Mike Clifford to meet Ed Sullivan who was so impressed with Mike’s poise and stage presence that he booked him for his TV debut, the first of three appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show". Mike Clifford's first taste of success came at age 18 when "Bombay" became a hit in Venezuela. He appeared on the state owned Venevision in his own TV special. However, Clifford's recordings for Columbia received little buyer’s attention, and in July 1962, Clifford signed with United Artists Records. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller produced several songs for Clifford, including his biggest hit "Close To Cathy", written by Earl
Mike and the Mechanics band, joining their stable of songwriters and adding keyboards. The group's third album, "Word of Mouth", followed in 1991. It was less successful than its predecessors, particularly in the US, but scored another trio of charting singles in the UK, with the lead single becoming one of their most popular songs yet. Their fourth album, "Beggar on a Beach of Gold", did not appear until 1995. It yielded both a UK top 40 hit in the title track, and a number 12 hit in "Over My Shoulder". The latter, which was their first hit to be co-written by Carrack, became