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November 2007  Eastern Daily Express

November 2007

MANFRED MANN : Down the Road Apiece http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/reflections/index.html?loc=interstitialskip

UNCUT, November 2007

MANFRED MANN : Down the Road Apiece

Record Collector, 2007

MANFRED MANN : Down the Road Apiece 

From Scarborough's 'Up For It' mag

Forget that Paul Jones is probably one of the best harmonica players you’ll ever see – forget that he’s 63, tonight just like the Likely Lads we once were, we all realised “whatever happened to us, whatever happened to me”. We knew what became of the people we used to be! Fuck it we grew up! But for a while as the band played Pretty Flamingo – we were back there – dancing along with the mini skirts and purple hearts, cheap beer and tobacco smoke, black leather BSA’s and zoot suite Vespas. All reliving forgotten youth - fuck me if you could bag it and sell it you’d be a millionaire. Long may we all burn and rave at the close of day. As the other Dylan once sang – “May God bless and keep you always, may your wishes all come true, may you stay forever young!”

The Manfreds at Chiddingfold 25th September 2004

Having been talked into attending this gig by Paul Jones only the previous week it was with great anticipation that I made the two hour journey to Chiddingfold to see The Manfreds on “The Cats Will Play Tour”. Six dates (without Mike d’Abo) with the band going back to their jazz/blues musical roots.

On arriving in the village I made my way to the Chiddingfold Club, a most unlikely looking venue until I realised that the hall the gig was to take place in was behind the ‘members only’ social club at the front of the building (for a moment I imagined the band performing amongst snooker tables and dartboards). Having found the back entrance to the hall and found Paul and the rest of the gang I then settled down on one of the few chairs available (the gig was to be standing only) to watch the band rehearse and run through a few songs. It was a real taster of what was to come and showed that this was going to be a very special evening. The doors were due to open at 8.00 p.m. so at about 7.40 p.m. the band stopped to have supper sitting round the hall balancing plates of food on their knees. 8.00 p.m. came and the doors opened letting in the expectant audience of about 350 people. I quickly took up my place right in front of the stage, I had not come all this way to have my view obscured by anyone! The band stayed out in the hall until about 8.20 p.m. chatting and then went backstage to get ready for the show to begin.

They came on stage at 8.40 p.m. and started the show with a brilliant rendition of “Oh No Not My Baby” followed by “Don’t Ask Me What I Say”. Amongst the other songs played in the first half of the show were “Smokestack Lightning”, “Driva Man”, “Sister Sadie” and  “Groovin’” all performed with great enthusiasm and with great musical arrangements. As the flyer for “The Cats Will Play Tour” said, this was The Manfreds  “in a jazzier mood” playing “the hits and more as you’ve never heard them before”. In fact it got me thinking, was this really The Manfreds or a re-incarnation of The Blues Band? Actually it was something in between. For fans of both bands this was heaven (the only thing missing was Dave’s slide guitar). Also included in the first half was Tom’s “Loosing You Put The Blues In Me” a great track from his solo CD and “Pretty Flamingo” which was definitely done as you’ve never heard it before. Actually the treatment given to the hits throughout the evening was interesting. I know some people would say why fix what isn’t broken, but the changes to the songs were subtle and made them fit comfortably into the playlist without appearing to be played just because they were the hits and therefore expected to be included. The first half of the show came to a close at about 9.55 p.m. The interval lasted about 25 minutes which gave the audience time to get some liquid refreshment from the bar set up at the back of the hall.

The second half started with one of the highlights of the evening. A brilliant solo version by Paul and his harmonica of “Without You”. It really was one of the best performances of this song I’ve heard. Absolutely breathtaking. The rest of the band then rejoined Paul on stage and gave us, amongst others, “My Little Red Book”, “54321”, “Sha La La”,  “Malt and Barley Blues”, “Watermelon Man” and “Come Tomorrow”. During the show the band also played three songs from their recent CD’s “Maximum Manfreds” and “Uncovered”. They were “Free”, “On Broadway” and “My Girl”. In a way it would have been nice to hear some more Manfreds originals rather than these covers but I guess they were included for two reasons. The first being that those in the audience who were unfamiliar with the Manfreds material would have known these well known songs and the second being an excuse to mention Shirley and the CD’s for sale at the back of the hall! Having said that they did fit in well with the rest of the set and highlighted the fact that The Manfreds are still recording new material even if it is covers of other people’s songs. During the show we were also treated to the usual solos by Mike, Rob and Marcus and also a great instrumental featuring Simon. The show came to an end at about 11.30 p.m. and the band left the stage leaving everyone shouting for more. Of course the band came back to give us more in the shape of “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” which was a great version and had everyone singing along, a brilliant end to an amazing evening.

