 7 April 2015 Des Barres released a solo album, The Key to the Universe. Produced by Bob Rose at The Forum Music Village in Rome, the album reunites Des Barres with Nigel Harrison on bass and guitar, in addition to Clive Deamer on drums, and Dani Robinson on guitar.
In 2018, he formed The Mistakes, consisting of all veteran musicians – Loren Molinare on guitar, Eric Himel on guitar, Paul Ill on bass guitar, and Matt Starr on drums. The band is signed to Steven Van Zant's Wicked Cool Records and has released 4 songs – Living in the USA/Gotta Serve Somebody and Crackle and Hiss/Stop in the Name of Love. The Mistakes will tour Japan in 2020.

Acting

Des Barres has appeared in over 100 different TV shows and almost 30 movies in his career. He first started acting at 8 years old as 'The Nux Bar Kid' on posters all over England. He appeared in the 1966 film starring Tony Curtis, Drop Dead Darling. His first credited film role was as a supporting cast member in the classic 1967 film To Sir, with Love, playing an East End pupil who always wears dark sunglasses indoors and out, followed by a few other minor roles before he decided to pursue a career in music instead. He later concentrated his energies on acting again and was cast in Ghoulies as cult leader Malcolm Graves, and Nightflyers as a charismatic empath. He worked opposite Clint Eastwood in 1989's Pink Cadillac. His other film roles have included Midnight Cabaret, Under Siege, , A Simple Twist of Fate, and Sugar Town. He also appeared in the 2004 film Catch That Kid and had a brief part in David Lynch's classic 2001 film Mulholland Drive.
On television, besides the role of Murdoc in MacGyver, Des Barres was also a lead cast member of The New WKRP in Cincinnati during the 1991–92 season, as part of a husband-and-wife morning team. He had previously appeared on the original WKRP in Cincinnati as the lead singer of a punk band, Scum of the Earth. During this same time, he played a gay man in two episodes of Roseanne. He also played one of Darlene's baby's doctors on one of the final episodes of the series. Some of his dozens of television appearances include Seinfeld, Renegade, ALF, Ellen, Nip/Tuck, Just Shoot Me!, Hart To Hart, My Sister Sam, Lois & Clark, JAG, Melrose Place, Nash Bridges, Northern Exposure, Rockford Files, Sledge Hammer!, Sliders, St. Elsewhere, 21 Jump Street, The Pretender, Dead Like Me, Frasier, Hawaii, Bones, and NCIS.
On 23 October 2013, Des Barres joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the world premiere of 200 Motels: The Suites, by Frank Zappa, in which he appeared as Rance, the narrator.

Radio

Currently, Des Barres hosts "The Michael Des Barres Program" every weekday morning from 8–11 AM ET with a replay every weekday evening from 9- midnight PT on Little Steven's Underground Garage. Over six million listeners hear an eclectic mix of rock, soul and punk, infused with Des Barres' extensive musical knowledge and his messages of positivity and longevity.

Personal life

Michael was married to Pamela Des Barres from 1977 until 1991. They have a son, Nicholas Des Barres, a successful writer and video game designer. Des Barres has been sober since June 1981. In the mid-1980s he was one of the founding members of Rock Against Drugs. He later did volunteer addiction counseling and worked with homeless teens. Des Barres has also organised and hosted the annual Don't Knock the Rock Film Festival, which first took place in 2003.
Des Barres married his long-term partner, Britta Hayertz on December 21, 2018. Hayertz is the owner of Britta Morgan Pilates and also earned a BSc in Plant Science from California State Polytechnic University, with special emphasis on urban forestry, water use issues, urban farming and sustainability.
In 2020, Michael released a documentary entitled Who Do You Want Me To Be? that interviews not only himself but many former band members, friends and family members. Described as The son of a junkie aristocrat and a schizophrenic showgirl becomes a master of reinvention on a 50+ year journey through rock and roll, TV, and movies.

Discography

Solo albums

  • I'm Only Human
  • Somebody Up There Likes Me
  • The Key to the Universe

    With Silverhead

  • Silverhead
  • 16 and Savaged
  • Live at the Rainbow

    With Detective

  • Detective
  • It Takes One to Know One
  • Live from the Atlantic Studios

    With Chequered Past

  • Chequered Past

    With The Michael Des Barres Band

  • Carnaby Street
  • Hot n Sticky Live

    Filmography

Film

Television