Manfred Mann

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Manfred Mann
Aankomst Manfred Mann (tweede van rechts) en zijn groep op Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 921-1860.jpg
Manfred Mann in 1968. (L-R): Klaus Voormann, Tom McGuinness, Mike d'Abo, Manfred Mann and Mike Hugg
Background information
Also known asMann-Hugg Blues Brothers
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active1962–1969
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.

Contents

Prominent in the Swinging London scene of the 1960s, the group regularly appeared in the UK Singles Chart. [5] [6] Three of their most successful singles, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Pretty Flamingo", and "Mighty Quinn", topped the UK charts. [6] The band's 1964 hit "5-4-3-2-1" was the theme tune for the ITV pop music show Ready Steady Go! . [7] They were also the first southern-England-based group to top the US Billboard Hot 100 during the British Invasion. [6]

History

Beginnings (1962–1963)

The MannHugg Blues Brothers were formed in London [7] by keyboard player Manfred Mann and drummer/vibes/piano player Mike Hugg, [4] who formed a house band in Clacton-on-Sea that also featured Graham Bond. [8] Bringing a shared love of jazz to the British blues boom then sweeping London's clubs, the band was completed by Mike Vickers on guitar, alto saxophone and flute, bassist Dave Richmond and Paul Jones as lead vocalist and harmonicist. [4] By this time they had changed their name to Manfred Mann & the Manfreds. Gigging throughout late 1962 and early 1963, they soon attracted attention for their distinctive sound.

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 theme tune for the ITV pop music television programme Ready Steady Go! [7] They responded with "5-4-3-2-1" which, with the help of weekly television exposure, rose to No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. [6] Shortly after "5-4-3-2-1" was recorded, Richmond left the band, [10] though he would record with them occasionally later. He was replaced by Jones' friend Tom McGuinness—the first of many changes. After a further self-penned hit, "Hubble Bubble (Toil And Trouble)", the band struck gold with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", a cover version of the Exciters' No. 78 Hot 100 hit earlier that year. [7] The track reached the top of the UK, Canadian, and US charts.

Billboard advertisement, August 29, 1964 Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Billboard ad 1964.jpg
Billboard advertisement, August 29, 1964

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, "Sha La La" [6] (originally by the Shirelles), which also reached No. 12 in the US and Canada, and followed it with the sentimental "Come Tomorrow" (originally by Marie Knight) but both were of a noticeably lighter texture than their earliest output. Meanwhile, "B" sides and four-song EPs showcased original material and instrumental solos. The group also returned to jazz and R&B themes on their albums: their first, 1964's The Five Faces of Manfred Mann , included standards such as "Smokestack Lightning" [7] while the second and last with this line-up, Mann Made , offered several self-composed instrumentals and a version of "Stormy Monday Blues" alongside novelties and pop ballads. With a cover of Maxine Brown's "Oh No Not My Baby" began a phase of new depth and sophistication in the arrangements of their singles. The group began its string of successes with Bob Dylan songs with a track on the best-selling EP The One in the Middle , "With God on Our Side", next reaching No. 2 in the UK with "If You Gotta Go, Go Now". [6] The EP's title track reached the British top ten singles, the last self-written song (by Jones) and the band's last R'n'B workout to do so. The run climaxed with a second UK No. 1 single, "Pretty Flamingo", produced by John Burgess.

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 National Steel Guitar to "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" and "Pretty Flamingo", and was replaced on bass by Jack Bruce, who had been playing for the Graham Bond Organisation [6] for some time before a recent brief stint with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. In his brief tenure before leaving to form Cream, Bruce played on "Pretty Flamingo" and on the EP Instrumental Asylum (for which he and wind instrumentalists Henry Lowther and Lyn Dobson were included in the sleeve photo of the group), which began the group's experiments with instrumental versions of chart songs. Bruce was replaced by Klaus Voormann. [7] The band changed record companies just afterward, although EMI quickly released an EP of earlier unissued 1963–66 era songs titled As Was (a play on the title of their then new 1966 album, As Is ), a hits compilation; Mann Made Hits (1966), an instrumental compilation LP that included one unissued instrumental track; Soul of Mann (1967); and, most controversially, used session players to complete the unfinished track "You Gave Me Somebody To Love" (c/w 'Poison Ivy"—both sung by Paul Jones) which made No. 36 in the UK singles chart, upsetting the group—hence McGuinness's wry comment "Manfreds disown new single" on the sleeve of their next studio album for their new record label.

