![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_JS393018197.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMusicians and city leaders gathered to say farewell to music legend Mike Lloyd OBE at a celebration of life service<\/p>\n
18:06, 14 Jan 2026Updated 18:42, 14 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
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Singer Gordon Hendricks leads tributes to Mike Lloyd(Image: )<\/p>\n
Hundreds of well-wishers flocked to Stoke Minster to celebrate the life of a Stoke-on-Trent music legend. Mike Lloyd passed away on December 8 while returning home from the US.<\/p>\n
The 82-year-old was well-known for founding the Music Mania record shop, <\/a>and bringing artists like ZZ Top to the Potteries as a music promoter and theatre director. Mike was awarded an OBE in 2022 for services to classical music, before earning an honorary doctorate in music from The University of Staffordshire in 2023.<\/p>\n He later went on to be named an honorary freeman of Stoke-on-Trent in 2025 for \u2018an exceptional commitment to enriching the cultural and musical landscape of Stoke-on-Trent\u2019.<\/p>\n Rock and country music flooded the church as mourners lined the pews, with notable figures such as the Lord Mayor and Legendary Lonnie<\/a> in attendance. Reverend Geoff Eze began the service with a powerful tribute to Mike\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n He told the congregation: \u201cAs we gather here today, we do so for the sake of a city we love. For the Potteries and the people who make it what it is. We gather for a man who brought music so that we could enjoy the silence. Let the songs we sing today punctuate the grief. Today we have the exploration of a life well lived. A chorus of the bereaved will sing loud as we celebrate one of Stoke\u2019s greatest sons.<\/p>\n A Celebration of Life service in memory of music promoter Mike Lloyd was held at Stoke Minster today(Image: )<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a rhythm that beats in the marrow. A calling that the soul longs for and which the world tells it to do. For Mike, that call didn\u2019t come from textbooks or grey logic. It came from the wire of a guitar. He was a young man with a vibration in his bones that he couldn\u2019t explain to a world of ledgers and straight lines. He was a man with a curve. The curve of a record, the arc of the stage.<\/p>\n \u201cHe walked through the fires of the industry and came out not burned, but tempered. And he brought that fire back to us. He was the architect who saw Stoke\u2019s creative potential, where others only saw the smoke of the chimneys.\u201d<\/p>\n Singer Gordon Hendricks – an Elvis impersonator – then delivered a tribute, before performing a rendition of the gospel song Stand By Me . He said: \u201cI\u2019d like to dedicate this beautiful gospel song to Mike. We worked together for many, many years. He used to come backstage to me during my intervals, and I\u2019d ask him \u2018Was that okay?\u2019 He said – \u2018You\u2019re great\u2019. So it\u2019s an honour to be here today and sing for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Stoke-on-Trent City Council Leader Jane Ashworth was next up to pay her respects, thanking Mike for his services to the Potteries\u2019 cultural scene.<\/p>\n Mrs Ashworth said: \u201cI have nothing but respect for men like Mike, who knew what they were about and could see where they wanted to go and how to get there. To feel the power of music for social change in his twenties and thirties and turn it into something real for so many people.<\/p>\n Mike Lloyd has passed away(Image: )<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was first elected, we knew there were people in the city who knew massively more than me about this sort of thing. And the first person we went to was Mike. To ask him if he could help us fill our large venues. I believe his reply shows you the measure of the man. He said, \u2018I\u2019d love to give back to the city that gave me so much\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved that sentiment. Because the truth of the matter is, he gave his city so much. He gave us our soundtrack. And for that, I am deeply grateful and profoundly humbled.\u201d<\/p>\n Reverend Eze concluded the service with a touching final tribute: “Keep the music playing. For he placed it in ourselves and the rhythm in our feet. Mike Lloyd – we salute you.”<\/p>\n READ MORE: 26 photos as Stoke-on-Trent music legend Mike Lloyd’s life celebrated<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_JS393018079.jpg\")
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