Man (band)
Encyclopedia
Man are a rock band
from South Wales
whose style is a mixture of West Coast psychedelia
, progressive rock
, blues
and country-rock. Formed in 1968 as a reincarnation of Welsh
rock harmony group ‘’The Bystanders’’, Man are renowned for the extended jams in their live performances, and having had numerous line up changes.
who played numerous club residencies in Wales, often playing several clubs a night. The Bystanders issued eight singles, including "98.6" (#45 in UK Singles Chart
, in February 1967) which featured in the 2009 film
, The Boat That Rocked
(although Keith
's version was the bigger hit, reaching #24 in the UK) and "When Jesamine Goes", written by their manager Ronnie Scott
and Marty Wilde
under the pseudonym
s of Frere Manston and Jack Gellar, which was later covered
by The Casuals
as "Jesamine" and got to #2 in the UK Chart. They also recorded sessions of cover versions for the BBC
as rules restricting needle time
required "live" performances between the records during the 1960s; becoming regulars on the ’’Jimmy Young
Show’’, "The David Symonds Show" and others.
When formed in 1962 The Bystanders included Owen Money
, then known as Gerry Braden, but he was replaced by Vic Oakley, giving the classic line up of Micky Jones (guitar), Ray Williams (bass), Jeff Jones (drums), Clive John (aka Clint Space) (keyboards) and Vic Oakley (vocals). By 1968 the other members wanted to change musical direction to a more psychedelic/American west-coast guitar sound, so Oakley left, to be replaced by Deke Leonard
; and the band changed its name to Man.
, for whom they recorded their first two albums:- Revelation noted for the simulated orgasm on "Erotica", which received a UK ban, and 2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle
. Whilst mixing the second album, Leonard left, and was replaced by Martin Ace from Leonard’s previous band, Dream. At this time, Man were recording three demo sessions a week for Leeds Music, including Down the Dustpipe
which they taught to Status Quo.
Man then toured Europe, predominantly Germany, where they supported Chicago
, but on their return, were stopped as suspected terrorists, then jailed for drugs offences in Belgium. Leonard then rejoined, but Ace stayed on as a multi-instrumentalist. Shortly after, Ray Williams and Jeff Jones were fired, with Terry Williams
joining on drums and Ace moving to bass. Leonard, Ace and Terry Williams having been together in “Dream”, this was seen by some as a take-over.
A bootleg of the first gig by this line up, October 1970 in Hamburg, was issued as To Live for to Die and was later re-bootlegged by the band. Despite good reviews in Britain Two Ounces of Plastic ... was more popular in Germany, so the band spent a year in Germany, where, having to play 4–5 hours a night, most numbers became extended jams.
of United Artists Records
, for whom the band recorded the eponymous Man album, which received mixed reviews. Their media break came when outperforming Soft Machine
, Yes
and Family
at a concert in Berlin, but they continued to play on the continent. Having appeared on the United Artists sampler album, All Good Clean Fun
, they undertook a tour of Switzerland, to promote the album, together with Help Yourself
and Leicester band Gypsy.
The next album Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In?
recorded at Rockfield Studios
by Kingsley Ward, received good reviews, and the band played German TV and Iceland with Badfinger
. Constant touring was creating internal pressures, and in January 1972, John left the band, to form “Iowerth Pritchard and the Neutrons” with Phil Ryan
and Will Youatt.
The new four piece supported Hawkwind
and Brinsley Schwarz
at a charity gig at The Roundhouse on 13 February 1972, recorded and issued as Greasy Truckers Party
, a limited edition double album which rapidly became a collectors' item. United Artists' A&R man, Andrew Lauder, persuaded them to follow this up with a live album. Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth
was recorded on 8 April 1972. It was sold at a reduced price and only 8000 copies were pressed, which sold out in a week, making it No 1 in the “budget” album chart. Man recorded the first of their three Peel Sessions on 29 August 1972, (the others being 18 September 1973 & 31 October 1974)
The band then tried to write a new studio album, but lacked inspiration. Martin Ace left, to form "The Flying Aces" with his wife George, so Micky Jones and Terry Williams sacked Leonard, and John rejoined together with his new band members, Ryan
(keyboards) and Youatt (bass). The new band recorded Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day
which received good reviews. A party on 19 December 1972, with Dave Edmunds
, Help Yourself, The Flying Aces and others, was issued as Christmas at the Patti
, a double 10” album, which again topped the “budget” album chart, but on tour John fell out with Micky Jones, and left again.
