Man Raze

Last updated

Manraze
Manraze02.jpg
Man Raze performing live
Background information
Origin Finchley, London, England
Genres Alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock [1]
Years active2004–present
LabelsSurrealist Records VH1 Classic Records, Rocket Science Ventures
Members Phil Collen
Simon Laffy
Paul Cook
Website www.manraze.com

Man Raze are an English three-piece alternative rock band originally from Finchley, London, England formed in 2004, featuring Phil Collen, Simon Laffy and Paul Cook.

Contents

History

Phil Collen made fans aware of the band for the first time during a 28 November 2004 interview with Braveworlds & Bloody Knuckles online magazine. Stating "I was over in England this summer and I met up with Simon Laffy, who used to be the bass player in my old band, Girl, and Paul Cook, who was the drummer in The Sex Pistols. We've got this new band called Man-Raze". [2] In January 2005 Phil appeared on the Jonsey's Jukebox radio show with Def Leppard, hosted by Cook's former Sex Pistols bandmate Steve Jones. The demo version of "Skin Crawl" was broadcast during the show. [3] This was the first time any Man Raze music had been made public.[ citation needed ]

Debut live show + single (2005)

Man Raze played a sold-out show at the Spitz club near Old Spitalfields Market in London, England, on 27 September 2005. The band played to an intimate crowd of just 200 people including fans, friends and family and the media. Nine new songs were debuted and the band received rave reviews in the press. [4] Man Raze then released their first single called "Skin Crawl" as a maxi-single CD on 31 October 2005 in the UK. [5] The single was released on their own label, Surrealist Records. [6] It featured four tracks including a remix of the single and an instrumental dub version of 'Runnin' Me Up'. [7] The single reached number 9 on the UK Top 40 Rock Singles Chart.[ citation needed ]

Having played their first live show the band realised they were more of a straight ahead rock band and began to tone down their experimental side. Work continued on the debut album, titled "Surreal". Much of the album was re-worked and re-recorded at Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott's home studio in Dublin during April 2006.[ citation needed ]

New website and digital download (2007)

In June 2007 the band re-launched their official website and added a new digital store. At this time they also released their second single. "Turn It Up", which was part of a digital bundle that also featured album track 'Connected To You' plus a newly recorded version of 'You're So Wrong'. The promo video for 'Turn It Up' was also included, the band's first video. Shot in black and white in a rehearsal studio. The song "Turn It Up" was featured on ESPN (American Sports Channel) College Football coverage. The album was due for release in September 2007 and then delayed to January 2008, due to external commitments of band members.

In June 2007, Man Raze made their first TV appearance on the UK channel Rockworld TV Performing three acoustic songs and being interviewed by Gary Crowley on his Gary Crowley Presents... show. The show was later re-broadcast and titled "Man Raze In Session".

Second live show and documentary (2008)

In March 2008, the band came together in California to rehearse and to film a documentary. Footage was shot for broadcast on TV and as bonus footage for the album release. On 19 March the band played their second live show at a rehearsal studio in Los Angeles. 15 members of the official online Man Raze Street Team won the chance to be there and meet the band. The band played nine songs, including three for the very first time. VH1 Classic in the US are set to broadcast footage from the show in June 2008.

Debut album release (2008)

The debut album Surreal was released in the USA on the VH1 Classic label on 3 June 2008. The album contains 12 tracks and the band aim to play live shows in between other band commitments. The song 'Turn It Up' was released to radio in the USA during May and a 30-second advert for the album was added to the VH1 Classic channel.

Surreal was released online on 14 May 2008 featuring a bonus Dub version of 'Turn It Up' and its video.

The band launched an official video channel on YouTube in May 2008. It features videos approved only by the band including live footage and interviews. During June 2008, 12 video clips were added to the channel previewing the documentary 'Man Raze The Film' which is due to be shown on TV later in the year.

UK album release/UK Tour (2008)

The debut album Surreal was released in the UK on 1 December 2008. It included a 5-track European bonus disc.

To support the release of the album in their homeland the band embarked on their first ever tour, playing four dates around the UK: 3 December at Manchester, 4 December at Birmingham, and 8–9 December at London.

UK Tour with Alice Cooper (2009)

After Def Leppard cancelled North American tour in late 2009 that Man Raze were going to support, the band were invited to support Alice Cooper on all of his UK dates in late November/early December 2009. [8]

Band members

Discography

Albums

Singles

Tours

ManRaze UK Tour with Alice Cooper 2009

DateCityCountryVenue
24 November 2009 Manchester England Apollo
25 November 2009 Glasgow Scotland Clyde Auditorium
27 November 2009 Newcastle England Newcastle City Hall
28 November 2009 Sheffield England Sheffield City Hall
29 November 2009 Swindon England Oasis Leisure Center Swindon
1 December 2009 Wolverhampton England Civic Hall
2 December 2009 Plymouth England Pavilions
4 December 2009 Nottingham England Royal Center
5 December 2009 Brighton England Brighton Centre
6 December 2009 London England Hammersmith Apollo

ManRaze UK Tour 2008

DateCityCountryVenue
3 December 2008 Manchester England Roadhouse
4 December 2008 Birmingham England Barfly
8 December 2008 Camden, London England Barfly
9 December 2008 Kings Cross, London England Monto Water Rats

ManRaze Past Shows

DateCityCountryVenue
19 March 2008 Los Angeles United States Mates Studios
27 September 2005 London England The Spitz

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Def Leppard</span> British rock band

Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell. They established themselves as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement of the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tesla (band)</span> American rock band

Tesla is an American rock band from Sacramento, California. In late 1981, bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon formed a band named City Kidd, which evolved into Tesla. By 1984, vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarist Tommy Skeoch, and drummer Troy Luccketta had joined the band, forming their classic lineup that appeared on all of the albums and live shows during their initial run. The band adopted the Tesla moniker shortly before recording their first album, as another band with a similar name already existed.

