Manfred Mann born 21 October 1940

  

Manfred Mann (born Manfred Sepse Lubowitz, 21 October 1940, Johannesburg, Transvaal, Union of South Africa) is a keyboard player best known as a founding member and namesake of Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann Chapter Three and Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

 

Lubowitz studied music at the University of the Witwatersrand, and worked as a jazz pianist at a number of clubs in Johannesburg. Between 1959 and 1961 he and his childhood friend Saul Ozynski recorded two albums as the Vikings – South Africa's first rock and roll band.

 

 

Strongly opposed to the apartheid system in his native South Africa, Lubowitz moved to the United Kingdom in 1961 and began to write for "Jazz News" under the pseudonym Manfred Manne (after jazz drummer Shelly Manne), which was soon shortened to Manfred Mann. The next year he met drummer and keyboard player Mike Hugg at Clacton Butlins Holiday Camp and together they formed a large blues-jazz band called the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers and with Paul Jones on vocals and harmonica and Mike Vickers on alto and clarinet and Dave Richmond on bass, dropped jazz for R&B.

 

They changed their name to Manfred Mann at the suggestion of the label's record producer, John Burgess after the group signed with His Master's Voice in March 1963. An immediate success on the rapidly expanding R&B club circuit, they made their first single, “Why Should We Not?” in July, 1963.   Their third release “5-4-3-2-1”, in January1964, coincided with Richmond’s replacement by Tom McGuinness; its gimmicky pop qualities made it the theme tune of British television’s Ready Steady Go! And a big hit. Thereafter Manfred Mann’s A-Sides – e.g. “Do Wah Diddy”, “Pretty Flamingo” stuck to a strong pop formula and from 1964 to 1969 they had a succession of hit records.

 

 

 

 

After various personnel changes the group split in 1969 and Mann immediately formed another outfit with Mike Hugg, Manfred Mann Chapter Three, an experimental jazz rock band. They disbanded after two albums, but Mann formed a new outfit in 1971, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, which still record and perform to this day. Their well-known hits include the No. 1 "Blinded by the Light", "Runner", which peaked at No. 22 and "Davy's On The Road Again".

 

Mann has also released solo projects under "Manfred Mann's Plain Music" and "Manfred Mann '06."

 

Manfred Mann used various keyboard instruments through his career, but he is especially famous for his solo performance on Minimoog synthesizer. His keyboard parts are often improvised, inspired by jazz.

 

 

Nowadays Manfred is still gigging with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and have dates coming up in Europe. He divides his time between London and Helsingborg, Sweden, where his partner, Jeannette, lives. His new album Lone Arranger, has just been released in the U.K.. (Info various mainly Wikipedia)

 

 

Manfred Mann performing Mighty Quinn on the Dutch music television series Moef Ga-Ga in 1968. Introduced by host Willem van Kooten (aka Joost den Draaier). Manfred Mann, Mike d'Abo, Mike Hugg, Tom McGuinness, Klaus Voorman.