The four-piece started to record Back Into The Future
, but felt the need for a second guitarist, so Alan “Tweke” Lewis joined from Wild Turkey. On 24 June 1973 they recorded the live half of this double album at Man’s spiritual London home, The Roundhouse
, backed by the Gwalia Male Voice Choir
, who had previously sung with Man at The Oval
, when they supported Frank Zappa
. The album initially sold well, rising to No 23, and again, this was tipped to be album that would make the band, but pressing was restricted by a lack of plastic during the oil crisis. The follow-up tour had Deke Leonard’s Iceberg as support. During the tour, Micky Jones and Leonard discussed a new Man line-up, so when Ryan and Youatt left to form The Neutrons in December 1973, Leonard disbanded Iceberg and rejoined Man along with two former members of Help Yourself; Malcolm Morley
(keyboards) and Ken Whaley (bass), who had also played in Iceberg.
The next album Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics was produced by Roy Thomas Baker
, noted for his work with Queen
, and spent 4 weeks in the UK album chart, peaking at No 24. In March/April 1974 Man supported Hawkwind
on The 1999 Party
, a 5 week US tour. At the Los Angeles Whisky a Go Go
on 12 March, Jim Horn
joined on saxophone, which was issued as a bonus disc with the reissue of the Rhinos ... Album in 2007. The 21 April gig in Chicago, was recorded for radio, and issued on CD as The 1999 Party Tour in 1997, but omits Morley from the credits, although he is on the recording.
Morley left the day before recording started on the next album Slow Motion
. Before the album was released, the band toured the UK (again with Badfinger
) and USA in August–October 1974. They returned to the USA in March 1975, to promote the album by touring with REO Speedwagon
and New Riders of the Purple Sage
, but the tour collapsed on the first night. A new US tour, with REO Speedwagon and Blue Öyster Cult
broke up two-thirds of the way through. Additional dates were arranged, but most were cancelled when Micky Jones developed pneumonia, so the final gigs were to be at the San Francisco Winterland. These were a great success, and promoter Bill Graham
paid them a bonus, and rebooked them, but Whaley had had enough, and left.
Martin Ace flew out as a stand in, and the band met and rehearsed with John Cipollina
of Quicksilver Messenger Service
, who played with them at Winterland, and agreed to play a UK tour. On this tour, the Roundhouse gig was recorded, but it is rumoured that Micky Jones had to over-dub Cipollina’s guitar, as it was out of tune, before the Maximum Darkness
album could be released. The album eventually reaching no 25 in the UK album chart. and Martin Ace continued as “stand in” bassist, until the end of a French tour, with Hawkwind, Gong
and Magma
, when he returned to the Flying Aces.
, Ryan
rejoined on keyboards, but as no bass players they knew were available, the band had to audition for the first time in their history. Auditions went badly, until the final audition, of John McKenzie of Global Village Trucking Company, who was immediately offered the job. They then recorded The Welsh Connection
which reached No 40 in the UK Album Chart and was toured in March/April 1976 in Britain and June/July in the US. During the US tour differences arose again, and on the subsequent European tour Ryan and McKenzie announced they would be leaving, and the rest of the band agreed to call it a day. The MCA record deal, however, was for 3 albums, but nobody was willing to contribute new material, and their attempts at covers were poor, so MCA eventually agreed to a live farewell album. All's Well That Ends Well was recorded at the Roundhouse on 11–13 December, although the final gig was in Slough on 16 December 1976. The band agreed that they “would never, ever, be one of those bands who reformed in a futile attempt to recapture past glories ...”.