<i>Retro Active</i> 1993 compilation album by Def Leppard

Retro Active is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions from 1984 to 1993. The album charted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Clark</span> English musician (1960–1991)

Stephen Maynard Clark was an English musician. He was a songwriter and guitarist for the English hard rock band Def Leppard until 1991, when he died from alcohol poisoning. In 2007, Clark was ranked No. 11 on Classic Rock Magazine's "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". In 2019, Clark was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Def Leppard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girl (band)</span> English glam metal band

Girl were an English glam metal band formed in London in 1979. They split up in 1982 with band members going on to join Def Leppard and L.A. Guns, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Collen</span> British guitarist

Philip Kenneth Collen is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the Pyromania album. Prior to joining Def Leppard, Collen had performed with a number of bands in the burgeoning British glam metal scene. Outside of Def Leppard, with which he still records and performs live, he has been involved in a number of side projects most notably the trio Man Raze, with which he is the lead singer and sole guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bringin' On the Heartbreak</span> 1981 single by Def Leppard

"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a power ballad originally recorded by English rock band Def Leppard. It was the second single from their 1981 album High 'n' Dry. The song was written by three of the band's members: Steve Clark, Pete Willis, and Joe Elliott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Laffy</span> English novelist and bassist

Simon Laffy is an English novelist and bassist, a member of Man Raze and former member of Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Lewis (musician)</span> English singer

Philip Francis Lewis is an English singer and musician, best known as the vocalist and occasional guitarist for the American glam metal band L.A. Guns. Born in London, Lewis has lived and worked in the U.S. since the 1980s but was privately educated at Royal Russell School in Surrey.

The Dumb Blondes were an English glam rock band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pour Some Sugar on Me</span> 1987 single by Def Leppard

"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 23 July 1988, behind "Hold On to the Nights" by Richard Marx. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is considered the band's signature song, and was ranked #2 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" in 2006.

Sheer Greed were a short-lived British hard rock band formed in 1992 by former Girl members Gerry Laffy, Simon Laffy and Pete Barnacle, and by guitarist Neil Gabbitas. The band was apparently named after the Girl album Sheer Greed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armageddon It</span> 1987 single by Def Leppard

"Armageddon It" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the United States, becoming their 3rd top 10 hit. It also reached the top 10 in Canada and New Zealand and the top 20 in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photograph (Def Leppard song)</span> 1983 single by Def Leppard

"Photograph" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It is the lead single from the band's third studio album, Pyromania (1983). Their lead vocalist Joe Elliott has described the song as generally about "something you can't ever get your hands on". When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart, where it stayed for six weeks, and No. 12 on the Pop Singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)</span> 1992 single by Def Leppard

"Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" is a 1993 single by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album Adrenalize. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Album Rock charts, and #34 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was the fourth single from the Adrenalize album.

"Rock! Rock! " is a track by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1983 album, Pyromania. An edited version was released as a single in Mexico that same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Steps Behind</span> 1993 single by Def Leppard

"Two Steps Behind" is a song by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their album Retro Active and the soundtrack to the film Last Action Hero. It reached number five on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. In the 1993 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Awards, the song was voted "Song of the Year" and "Best Song from a Movie Soundtrack".

Surreal is the debut album from UK alternative rock band Man Raze. The album was written over a two-year period from 2004-2006 and recorded during April 2006 in Dublin in only two weeks. It features the singles "Skin Crawl" and "Turn It Up". The album was released in the USA on June 3, 2008. The UK Edition featuring a 5 track bonus disc is available from December 1, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Cook</span> English drummer for the Sex Pistols

Paul Thomas Cook is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene.

<i>Mirror Ball – Live & More</i> 2011 live album by Def Leppard

Mirror Ball – Live & More is a double live album by English rock band Def Leppard released on 7 June 2011. The first full-length live album released by the band, it contains live recordings, three new studio tracks and a DVD containing both concert and backstage footage.

References

  1. "Man Raze biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  2. Begai, Carl (5 November 2011). "BW&BK Interview: DEF LEPPARD – Best Before: 1987" . Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  3. "Paul Interview 25th May 2005". www.cookandjones.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  4. "16 Years Ago PHIL COLLEN's MANRAZE Play First Show In LONDON, England". Def Leppard Tour History. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  5. "Manraze Skin Crawl Single 2005". Def Leppard Tour History. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  6. "Surrealist Records". Discogs. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  7. Man Raze - Skin Crawl , retrieved 20 October 2022
  8. [ permanent dead link ]