Mike Francis

Francesco Puccioni (26 April 1961 – 30 January 2009), better known under his stage name Mike Francis, was an Italian singer and composer, born in Florence, Italy.

Among his best known works is the song "Friends", a duet with Amii Stewart released in 1984 which became a big hit in the UK and the Philippines.

Beginning in 2000, assisted by his brother Mario (Mari-One) and by the Maltese multi-instrumentalist Aidan Zammit, he founded the group Mystic Diversions.

Together with the trio, additional musicians for live sets consisted of Agostino Marangolo (drums), Fabio Pignatelli (bass), Marco Rinalduzzi (guitars), Giovanni Imparato (percussion and vocals), as well as Wendy Lewis and Laura Serra (backing vocals).

Francis' website states him as saying: "From that moment many other songs were born[;] in a simple and spontaneous way, simply "inspired"..."[5] Puccioni died aged 47 on 30 January 2009 of lung cancer in Rome.