What is "mickey finn"

"strong drink, drink laced with chloral hydrate," by 1928 (perhaps 1890s), of unknown origin. Presumably named after someone, but the various stories about the name cannot be substantiated.

In slang, a Mickey Finn — or simply a Mickey — is a drink laced with a psychoactive drug or incapacitating agent (especially chloral hydrate) given to someone without their knowledge with intent to incapacitate them. Serving someone a Mickey is most commonly referred to as slipping someone a mickey, but it is sometimes spelled "mickie".

Mickey Finn or occasionally Micky Finn (especially on Beat Club), (born Michael Norman Finn, 3 June 1947 – 11 January 2003) was the percussionist and sideman to Marc Bolan in his band Tyrannosaurus Rex (on one album, A Beard of Stars), and later, the 1970s glam rock group, T.Rex. Often confused with other musicians by the same name, Michael Norman Finn (apart from T. Rex) only toured as a sideman in the 1960s with Hapshash and the Coloured Coat. After Bolan and T.Rex's demise, he worked as a session musician for The Blow Monkeys and The Soup Dragons.

Finn was born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England. After he joined T.Rex in late 1969, it was rumoured that Bolan had hired Finn for his good looks, and because he admired his motorcycle, rather than for his musical ability. Finn was unable to recreate the complex rhythmical patterns of his predecessor, Steve Peregrin Took, and was effectively hired as much for a visual foil for Bolan as for his drumming. The BBC news commented on this, saying "Marc Bolan was supposed to have said of Finn: 'He can't sing... but he looks superb.'"

Mickey Finn stated, on a radio show in Denmark that he and Marc Bolan were appearing on as guest DJs, that his big influence in percussion was the prolific Master Henry Gibson from Curtis Mayfield's band. In the early 1970s, Finn's contribution as bongocero, backing vocalist, and, occasionally, bass guitarist, to Bolan's music was essential, because Tyrannosaurus Rex and T. Rex started off as a duo and Marc needed a replacement for Steve Peregrin Took. Something of a character both on and off stage, Finn was often to be seen wearing a hat (including a green bowler), a trademark that was adopted by a significant proportion of T. Rex fans.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Finn made a handful of guest appearances with the West London rock band, Checkpoint Charlie, fronted by Mick Lexington.

In 1991 he joined Croydon R'n'B band WD40, which had a fluid line-up based around his very old friend drummer Stewart Childs (the Interns) harp & vocalist Colin Goody and vocalist and guitarist Pete Robins. The band then added guitarists, percussion etc. as required but unfortunately Mickey was forced to retire after about 12 months due to failing health. A couple of live tracks survive from this line up, but are currently out of print. Mickey also was invited to play at the Marc Bolan 50th Anniversary gig organized by Mick Gray (ex T.Rex tour manager and roadie) to celebrate what would have been Marc's 50th Birthday at the Cambridge Corn Exchange on 30 September 1997 where Gray was manager.

Finn returned to the mainstream music scene in 1997, fronting a new, controversial version of T. Rex, Mickey Finn's T. Rex, playing old T. Rex songs until his last days.

Mickey Finn or Micky Finn may refer to:

• Mickey Finn (drugs), a drug-laced drink
• Mickey Finn (comic strip), a long-running comic strip
• Mickey Finn (drummer) (1947–2003), British drummer and former member of T. Rex
• Micky Finn (footballer) (born 1954), English former football goalkeeper
• Mickey Finn (guitarist) (1947–2013), British rock guitarist
• Mickey Finn (inventor) (1938–2007), American inventor military systems and sports equipment
• Mickey Finn (Irish fiddler) (1951–1987), Irish fiddler
• Mickie Finn's, nightclub and TV show (sometimes written Mickey Finn's)
• Mickey Finn (fiction), a fictional character and pseudonym of the 19th century writer Ernest Jarrold

Mickey Finn was an American comic strip created by cartoonist Lank Leonard, which was syndicated to newspapers from 1936 to 1976. The successful lighthearted strip struck a balance between comedy and drama. It was adapted to a 400-page Little Big Book and was reprinted in several comic book series throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Charles A. "Mickey" Finn (June 21, 1938 – April 24, 2007) was an American inventor who specialized in designing and producing weapons systems for the U.S. military. He retired from defense work and began designing sporting equipment, including the Mickey Finn T-Bar Putter, a golf putter.

Mickey Finn (31 December 1951 – 15 April 1987) was a traditional Irish fiddler. He was fixture in Galway's traditional music scene during the 1970s and 1980s, playing with artists such as Mary Coughlan, Mick Lally, and Christy Moore.

Mickey Waller (3 March 1947 – 1 February 2013), also known by the stage name Mickey Finn, was an English guitarist. He started out with instrumental band the Strangers in Bethnal Green, East London, in the summer of 1961. In 1963 Waller adopted the name Mickey Finn – after having heard about the drummer named Micky Waller – and joined with John "Fluff" Cooke (keyboards), John Burkett (bass), Alan Marks (lead vocals) and Richard Brand (drums) to form "Mickey Finn & the Blue Men", who released their debut single in January 1964. Jimmy Page recorded with the band over the following months. With Burkett replaced by first Mick Stannard in late 1965 and then Rod Clark, the band were renamed "The Mickey Finn" in 1966. They released four more singles, the last of which, "Garden of My Mind", is their best known song and has become a cult favourite despite failing to chart at the time.

Reverting to his original name (percussionist Mickey Finn had by then become famous as a member of T.Rex), Waller played guitar with Sam Gopal (1969–70) and the Heavy Metal Kids (1972–74), before relocating to France and becoming a sought-after session musician. As Mickey Finn, he returned to the UK and joined Steve Marriott's All Stars in July 1975, and in May 1976 Finn and fellow All Star Greg Ridley (bass) formed The Fallen Angels with Twink (drums), Guy Humphries (guitar) and (initially) Bob Weston (guitar) and Keith Boyce (drums). The band crashed their van on the way to their first gig, and Finn was the only remaining original member when they re-emerged in July 1977 backing ex- Pretty Things singer Phil May.

By 1999, Mickey Finn & the Blue Men had reformed and recorded the Black Hole album, followed by the Go Clean EP (Ten Minutes Productions, June 2004). From 2004 to 2011, Finn formed a blues-rock duet with Joane Calice (vocals/bass). He died in Paris on 1 February 2013.