Mike d'Abo years (1966–1969)

The band in 1966 Manfred Mann.png
The band in 1966
Manfred Mann & The Beatgirls on the Dutch TV programme Moef Ga Ga on 22 March 1968 ManfredMannAmsterdam.jpg
Manfred Mann & The Beatgirls on the Dutch TV programme Moef Ga Ga on 22 March 1968

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 Mann–Hugg soundtrack to the film Up the Junction in February, from which an edited title track coupled with the rare B-side "Sleepy Hollow" was issued as an unsuccessful UK single; and Mighty Garvey! in July. They had a resounding success with "Mighty Quinn", their third UK No. 1 and third hit Dylan song, [6] which also peaked at No. 3 in Canada and No. 10 in the US.

In June 1968, the following single, John Simon's "My Name is Jack", was recalled when the US company Mercury Records complained about the phrase "Super Spade" in the lyrics, which referred to a Haight-Ashbury drug dealer. The release was delayed by a week until the offending name was re-recorded as "Superman", [13] but the UK hit single version retained the original lyric. Their December 1968 release, "Fox on the Run", reached No. 5 in the UK. [4]

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 jingles at the time of the group's demise, but continued to work together in a group format [4] with Manfred Mann Chapter Three, an experimental jazz rock band described by Mann as an over-reaction to the hit factory of the Manfred Mann group. [15] For a moment their musical worlds coincided: a TV cigar advertisement, a long track from Chapter Three's first album Travellin' Lady, and "A "B" Side", the flip of the old group's last single, all used the same riff.

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), Colin Pattenden (bass guitar) and Chris Slade (drums and vocals). In its very earliest stages, the band was simply billed as 'Manfred Mann' and thus a continuation of the 1960s group. The quartet (as 'Manfred Mann') released their first single, Dylan's "Please, Mrs. Henry", in 1971. Their second single, Randy Newman's "Living Without You", was also released by 'Manfred Mann' in Europe, but by 'Manfred Mann's Earth Band' in the US, where the track became a minor chart hit. From 1972 onward 'Manfred Mann's Earth Band' was the band name used on all releases by this group, and they are considered a separate band from Manfred Mann.

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 with Dave Berry, 1967 ManfredMannDaveBerry.jpg
Manfred Mann with Dave Berry, 1967

Timeline

Note: Only the most notable roles are mentioned; most of the members played many instruments.

Manfred Mann

Discography

UK albums

US albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Jones (singer)</span> Musical artist

Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonicist, radio personality and television presenter. He first came to prominence as the original lead singer and harmonicist of the rock band Manfred Mann (1962–66) with whom he had several hit records including "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "Pretty Flamingo". After leaving the band, Jones established a solo career and notably starred as a deified pop star in the film Privilege (1967). He presented The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2 for thirty-two years, from 1986 to 2018, and continues to perform alongside former Manfred Mann bandmates in the Blues Band and The Manfreds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike d'Abo</span> English singer and songwriter

Michael David d'Abo is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of Manfred Mann from 1966 to their dissolution in 1969, and as the composer of the songs "Handbags and Gladrags" and "Build Me Up Buttercup", the latter of which was a hit for The Foundations. With Manfred Mann, d'Abo achieved six top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart including "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James", "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" and the chart topper "Mighty Quinn".