(guitar), Phil Ryan (keyboards) and Stuart Halliday (drums).
Ryan returned to Man and Halliday joined ‘’Alkatraz’’ being replaced first by Dave Charles
, (ex Help Yourself) and then Mike Gibbins (ex Badfinger)
In the 1980s Ace & Micky Jones occasionally backed Welsh Elvis impersonator, Peter Singh in The Screaming Pakistanis and Ace also played with guitarist David Tipton with John 'Pugwash' Weathers
(ex Gentle Giant
) on drums.
) (keyboards).
Lewis & Gurl left, so Jones, Dixon & McLaine continued as three-piece Manipulator occasionally known as ‘’The Acidtones’’. In 1981 Jones disbanded Manipulator and formed The Flying Pigs with Mick Hawksworth (bass) and Phil Little (drums).
A later line up included 2 musicians Leonard had played with in Help Yourself, Richard Treece (guitar & bass) and B.J. Cole (pedal steel guitar), plus Reg Isadore (drums). Leonard took up writing, and briefly moved to the USA, where he worked on a Walter Egan
album.
Leonard formed The Force with Sean Tyla
(ex Ducks Deluxe
) (guitar), Micky Groome
(bass) and Paul Simmons (drums). Their album Force's First also included Terry Williams and Martin Ace. The Force disbanded after Tyla suffered severe stage fright in 1982, and Leonard reformed the band as another Iceberg
appearing on some tracks of the ‘'Live Herald'’ album. He then became a session/backing musician, touring with Dr John, Albert Lee
, Davy Spillane
, The Christians, Seal
, Alison Moyet
and Everything but the Girl
and recording with Bob Dylan
, The Pretenders
, Eurythmics
, David Bowie
, Mary Coughlan
, Paul Brady
, Moya Brennan
, Andrea Corr
, Damien Rice
, and Wham.
and briefly formed The Brown & Ryan Band with McKenzie (bass), Taff Williams (ex Neutrons) (guitar) and Steve Jones (drums). A second line up of Pete Brown, Phil Ryan, Taff Williams, Dill Katz (bass) and Jeff Seopardie (drums) known as both ‘’Pete Brown and the Interoceters’’ and ‘’Ray Gammond and the Interoceters’’ recorded some tracks issued on Pete Brown’s 1984 album ‘’Party in the Rain’’. He also played a few gigs with the Flying Aces.
Ryan then moved to Denmark, where his wife Bolette came from, and wrote music for films and TV
with Dave Edmunds
, Nick Lowe
and Billy Bremner
. They continued until 1982, issuing several successful albums & singles and touring the USA and Europe. Williams briefly worked with Meat Loaf
, before receiving an offer from Dire Straits
, who he was still working with, when Man reformed.
(formerly of Gentle Giant
) on drums. This line up was to stay constant until 1996, except from a short spell, when Weathers was unwell, and Rick Martinez temporarily took over
After rehearsals, their first gig was on All Fools Day at the Marquee Club
in London, and in June they recorded Friday 13th (Picasso PIK 001) at The Marquee, but this comprised old numbers, not new material. Not having a recording contract to promote them, albums were issued on several labels, e.g. Friday 13th was also issued as Live at the Marquee (Great Expectations PIPCD 055) and Talk about a Morning (Dressed to Kill DRESS 600). Later that year they played the Reading Festival which was recorded for Tommy Vance
’s Friday Rock Show
and released as Live At Reading '83 in 1993.
In 1983, they also recorded an album of new material in Germany, but fell out with the producer, who was also the album’s promoter, so the album was never issued. The first studio album to be issued, The Twang Dynasty
was issued in 1992 and included the track "Fast and Dangerous" which was used on trailers for Paul Whitehouse
’s Fast Show, although the band were not paid for this.