The band really gave us all a great evening’s entertainment. The only people who may have been disappointed by the evening were the one’s who came expecting to hear the hits as they remembered them and Mike d’Abo singing “The Mighty Quinn” and “Fox On The Run” etc. As for us dedicated Manfreds fans we went home with wonderful memories of an amazingly talented band who gave us something different for the evening and gave us all a reminder of their musical roots.

Judith Rookledge

The Times, 24 March 2004

What primes Libby Purves's Pump?  Uh huh, it's The Manfreds.

I couldn't believe it.  Nobody could.  Beneath generously cut dinner-jackets hearts accelerated.  Balding heads gleamed with emotion and matronly bosoms rose and fell beneath sparkly tops.  Annual conferences in gale-lashed sea-front hotels tend to be a bit short on surprises, but this one was all of a flutter/

"Who?  Oh, a tribute band.  Not a tribute band?  You mean it's them?  They must be well over 60 ...."

It was them: the Manfreds.  No sooner had the detritus of the awards ceremony for Best Recruitment Advertising been cleared off the podium than the drums rolled back the years.  If you discount the Stones, most of the Sixties bands still roaming the provinces are either tribute acts or, as the Temperance Seven's website coyly puts it, "since 1957 they have prospereed through many personnel changes."

The Manfreds, on the other hand, field three of their original members (back when they were called Manfred Mann, after their then leader) including the drummer, Mike Hugg and the lead singer Paul Jones ("The one in the middle goes hey diddle diddle and stands there looking sweet") as well as his replacement, Mike d'Abo.  They split up in 1969; in 1991 they reformed.  Jones, spookily, looks exactly the same as he did when I bunked off at 15 to see him, except that now he sings dressed as a middle manager in a grey suit and tie. D'Abo looks a bit more battered, and neither is immune to the small mishaps of elderly gentlemen; in December d'Abo fell over on stage at Buxton, and a little later Jones fell backwards over a monitor at the London Palladium.

But there they were, swinging away, 40 years on the band Bob Dylan described in 1964 as "real groovy".  As astonishment faded to glee, decorous delegates punched the air to Ha! Ha! Said the Clown and stamped to The Mighty Quinn. "Do you know, " said one senior executive, "Paul Jones is older than most chief personnel officers in metropolitan authorities?"

Memories flowed back: mine concerned a battle against the nuns of Tunbridge Wells over the Dylan lyric: "If you gott a go, go now, or else you gotta stay all night."  They had previously banned the Stones' (I can't get no) Satisfaction from our school discos on the dual grounds of poor grammar and immorality.  We finally managed to persuade them that the Manfreds were being chivalrous, offering the girl a chance to leave.  The debate seems incredible in the age of gangsta rap, whose put-upon ho's rarely even get the offer of a whole night.

What is it about Sixties rockers that keeps them going, and makes them far from ludicrous?  Swaying happily in my corner, watching music hypnotise even the snake-hipped young from the ad agencies, I saw several reasons.  For one, these guys came out of jazz and blues, whose practioners assume longevity.  They weren't manufactured and studio-polished to mime on Top of the Pops; they link to an older trouper tradition.

For another, they never took themselves too seriously, especially the Manfreds.  When they were in the pop charts, they knew it was doo-wah-diddy nonsense; when they started to fade they split up to act or form cultish bands.  Finally, remember that these are Fifties kids: postwar, free-milk chidlren whose rebellions were innocuous and who grew into that pleasing, Oldie magazine frivolity that rises above middle age and one's growing tendency to fall over.

Record Collector # 270  February 2002

The Manfreds MAXIMUM MANFREDS

Not content with being one of the finest group of elder statesmen on the circuit - with Paul Jones looking even better than 30 years ago - the supremely talented Manfreds recently took a few days out to record an organic real-time, real-instruments album of their favourite songs. Choosing numbers that they wished they'd got to record first time around, they moved effortlessly through 14 quality covers, breathing new life into them.

Their versions of 'My Girl' and 'Bring It On Home To Me', currently added to their live set, are beautifully sung and played.  They rock convincingly on 'The Letter', 'I Hear You Knocking' and 'Got To Get You Into My Life', and give a fresh take on The Supremes' 'Where Did Our Love Go?'.  Ending with a less schmaltzy 'What A Wonderful World', this album is a fine representation of a fine group who still have loads of fresh ideas.

