Remembering “5-4-3-2-1” and other early hits from a band known lead by a keyboard player named Manfred Mann, it’s all too easy to see MANFRED MANN as a successful pop band which would go through jazzy permutations of MANFRED MANN CHAPTER THREE to become MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND and rule the waves for decades to come. However, a deeper look into that ’60s ensemble’s membership should reveal the collective as a musicians’ institution to rival Alexis Korner’s BLUES INCORPORATED and John Mayall’s THE BLUESBREAKERS, as Manfred’s friends in his endeavor included singers Paul Jones and Mike d’Abo, bassists Jack Bruce and Klaus Voormann, and trumpeter Henry Lowther to mention but a handful of future stalwarts of British scene. One could only imagine the allure of stories they are able to tell – and now, there’s a book coming out in June with those stories prepared for fans to devour.
Mann Made
Authored by Guy Mowbray who penned the “When the Screaming Stopped: The Small Faces Live 1965-1969” tome which was out in 2023, “Mann Made” promises to be a captivating read upon it’s publishing on May 22nd – and comfortable too, given it’s a 280-page hardcover edition.
“The book originated back in 2020,” says Guy. “I’d finished a book on THE SMALL FACES as a live act, and decided that my next project would be on the role of keyboards in Sixties rock and pop. I interviewed Manfred and a few weeks later, after a word with Tom McGuinness, the group’s guitarist, I decided to let rip with a full-blown book on MANFRED MANN. Manfred was one of the first rock/pop keyboard players in one sense – putting a Hohner Pianet on top of a Vox Continental in 1964. That’s how it stared, really. The band are one of quite a few ‘firsts’ with their use of the Mellotron in 1966 and with soundtracks for films. There were lots of talent when you scratch below the surface – and that goes for every member. They are all still alive, apart from Jack Bruce.”
