Manfred Mann

Manfred Mann, British R&B-flavored rock band of the 1960s. membership:Manfred Mann (real name, Michael Lubowitz), kybd. (b. Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct. 21, 1940); Paul Jones (real name, Paul Pond), voc. (b. Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, Feb. 24, 1942); Michael Vickers, gtr. (b. Southampton, Hampshire, England, April 18,1941); Tom McGuinness, bs. (b. London, England, Dec. 2, 1941); Mike Hugg, drm. (b. Andover, Hampshire, England, Aug. 11, 1942). Later members included Jack Bruce, bs. (b. Glasgow, Scotland, May 14,1943); Klaus Voorman, bs. (b. Berlin, Germany, April 29, 1942); Mike D’Abo, voc. (b. Betchworth, Surrey, England, March 1, 1944).

Mike Lubowitz started studying piano at age six and moved to England from South Africa in 1961. In London, as Manfred Mann, he formed the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers with drummer Mike Hugg in late 1962. Following the addition of vocalist Paul Jones, the group became Manfred Mann. Debuting at London’s Marquee club in March 1963, the group quickly established themselves on the rhythm-and-blues club circuit, replacing their original bassist with Tom McGuinness at the beginning of 1964.

Signed to HMV Records (Ascot in the U.S.), Manfred Mann scored their first British hit with “5-4-3-2-l” in early 1964, followed by “Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble” and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich’s “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” a top British and American hit. After the major hit “Sha La La,” the group had a major British and minor American hit with “Come Tomorrow” and British-only hits with Carole King and Gerry Goffìn’s “Oh No Not My Baby” and Bob Dylan’s “If You Gotta Go, Go Now.”

In late 1965, Mike Vickers left Manfred Mann, as Tom McGuinness switched to guitar and Jack Bruce was recruited to play bass. Following the top British and major American hit “Pretty Flamingo,” the group switched to Fontana Records (Mercury in the U.S.). By the end of July 1966, Paul Jones had left Manfred Mann for a solo career and Jack Bruce had departed to form Cream. They were replaced by singer Mike D’Abo and German bassist Klaus Voorman. Jones starred in the 1967 movie Privilege and managed two smash British-only hits from the film, “High Time” and “I’ve Been a Bad Boy.” Manfred Mann continued to achieve British-only hits through 1969, including “Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. Jones,” “Ha! Ha! Said the Clown,” and “Fox on the Run,” but only Bob Dylan’s previously unrecorded “The Mighty Quinn” proved a top British and major American hit.

Manfred Mann disbanded in the middle of 1969, and Mann and Mike Hugg soon regrouped as the jazz-styled Chapter Three for one album. Mike D’Abo co- authored “Build Me Up Buttercup” (a smash British and American hit for the Foundations in 1968 and 1969) and authored “Handbags and Gladrags” (a moderate hit for Rod Stewart in 1972) and recorded two solo albums for A&M Records in the early 1970s. In 1971, Mann formed Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, scoring a British-only hit with “Joybringer” in 1973 and a top American hit with Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light” from The Roaring Silence, their best-selling album, in 1976. Realigned in 1979, The Earth Band endured until 1986.

Discography

manfred mann:The Manfred Mann Album (1964); The Five Faces of Manfred Mann (1965); My Little Red Book of Winners (1965); Mann Made (1966); Pretty Flamingo (1966); Up the Junction (soundtrack) (1968); The Mighty Quinn (1968). chapter three:Manfred Mann’s Chapter Three (1970). earth band:Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (1972); Glorified, Magnified (1972); Get Your Rocks Off (1973); Solar Fire (1974); The Good Earth (1974); Nightingales and Bombers (1975); The Roaring Silence (1976); Watch (1978); Angel Station (1979); Chance (1981); Somewhere in Afrika (1983).

—Broock Helander