Their performance at 1994’s Glastonbury Festival
was issued as Live 1994 - Official Bootleg (and reissued as Live Official Bootleg), and in 1995 they recorded Call Down The Moon
issued on the Hypertension label, and produced by the band and Ron Sanchez – a US musician and DJ, who had long championed their cause.
Weathers left in 1996, allegedly because Gentle Giant were about to reform, and was replaced by returning drummer Terry Williams
, who in the interim, had served in bands such as Dire Straits
. Williams recorded some tracks, later released on the Undrugged album, and then Leonard suffered a minor stroke, so the band played a few gigs as a 3 piece. When Leonard returned in 1997, Williams left, to be replaced by drummer Bob Richards formerly of The Wild Family and The Adrian Smith Band.
Former keyboardist Phil Ryan
returned in 1998 taking the band back to the classic 5-piece line-up, which recorded a live double album at The Star Club, Oberhausen, West Germany, in March that year. Ryan played a major role in producing 2000's Endangered Species, but then had to withdraw from the band for personal reasons. Ryan was replaced by Gareth Llewellyn Thorrington, who missed the recording of Down Town Live at the Down Town Blues Club, Hamburg, in May 2001, as his flight was cancelled due a bomb-scare, but appeared on part of the Undrugged
album (an “unplugged” album with a twist in the title), which had been started in 1996, and was finally issued in 2002. Undrugged has some classic covers, including Brian Wilson
's Sail on Sailor and Ray Charles
's Georgia On My Mind
both lead vocals being by Micky Jones.
In 2002 Micky Jones was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to take time off for treatment. Micky's place was temporarily taken by his son George Jones, but when Micky had recovered enough to rejoin, in 2004, Leonard decided to leave, again, so George became a permanent member of the band. In 2005, Micky Jones' health deteriorated due to the re-occurrence of his brain tumour and he was replaced by Martin Ace's son Josh Ace.
In 2006, the album Diamonds and Coal
was released, after which Thorrington was sacked, and the band continued as a 4-piece. The 40th anniversary tour in 2008, saw the return of Ryan on keyboards, giving a multi-generational line up, with two early members (Martin Ace and Phil Ryan), two sons of early members (George Jones and Josh Ace) and Bob Richards, who had been in the band since 1997. This line up also recorded a studio album, but before this was mixed, the band split. Josh Ace, Martin Ace and Phil Ryan recruited James Beck (guitar, vocals) and Rene Robrahn (drums, vocals) to the new line up and wiped parts of the album to replace George Jones. Bob Richards parts were kept on as they were unable to record over them, due to the lack of a click track. This latest album Kingdom of Noise
was finally released in June 2009.
After leaving Man, Micky Jones continued to perform for a while, but was then diagnosed with another tumour, he spent the next year and a half in and out of hospital, his health meant he remained at a care home in Swansea for the next 3 years until he died peacefully, at the age of 63, on 10 March 2010. Fans paid tribute to Micky Jones online, calling Man the greatest Welsh band of all time.
Clive John, AKA Clint Space, another of the founding members, died after a long fight against emphysema on 24 August 2011.
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
from South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
whose style is a mixture of West Coast psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and country-rock. Formed in 1968 as a reincarnation of Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
rock harmony group ‘’The Bystanders’’, Man are renowned for the extended jams in their live performances, and having had numerous line up changes.
The Bystanders
Man evolved out of The Bystanders, a successful close harmony pop group from Merthyr TydfilMerthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
who played numerous club residencies in Wales, often playing several clubs a night. The Bystanders issued eight singles, including "98.6" (#45 in UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, in February 1967) which featured in the 2009 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, The Boat That Rocked
The Boat That Rocked (soundtrack)
The Boat That Rocked is a soundtrack album to the 2009 British film of the same title, a comedy about a fictitious British pirate radio station set in 1966. The soundtrack was released March 30, 2009 through Mercury Records as a double album featuring popular rock, pop, and soul artists of the 1960s...