- Kingsley Abbott

Nottingham Evening Post. 8th October 1999.  Talent That is Timeless
Maximum Rhythm & Blues, Royal Concert Hall.

Paul Jones has defied the ravages of time. The lithe, musical athlete of the 60’s has changed little over more than 30 years and his harmonica playing and vocals are still unsurpassed in British R&B circles.  So when he fronted this 40-venue revival show, you knew it was going to be a bit special.

In the event, that is an understatement because the teaming up of the Manfreds – five of the original Mann band with Benny Gallagher and drummer Rob Townsend – and fellow hit makers Alan Price, Chris Farlowe and Colin Blunstone proved a master stroke.  Here was entertainment at its very best, the hall echoing to a stream of songs too good to ever die.  If we all finished up hoarse with singing along to such greats as Do Wah Diddy, 5-4-3-2-1 and The Mighty Quinn, it was the least we could do in such exalted, inspired company.

Jones apart, most of the line up was barely recognisable. Farlowe for instance, once a gaunt, almost waif like figure, was several stones heavier and white haired.  Yet he proved with his biggest hit Out Of Time, written for him by Mick Jagger, that talent is timeless.  So did Price and the rest of the gang, not least Mike D’Abo.

If there’s better value for money than this, I’ll play my banjo on stage naked.

Irish News (Belfast) Saturday 16th October, 1999.  Golden Age Revisited with the Main Mann

Anyone seriously doubting that the 60s was a golden age for pop music would have surely been converted by the Maximum R&B Show in Belfast’s Waterfront hall.  The Manfreds and their guests Alan Price, Chris Farlowe and Colin Blunstone provided a show that was fast paced, slick and likeable entertainment, a true nostalgia fest for the enthusiastic middle aged audience.

The Manfreds – under their original name of Manfred Mann – had eight hits with Paul Jones as vocalist and another seven with his replacement Mike D’Abo and both vocalists have joined the reunion.  Thus we had D’Abo animatedly delivering Ha Ha Said The Clown, Just Like A Woman and Fox On The Run, while Jones, a consummate showman, contributed the likes of 5-4-3-2-1 and the irresistible Pretty Flamingo and showed the evening’s fleetest footwork when, at one point, he just narrowly managed to save himself from tumbling off stage.

The Manfreds' guests all impressed during their mini-sets.  Colin Blunstone delighted many with his pure vocals on Zombies’ hits like She’s Not There and solo hits like I Don’t Believe in Miracles; Chris Farlowe’s raw soulful vocals were magnificent on Out Of Time, All Or Nothing and others; and Alan Price ("I’d like to thank all the Manfreds for bringing me out of retirement as a bingo caller") was outstanding on classics such as Oh Lucky Man and House of the Rising Sun.

Lancashire Evening Post (Preston) Thursday 28th October 1999. Hey, Mann, just where’s the hotel? Review: Maximum Rhythm & Blues

A good band knows exactly when to leave the crowd baying for more.  In the case of Manfred Mann – for it is they performing under the innocuous "Maximum Rhythm ‘n’ Blues" tag – they know it is exactly 10.45pm, which gives you time to get to the Stanley Arms, order a double round and perform the autopsy on an excellent night of music.

As we left the pub, unanimously lauding one damn fine gig, we met a bewildered Mike D’Abo and Mike Hugg – ironically billed in the Guild Hall programme as Mike Rugg, considering his lack of hair – looking for their hotel.  That is the thing about the Manfreds, as they are now known following the departure of their founder member. They might provide two and a half hours of storming R&B in front of an appreciative audience, but they’re still the kind of blokes who’ll lump their own gear out of a venue and ask directions to an hotel. 

The Manfreds now include Benny Gallagher, bringing his Gallagher & Lyle hit Heart On My Sleeve to the set, Chris Farlowe, and special principle guests Alan Price and Colin Blunstone, to provide a multi-layered music event.  This isn’t R&B as hijacked by sweet voiced soul singers. This is the real deal: drums; keyboards; two, three guitars, and the wonderful Paul Jones, taking sips from the fountain of youth (mid 50’s; looks 30) while the rest are downing Evian.  So we have Pretty Flamingo, 5-4-3-2-1, a storming Do Wah Diddy, Out of Time, and House of the Rising Sun. Songs that defined a generation. And they’re still taking their own kit back to the hotel. Working class heroes.

