MICHAEL DES BARRES

LEGENDARY ROCKER

WITH SILVERHEAD & DETECTIVE

TV VILLAIN 'MURDOC' ON MACGYVER

​SPECIAL GUEST ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

Born in Hove, Sussex in January 1948, Michael Des Barres is the son of the 25th Marquis Des Barres (himself descended from a legendary and heroic 13th century French knight) who blew most of his fortune on opium and ended up in jail, and a singer-dancer from Liverpool. Brought up in a Gothic Castle, then essentially raised from the age of eight by strippers (due to his mother’s regular incarceration from schizophrenia) and educated at Repton School, Derbyshire, Michael credits his mother for turning him onto Billie Holiday and Elvis and “incorporating fantasy as a form of defence.”

Michael Des Barres is a perfect example of how perseverance, hard work, and a positive outlook, can achieve many of life’s yearnings. Michael is an incredible story; he embraced his passion for the arts and has never looked back.

Acting lessons at the Corona Stage School led to a supporting cast member role as “Williams,” a London East End pupil on the 1967 British drama, To Sir, with Love starring Sidney Poitier. Besides acting, Michael loved music, especially American blues and rock ‘n’ roll. He formed his first band called the Orange Illusion in his teen years.

In 1972, Michael Des Barres became frontman for British glam rockers and cult icons Silverhead. The band eventually signed with Purple Records (owned by Deep Purple) and released two essential albums, Silverhead (1972) and 16 and Savaged (1973).

Silverhead became a significant role model for future generations of glam rock groups.

After the premature disbanding of Silverhead, Michael Des Barres formed Detective. The band was signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label by legendary guitarist Jimmy Page in 1975. Detective featured guitarist Michael Monarch (Steppenwolf) and Tony Kaye (Yes). The group recorded three studio albums, Detective (1977), It Takes One to Know One (1978), and their third album was recorded on Atlantic Records but never released. (Michael remains friends with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant).

During this time Michael Des Barres appeared on the WKRP in Cincinnati television episode “Hoodlum Rock” as the infamous Sir Charles 'Dog' Weatherbee of the band Scum of the Earth. (Rob Zombie released a song called “Scum of the Earth” in 2000, and a heavy metal band by the name of Scum of the Earth was formed in 2003).

After the break-up of Detective, Michael Des Barres teamed up with Ex-Sex Pistol guitarist Steve Jones to form Chequered Past. The line-up also included bassist Nigel Harrison and drummer Clem Burke from Blondie, and guitarist Tony Sales formerly of Utopia. (The band recorded one album together called Chequered Past). Des Barres also became the lead singer of the touring and Live Aid version of The Power Station, a Duran Duran spin-off band.

Michael Des Barres penned the world-wide hit “Obsession” with Holly Knight, which became a huge hit for the LA new wave group Animation in 1985.

Des Barres states that he loves performing in front of a live audience in a rock ‘n’ roll band, but he’s also in love with all the arts, and in many shapes and forms. He’s also an accomplished actor and probably best known for playing the infamous villain ‘Murdoc’ on the popular TV series MacGyver and ‘Alex’ in the movie Pink Cadillac.

In April of 2012, Des Barres reunited with Silverhead and all his old mates for the first time in 38 years. The band performed to standing room only audiences in Japan. He’s also recently appeared on the television series The Finder, Suits, and the motion picture California Solo.

Michael has appeared in countless film, television, voice-over and stage roles and his credits are awe-inspiring.

Des Barres has also appeared in “Roseanne,” “Seinfeld,” “Renegade,” “Ellen,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Hart To Hart,” “Melrose Place,” “Nash Bridges,” “Northern Exposure,” “Rockford Files,” “St Elsewhere,” “21 Jump Street,” “Frasier,” “Hawaii,” “Bones” and “NCIS,” among many others.

Michael Des Barres' latest release THE KEY TO THE UNIVERSE, returned De Barres firing on all cylinders and lighting up the rock world as only he can.

Michael is currently the host of Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM Radio Channel 21, Michael Des Barres is heard by more than six million listeners, five days a week (5am-8am and 9pm-midnight PT).

But many fans will know him best as the original MacGyver villain, Murdoc — and those fans were in for a treat, when Des Barres/Murdoc returned on February 2nd to CBS’s MacGyver reboot (alongside the new Murdoc, played by David Dastmalchian), in the much-anticipated, sure-to-be-epic “Murdoc vs. Murdoc” episode.

​Tune in to Michael Des Barres as the host of Little Steven's Underground Garage on SiriusXM Radio Channel 21 heard by more than six million listeners,five days a week(5am-8am and 9pm-midnight PT)