(although Keith
Keith (singer)
Keith is an American vocalist. He legally changed his name to Bazza Keefer in 1988, in memory of his mother.-Early days:...
's version was the bigger hit, reaching #24 in the UK) and "When Jesamine Goes", written by their manager Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott (songwriter)
Ronnie Scott was a British pop music promoter, group manager and songwriter; known primarily for hit songs co-written with Marty Wilde in the 1960s, and Steve Wolfe in the 1970s.-With Marty Wilde:...
and Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s of Frere Manston and Jack Gellar, which was later covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by The Casuals
The Casuals
The Casuals were a British pop group from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are best known for their 1968 #2 UK hit, "Jesamine".-Career:Originally formed by John Tebb and Howard Newcombe , they added Don Fortune and Zenon Kawolski , and became The Casuals in 1961...
as "Jesamine" and got to #2 in the UK Chart. They also recorded sessions of cover versions for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as rules restricting needle time
Needle time
Needle time was created in the United Kingdom by the Musicians' Union and Phonographic Performance Limited, in order to restrict the amount of recorded music that could be transmitted by British Broadcasting Corporation during the course of any 24-hour period. Until 1967 the BBC was allowed to...
required "live" performances between the records during the 1960s; becoming regulars on the ’’Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young (disc jockey)
Sir Jimmy Young CBE was a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer.-Early life:...
Show’’, "The David Symonds Show" and others.
When formed in 1962 The Bystanders included Owen Money
Owen Money
Owen Money MBE , is a Welsh musician, actor, comedian, and radio presenter. He was born in Merthyr Tydfil.In the 2007 New Years Honours List, Money was made an MBE for services to entertainment in Wales.-The Bystanders:...
, then known as Gerry Braden, but he was replaced by Vic Oakley, giving the classic line up of Micky Jones (guitar), Ray Williams (bass), Jeff Jones (drums), Clive John (aka Clint Space) (keyboards) and Vic Oakley (vocals). By 1968 the other members wanted to change musical direction to a more psychedelic/American west-coast guitar sound, so Oakley left, to be replaced by Deke Leonard
Deke Leonard
Roger "Deke" Leonard is a rock musician, "serving a life sentence in the music business." Best known as a member of the progressive rock band Man, which he joined and left several times, and for fronting his own rock and roll band Iceberg, which he formed and disbanded several times, he is also...
; and the band changed its name to Man.
The Pye years
Man were initially signed to Pye RecordsPye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
, for whom they recorded their first two albums:- Revelation noted for the simulated orgasm on "Erotica", which received a UK ban, and 2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle
2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle
-Side two:-Personnel:*Clive John – guitar, keyboards, vocals*Jeff Jones – drums*Micky Jones – guitar, vocals*Deke Leonard – guitar, vocals*Ray "Taff" Williams – bass-Credits:*Producer, Supervisor – John Schroeder...
. Whilst mixing the second album, Leonard left, and was replaced by Martin Ace from Leonard’s previous band, Dream. At this time, Man were recording three demo sessions a week for Leeds Music, including Down the Dustpipe
Down the Dustpipe
"Down the Dustpipe" is a song written by Australian singer-songwriter Carl Groszman. He was a client of Valley Music, who were affiliated to Status Quo’s management in their early days. The group recorded it, and in Francis Rossi’s words, “it was the first record to feature our soon-to-be...
which they taught to Status Quo.
Man then toured Europe, predominantly Germany, where they supported Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, but on their return, were stopped as suspected terrorists, then jailed for drugs offences in Belgium. Leonard then rejoined, but Ace stayed on as a multi-instrumentalist. Shortly after, Ray Williams and Jeff Jones were fired, with Terry Williams
Terry Williams (drummer)
Terrence "Terry" Williams is a Welsh rock drummer, whose resume includes work for Dire Straits, B. B. King, and Bob Dylan....
joining on drums and Ace moving to bass. Leonard, Ace and Terry Williams having been together in “Dream”, this was seen by some as a take-over.