Michael Graham Vickers is an English musician who came to prominence as the guitarist, flautist, and saxophonist with the 1960s band Manfred Mann.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just Like a Woman</span> 1966 song by Bob Dylan

"Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his seventh studio album, Blonde on Blonde (1966). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. Dylan allegedly wrote it on Thanksgiving Day in 1965, though some biographers doubt this, concluding that he most likely improvised the lyrics in the studio. Dylan recorded the song at Columbia Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee in March 1966. The song has been criticized for supposed sexism or misogyny in its lyrics, and has received a mixed critical reaction. Some critics have suggested that the song was inspired by Edie Sedgwick, while other consider that it refers to Dylan's relationship with fellow folk singer Joan Baez. Retrospectively, the song has received renewed praise, and in 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Dylan's version at number 232 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. A shorter edit was released as a single in the United States during August 1966 and peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single also reached 8th place in the Australian charts, 12th place on the Belgium Ultratop Wallonia listing, 30th in the Dutch Top 40, and 38th on the RPM listing in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manfred Mann (musician)</span> South African-born musician

Manfred Sepse Lubowitz, known professionally as Manfred Mann, is a South African-born musician, resident in the UK since 1961. He is best known as a founding member of the bands Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann Chapter Three and Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom McGuinness (musician)</span> Musical artist

Thomas John Patrick McGuinness is a guitarist, songwriter, author, record and TV producer, who played bass and later guitar with popular 60s rock band, Manfred Mann.

The Manfreds is a British pop group, formed in 1991 as a reunion of former members of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann, however without their eponymous founder Manfred Mann.

<i>Mighty Garvey!</i> 1968 studio album by Manfred Mann

Mighty Garvey! is the fifth and final studio album by Manfred Mann, released on 28 June 1968 by Fontana Records. It was the last recorded by the band after the change of direction and personnel of their 1966 album As Is. It continued a transition away from jazz and blues towards self-composed art-pop. Despite including two UK top 5 hit singles, the album did not chart and the band split up the year after. In the US and Canada, it was released as The Mighty Quinn by Mercury Records.

"5-4-3-2-1" is a 1964 song by British band Manfred Mann. It was written by Mann, Mike Hugg and Paul Jones, and peaked at #5 on the UK Singles Chart thanks to weekly television exposure from being the theme tune for the ITV pop music television programme Ready Steady Go!. This would be the last single released before bass player Dave Richmond left the band.

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<i>Mann Made</i> 1965 studio album by Manfred Mann

Mann Made is the second British and fourth American studio album by Manfred Mann, released in October 1965 on His Master's Voice in the United Kingdom, and November 1965 on Ascot Records in the United States. It was the group's final recording project with original members Mike Vickers and Paul Jones, as well as their last to be recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, before switching to Fontana Records.

<i>As Is</i> (album) 1966 studio album by Manfred Mann

As Is is the third British studio album by Manfred Mann, released in the United Kingdom on 21 October 1966 through Fontana Records. It was their fourth overall but their first to feature new members Mike d'Abo and Klaus Voormann.

<i>Instrumental Assassination</i> 1966 EP by Manfred Mann

Instrumental Assassination is a 1966 jazz-rock EP by Manfred Mann, produced by Shel Talmy and released by Fontana Records (TE17483). Mann reported that the group "loved it" and the producer was "particularly pleased": Fontana's Jack Baverstock found it full of ideas, humour and new thinking, but the EP sold poorly and was re-released in its entirety on the 1968 Fontana compilation album What A Mann.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Little Red Book</span> 1965 song

"My Little Red Book" (occasionally subtitled "(All I Do Is Talk About You)") is a song composed by American songwriter Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David. The duo were enlisted by Charles K. Feldman to compose the music to Woody Allen's film What's New Pussycat? following a chance meeting between Feldman and Bacharach's fiancé Angie Dickinson in London. "My Little Red Book" was composed in three weeks together with several other songs intended for the movie. Musically, the song was initially composed in the key of C major, largely based on a re-iterating piano riff performed. David's lyrics tells the tale of a distraught lover, who after getting dumped by his girlfriend browses through his "little red book" and taking out several girls to dance in a vain effort to get over her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ha! Ha! Said the Clown</span>

"Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" is a song written by Tony Hazzard, first recorded by British pop group Manfred Mann. Hazzard claims the song "came out of the blue" though he did not demo it for weeks. Following recording a demo, he approached manager Gerry Bron, who liked it enough to want one of his groups, Manfred Mann, to record it. Manfred Mann recorded their version of the single on 10 February 1967 at Philips Studio in Marble Arch, London, together with producer Shel Talmy. It was the second of three singles Manfred Mann recorded to feature the Mellotron.

<i>As Was</i> 1966 EP by Manfred Mann with Paul Jones

As Was is an EP by Manfred Mann, released in 1966. The EP is a 7-inch vinyl record and released in mono with the catalogue number His Master's Voice-EMI 7EG 8962.

"My Name Is Jack" is a song written by American record producer John Simon and released as a single by British group Manfred Mann in 1968. Their version reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. It became an international Top 10 hit, but only reached number 104 in the US.

<i>The Manfred Mann Album</i> 1964 studio album by Manfred Mann

The Manfred Mann Album is the debut American studio album by Manfred Mann, released in September 1964 on Ascot Records. It contains the hit single "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", as well as covers of well-known R&B hits such as "Smokestack Lightning" by Howlin' Wolf, "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" by Muddy Waters, and "Down the Road Apiece" by Will Bradley. Modern reviews of the album are generally positive and consider The Manfred Mann Album an important piece during the heydey of the British Invasion.

<i>The Five Faces of Manfred Mann</i> 1964 studio album by Manfred Mann

The Five Faces of Manfred Mann is the debut British and second American studio album by Manfred Mann. It was first released in the United Kingdom on 11 September 1964 by His Master's Voice. In late October/early November, the album was released in Canada by Capitol Records. The Canadian track listing was almost the same as the UK version, except it included the hit "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" instead of "I've Got My Mojo Working". The record has been called "one of the great blues-based British invasion albums; it's a hot, rocking record that benefits from some virtuoso playing as well".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James</span> 1966 single by Manfred Mann

"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" is a song written by songwriters Geoff Stephens and John Carter, recorded by English pop group Manfred Mann in 1966. Stephens and Carter, who were writers for a publishing company on Denmark Street, London, wrote the song in a style different from their usual compositions, as love was not the prevalent theme. Introduced to the song by producer Shel Talmy, Manfred Mann recorded it at Philips Studio in August 1966. Released by Fontana Records on 21 October 1966, the song was backed by drummer Mike Hugg's composition "Morning After The Party" as the group's second single on the label. Keyboardist Manfred Mann plays the Mellotron on the recording; it was one of the earliest recordings featuring the instrument. Following a trend set by Bob Dylan, the song tackles the subject of life in British middle class suburbia from the perspective of a narrator, who laments the loss of a lover after her marriage to another man.

References

  1. "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.
  2. 1 2 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
  3. 1 2 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
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (fifth ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 603–606. ISBN   1-84195-017-3.
  5. "The story of pop: Episode 12: England Swings". BBC. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Ltd. pp. 345–346. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia (first ed.). London: Guinness Publishing Ltd. p.  258. ISBN   0-85112-072-5.
  8. 1 2 "Interview with Mike Hugg". Retrosellers.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  9. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 121. CN 5585.
  10. 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
  11. 1 2 3 Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 160. CN 5585.
  12. "Manfred Mann – Instrumental Assassination – Fontana – UK – TE 17483". 45cat. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  13. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 185. CN 5585.
  14. "104.5 Classic Rock - Biography - Manfred Mann". 104.5 Classic Rock. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  15. Manfred Mann's Earth Band – History Of The Band Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Platform End On-Line
  16. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 381. CN 5585.