Liverpool Echo. Friday 29th October 1999. The Golden Smile Review: Maximum R&B

When performers are beaming as much as the audience you know you are experiencing something extra special.  John from Walton could hardly contain his excitement. He came up to tell me all about the slick piece of showmanship he has just seen and heard. He had to tell someone.

The Maximum Rhythm & Blues package sees rock’s elder statesmen on a 40 day tour that crams golden oldies into a stunning three-hour concert.  The Manfreds – 80% of the original band – included singers Paul Jones and Mike D’Abo, who acted as conductors of an orchestrated celebration of some of the best pop songs of the last four decades.  The Manfreds’ covers of Bob Dylan’s standards were complimented by their own array of hits from 5-4-3-2-1 to Ha Ha Said The Clown, with Jones superb on the harmonica and D’Abo sparking on the keyboards.

Then the many guests came and went.  Colin Blunstone’s voice was exquisite as ever on the romantic I Don’t Believe In Miracles and Say You Don’t Mind.  Chris Farlowe, older but just as bluesy, gave a thumping version of his own trademark Out Of Time which sounded as fresh as when you first heard it on the radio.  After the interval, Alan Price provided Geordie anecdotes in between his hits, notably Changes from the Oscar winning soundtrack from O Lucky Man.  His working class anthem Jarrow Song was rousing while his version of Randy Newman’s Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear defied you not to sing along.

Then there was the finale as the all star legendary line-up appeared on stage for a standing ovation.  John from Walton was still beaming as he went out into a moonlit Hope Street.  I swear I saw the Man in the Moon beaming, too. It was that kind of night.

South Wales Echo (Cardiff). Thursday 11th November 1999.  Proof that good Music never Dies  Review: The Manfreds. St Davids Hall, Cardiff.

It seems you couldn’t get away from the subject of Foxes- even at St. Davids Hall last night.  For the second song of the night from the Manfreds was, appropriately, after the days’ events their sixties’ hit Fox on the Run.  But there weren’t many takers when singer Paul Jones asked fans how many supported the massive Countryside Alliance march earlier in the day.

The seven piece outfit, fronted by Jones and Mike D’Abo, were joined on stage for some of the best music of the 1960’s by ex-Animals man, Alan Price, Colin Blunstone of Zombies fame and Chris Farlowe, who each worked their way through four songs.  The now portly Farlowe turned in a splendid version of the Small Faces’ All or Nothing while Out of Time, a monster hit for him, left the audience buzzing.

The passing of more than three decades certainly has not diminished the talents and songs of The Manfreds, particularly the voice of Jones and the song writing skills of D’Abo. Slim as ever, Jones led the band through a string of great pop classics like Pretty Flamingo, The Mighty Quinn and Just Like A Woman proving once again that good music never dies.

The Guardian. Saturday 20th November 1999.  Still far out, Mann  Age has not withered them, nor their enthusiastic fans.  Dom Phillips on an R&B nostalgia trip.

Manfred Mann are one of the last British groups of the last 30 years to attempt a reunion tour. They’ve left it so late, they’ve swept up a few other stragglers as well, including former Animal Alan Price; Colin Blunstone, lead singer from the influential, if underrated Zombies; and former all-England skiffle champ (1957) Chris Farlowe, who reached number one in 1966 with a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Out of Time (though these days he is better known for his Islington militaria shop, called, yup, Out of Time).

Manfred Mann’s Maximum Rhythm & Blues tour claims to have reunited five original band members, though Manfred himself- who founded the band in 1962- is not one of them. But original singer/harmonica player Paul Jones, who left in the 60’s, is, along with his replacement Mike D’Abo: two frontmen who never actually played together. There are three other original Mann members on keyboards, guitar and sax. And, to complete the line-up, Benny Gallagher from Gallagher & Lyle on bass, who will later dedicate a song to his Grandson. Plus, there’s a gallery of hits- crisply delivered with a gutsy, cabaret panache- that are so embedded in the national consciousness nobody knows who sang them anymore.

At their Royal Albert Hall gig, Manfred Mann opened with 5-4-3-2-1, their breakthrough hit that became the theme for TV pop show Ready, Steady, Go. Blunstone came on for She’s Not There; then Farlowe sang Out of Time. With an audience well into its 40’s, it was like going to see a gig with your parents and their friends. There were whole families there: funky fathers in crisp jeans, their teenage sons crimson with shame. One twentysomething mod couple were there, seeking inspiration.

