Mike was Born to David and Lee Shipley in Sydney, Australia Oct. 7th 1956. He was a passionate music fan,and first became interested in a recording career while at school in the UK in the early 1970s . He completed high school in Melbourne, Australia where he was a drummer with various groups, but quickly returned to London where he got his first big break working for Wessex Studio as an assistant, and then recording engineer, recording huge acts including Queen, The Sex Pistols and Flock of Seagulls. His first engineering sessions were during the punk-music explosion of the late 70s and early 80s. His contemporaries(amongst many with whom he worked and was educated by) at Wessex included producer Roy Thomas Baker, Chris Thomas, and engineers Tim Friese-Greene and Bill Price. During his long association with Mutt Lange he recorded and mixed(amongst many others)the classic Def Leppard albums as well as crossover country hits by Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. 

Nominated for eight Grammys, Mike won two for his work with Alison Krauss’ Paper Airplane, and a third Grammy for Faith Hill’s  Breathe. His client list is too long to list in its entirety. Besides those already mentioned, it includes these notables: Keith Urban, AC/DC, Joni Mitchell, The Cars, Meat Loaf, Mr. Mister, Winger, The Clash, Van Halen, The Corrs, Kim Carnes, Kelly Clarkson,  Blondie, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Foreigner, Devo, Cheap Trick, Enrique Iglesias, Maroon 5, Barenaked Ladies, Nickelback, Michael Bolton, Thomas Dolby, Prefab Sprout, Jefferson Airplane, Green Day, The Black Crowes, ,Papa Roach, Shawn Colvin, John Waite and My Chemical Romance.
He also worked on movie soundtracks by Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer and others. He died in his apartment on Monday July 25th 2013.
Mike was a tall, slender, shaggy haired, pleasant looking 56 year old  with a charming easy manner and an accent that lingered somewhere between Britain and Australia.. He was personable, affable, and  whether he was recording, mixing or producing, he had the ability to make his clients feel as though they were the most important client in the entire word. Mike was a passionate and talented artist, as well as a master technician. It is not often that these qualities coexist in one person at the level of excellence that they did in Mike. He was the genuine article and it was not difficult to discern what he was put on this earth to do. He could mix a record in such a way, that artists would literally weep in gratitude.
His passing is a tremendous loss to the music industry.
He is survived by his mother Lee, his sisters Robyn and Kim,his son Ben, and girlfriend, Mercedes.