Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as | Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers |
Origin | London, England |
Genres | |
Years active | 1962–1969 |
Labels | |
Spinoffs | |
Past members |
Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band.[4] The band had two different lead vocalists, Paul Jones from 1962 to 1966 and Mike d'Abo from 1966 to 1969.
Prominent in the
History
Beginnings (1962–1963)
The Mann–Hugg Blues Brothers were formed in London
After changing their name to Manfred Mann at the behest of their label's producer John Burgess, the group signed with His Master's Voice in March 1963 and began their recorded output that July with the slow, blues instrumental single "Why Should We Not?", which they performed on their first appearance on television on a New Year's Eve show.[9] It failed to chart, as did its follow-up (with vocals), "Cock-a-Hoop".[4] The overdubbed instrumental soloing on woodwinds, vibes, harmonica and second keyboard lent considerable weight to the group's sound, and demonstrated the jazz-inspired technical prowess in which they took pride.[8]
Early success (1964–1965)
In 1964, the group were asked to provide a new
With the success of "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" the sound of the group's singles moved away from the jazzy, blues-based music of their early years to a pop hybrid that continued to make hit singles from cover material. They hit No. 3 in the UK with another girl-group cover, "
The group had managed an initial jazz/rhythm-and-blues fusion, and then had taken chart music in their stride—but could not hope to cope with Paul Jones' projected solo career as singer and actor, and with Mike Vickers' orchestral and instrumental ambitions. Jones intended to go solo once a replacement could be found, but stayed with the band for another year, during which Vickers left. McGuinness moved to guitar, his original instrument, contributing the distinctive
Mike d'Abo years (1966–1969)
Jones was replaced by Mike d'Abo in July 1966,[11] and the group switched labels to Fontana Records,[11] where they were produced by Shel Talmy.[11] Their first Fontana single, a version of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman", released in July, scraped into the UK top ten and reached number one in Sweden. Their new long-player, As Is, followed in October; the group's increased studio technique sidelined their jazz, soul and blues roots. The next two singles, "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr James" and "Ha Ha Said The Clown", both reached the Top 5. Another EP set of instrumentals, Instrumental Assassination, was released in December.[12] This featured original member Dave Richmond on double bass, but not Mike d'Abo, suggesting the sessions dated from a little earlier in 1966.
An instrumental version of Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea" only reached No. 36 when issued as a single, and the follow-up, Randy Newman's "So Long, Dad", with its intricate keyboard arrangement, missed the top twenty altogether. Thus, 1967 was for the group largely an unsuccessful year in the charts, besides "Ha Ha Said The Clown" which reached the UK singles chart early in 1967. There was no album, as Mann and Hugg explored other avenues of their career, although their record company did compile the UK budget-priced album What A Mann (Fontana SFL 13003), a predominantly instrumental set gathering together a few recent singles' A-sides, B-sides, and instrumental EP tracks.
The following year 1968 brought two albums, the
In June 1968, the following single,
Frustrated with the limitations and image of being seen purely as a hit singles band (their last two albums failed to chart), the group split in 1969.[14]
Aftermath
Mann and Hugg were already writing advertising
However, the new group was short-lived and by 1971 after a second album (and an unreleased possibly incomplete third) they had disbanded and Mann had formed a new group. The original line-up of this new group consisted of Mick Rogers (guitar and vocals), Manfred Mann (organ, synthesizer and vocals),
Manfred Mann briefly reformed in June 1983, for an appearance at the Marquee Club in London to help celebrate the club's 25th anniversary.[16]
In the 1990s most of the original 1960s line-up reformed as The Manfreds, minus Manfred Mann himself (hence the name), playing most of the old 1960s hits and a few jazz instrumentals, sometimes with both Paul Jones and Mike d'Abo fronting the line-up.[7] Tom McGuinness formed McGuinness Flint in 1970; they had a few hits before disbanding in 1975. Both Jones and McGuinness have been mainstays of the Blues Band, which they helped form in 1978.[7]
In 2009, the Manfreds (d'Abo, Hugg, Jones and McGuinness) joined Klaus Voormann in performing a version of "Mighty Quinn" for his first solo collection A Sideman's Journey, credited to 'Voormann & Friends'.
Personnel
- Manfred Mann – keyboards, backing vocals (1962–1969)
- Mike Hugg – drums, vibes, keyboards (1962–1969)
- Paul Jones – vocals, hand percussion, harmonica (1962–1966)
- Mike Vickers – guitar, alto saxophone, flute, backing vocals (1962–1965)
- Dave Richmond – bass (1962–1964)
- Tom McGuinness – bass (1964–1965), guitar (1965–1969), backing vocals (1964–1969)
- Jack Bruce – bass, backing vocals (1965–1966; died 2014)
- Klaus Voormann – bass, recorder, flute, saxophone, backing vocals (1966–1969)
- Mike d'Abo – vocals, keyboards (1966–1969)
Timeline
Note: Only the most notable roles are mentioned; most of the members played many instruments.
Discography
UK albums
- The Five Faces of Manfred Mann (1964)
- Mann Made (1965)
- As Is (1966)
- Up the Junction (1968)
- Mighty Garvey! (1968)
US albums
- The Manfred Mann Album (1964)
- The Five Faces of Manfred Mann (1965)
- My Little Red Book of Winners! (1965)
- Mann Made (1965)
- Pretty Flamingo (1966)
- Up the Junction (1968)
- The Mighty Quinn (1968)
References
- ^ "The Foote Files: Manfred Mann". CBS News. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
Manfred Mann was a British blues/rock quintet formed in England in the late 1950s.
- ^ a b Eder, Bruce. "Manfred Mann Biography by Bruce Eder". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
An R&B band that only played pop to get on the charts
- ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (14 October 2021). "60s hitmakers Manfred Mann: 'I've sung this 10,000 times and never liked it!'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
it is perfect evidence of how different Manfred Mann was from their contemporaries in what was then called the beat boom. [...] In fact, it's impressive how deftly Manfred Mann navigated the ever changing landscape of late-60s pop, releasing singles that hinted at a variety of trends – psychedelia, Kinks-y social satire, post-flower-power rootsiness
- ^ ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- ^ "The story of pop: Episode 12: England Swings". BBC. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-072-5.
- ^ a b "Interview with Mike Hugg". Retrosellers.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 121. CN 5585.
- ^ Jazz4now – The Dave Richmond Home Page Archived 1 August 2012 at archive.today "'5-4-3-2-1' was recorded before I left the band, in fact I still receive PPL payments every time it is broadcast" – Dave Richmond
- ^ a b c Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 160. CN 5585.
- ^ "Manfred Mann – Instrumental Assassination – Fontana – UK – TE 17483". 45cat. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 185. CN 5585.
- ^ "104.5 Classic Rock - Biography - Manfred Mann". 104.5 Classic Rock. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Manfred Mann's Earth Band – History Of The Band Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Platform End On-Line
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 381. CN 5585.
External links
- Media related to Manfred Mann (musical group) at Wikimedia Commons
- Mike D'Abo Interview
- Manfred Mann discography at Discogs
- Manfred Mann at IMDb