In one of his droll introductions, Alan Price jested by painting a vivid picture of the caravan in Weston-Super-Mare he lived in and the gravedigging job that supported him up until this tour. "I’d like to sing a song by songwriter Randy Newman", he announced from his double-decker organ. "And he was." The woman in front of me explains the joke to her husband.

The band returned for a rousing performance of House of the Rising Sun, made famous by the Animals and since ruined by generations of teenagers learning the guitar. A portly 40-year-old in casual slacks danced in the aisle. A 46th birthday dedication was announced from the stage. "There are people here who are reluctant to sing Do Wah Diddy Diddy in public," said youthful looking Paul Jones. "Some of them maybe teachers." There was a squeal from the woman behind me. This classic prompted the audience to struggle to its feet and start jiving. The Manfreds followed with a rollicking Mighty Quinn and then a soulfully happy If You Gotta Go, Go Now- two Bob Dylan songs the band turned into classics of their own.

The audience was lost in middle aged delirium and I was scared someone would have a hernia. They were having a fantastic time and when the band tried to leave the stage after an encore, the crowd simply wouldn’t let them. "You would never have behaved like this when you left home this evening." Jones chided from the stage. The crowd cheered their agreement.

Birmingham Evening Mail. Friday 26th November, 1999.  The Old Grey Rockin’ Test  Maximum Rhythm ‘n’ Blues. Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

There’s nothing like a bit of nostalgia and the Manfreds, Alan Price, Chris Farlowe and Colin Blunstone helped a packed Symphony Hall relive those heady days of the 60s and early 70s with a fun-packed two and a half hours of memories. 

With the musicians enjoying 40 British chart hits between them there was plenty of quality material to choose from. The Manfreds, featuring five original members - Paul Jones, Mike D’Abo, Tom McGuinness, Mike Vickers and Mike Hugg- remained on stage throughout, giving solid support to their special guests.  Farlowe and former Zombie Blunstone appeared in the first half, with Price kicking off the second with a rousing ‘Boom Boom’.  His deadpan humour was well to the fore, particularly during a rambling introduction to ‘Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear’, which featured a bizarre explanation as to how Randy Newman came to write the number. 

Paul Jones, still looking as if he’s still to reach his 40th birthday, shared lead vocals with Mike D’Abo who replaced him in Manfred Mann in 1966, with Jones jumping into the audience at one point to persuade fans to sing ‘Do Wah Diddy’ with him. "You may be a head teacher or a bank manager and feel very silly singing this but how do you think I feel. I’ve been doing it for 30 years," he said.

Various snippets from reviews of gigs around the country:

Music in Myrtle (Bradford): By the time The Manfreds took the stage it was clear that the crowd vastly exceeded last year's 25,000 who turned out to see Suzi Quatro.  The band was given a tremendous reception by the audience, who sang along enthusiastically to a string of hits form the 1960s.

Manfreds: Man what a concert!:  The Manfreds returned triumphantly to Lowestoft's Marina Theatre on Saturday night and again delighted an audience who demanded, and received, three encores, one of which was a remarkable exhibition of drumming techniques.  They rolled back the years in a dynamic display of musical virtuosity and show no signs of losing their appeal.  The strong line-up showed individual and collective talent in a truly memorable concert.

BAND STILL HAS '60s FRESHNESS: The Manfreds at St. George's Hall, Bradford. The Manfreds really are a remarkable phenomenon: seven middle-aged men making music they first played 25 or 30 years ago sound as fresh as if they had come to it only yesterday.  There is enthusiasm and polished professionalism from this band of accomplished pop and blues veterans from the 1960s.  Every one of them is a fine musician.  There are no clashing egos here.  Once again The Manfreds provided an evening of fine songs and glorious nostalgia which had the audience on their feet and yelling for more.

MANFRED MARVELS:  (Bournemouth Pavilion)  As all '60s swingers will remember, it was their beatnik-looking keyboard player who gave this outfit their original name - Manfred Mann.  Oddly, at this right-on reunion, he seems to have got lost en route - Mann overboard perhaps?  But with such musical talent displayed, it sure proved one thing - a mere one-man's backing band these boys never were.  All those pop hits from 54321 onwards came storming back better than the first time - pepped up with superb funky-style solos.  If you notice anyone singing Do Wha Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do all week, you'll know just what they've been to - magic!