A bootleg of the first gig by this line up, October 1970 in Hamburg, was issued as To Live for to Die and was later re-bootlegged by the band. Despite good reviews in Britain Two Ounces of Plastic ... was more popular in Germany, so the band spent a year in Germany, where, having to play 4–5 hours a night, most numbers became extended jams.
The United Artists Years
Their manager, Barrie Marshall, obtained a new record contract with Andrew LauderAndrew Lauder (music executive)
Andrew Lauder is a record company executive and former A&R manager. Initially noted for his adventurous signings of bands as diverse as Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Can, Hawkwind and Brinsley Schwarz to Liberty Records and United Artists Records in the 1960s and 70s, he went on to form numerous...
of United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
, for whom the band recorded the eponymous Man album, which received mixed reviews. Their media break came when outperforming Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
and Family
Family (band)
Family were an English rock band that formed in late 1966 and disbanded in October 1973. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, although their sound often explored other genres, incorporating elements of styles like as folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz fusion and rock and roll...
at a concert in Berlin, but they continued to play on the continent. Having appeared on the United Artists sampler album, All Good Clean Fun
All Good Clean Fun
All Good Clean Fun was originally a promotional sampler issued by United Artists Records in 1971. This original release was a double album containing 23 tracks by 20 different artists, with three artists; Morning, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Canned Heat, having 2 tracks each.Most of the...
, they undertook a tour of Switzerland, to promote the album, together with Help Yourself
Help Yourself (band)
Help Yourself, known to their fans as "The Helps", were an English rock band of the early 1970s whose style developed from “American-flavoured country-rock… …to acid-drenched psych.”.-History:...
and Leicester band Gypsy.
The next album Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In?
Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In?
Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In? is the fourth studio album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man and was released November 1971.-Side two:# "Many Are Called But Few Get Up" – 7:22# "Manillo" – 5:26# "Love Your Life" – 8:37-Personnel:...
recorded at Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
by Kingsley Ward, received good reviews, and the band played German TV and Iceland with Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
. Constant touring was creating internal pressures, and in January 1972, John left the band, to form “Iowerth Pritchard and the Neutrons” with Phil Ryan
Phil Ryan (musician)
Phil Ryan is a Welsh keyboardist and composer, best known for his work with Man and Pete Brown-Early career:...
and Will Youatt.
The new four piece supported Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
and Brinsley Schwarz
Brinsley Schwarz
Brinsley Schwarz were a 1970s English pub rock band, named after their guitarist Brinsley Schwarz. With Nick Lowe on bass and vocals, keyboardist Bob Andrews and drummer Billy Rankin, the band evolved from the 1960s pop band Kippington Lodge.-Formation:...
at a charity gig at The Roundhouse on 13 February 1972, recorded and issued as Greasy Truckers Party
Greasy Truckers Party
Greasy Truckers Party is a 1972 live album by various artists recorded at a February 1972 Greasy Truckers concert at the Roundhouse in London. The concert featured three bands, Man, Brinsley Schwarz and Hawkwind, and musician Magic Michael...
, a limited edition double album which rapidly became a collectors' item. United Artists' A&R man, Andrew Lauder, persuaded them to follow this up with a live album. Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth
Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth
Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth was the sixth album by Man, released in September 1972. It was the band’s second live album, both performed by this four-piece line-up, although the line up had substantially changed before this album was released, as was acknowledged on the original LP sleeve.The...
was recorded on 8 April 1972. It was sold at a reduced price and only 8000 copies were pressed, which sold out in a week, making it No 1 in the “budget” album chart. Man recorded the first of their three Peel Sessions on 29 August 1972, (the others being 18 September 1973 & 31 October 1974)
The band then tried to write a new studio album, but lacked inspiration. Martin Ace left, to form "The Flying Aces" with his wife George, so Micky Jones and Terry Williams sacked Leonard, and John rejoined together with his new band members, Ryan
Phil Ryan (musician)
Phil Ryan is a Welsh keyboardist and composer, best known for his work with Man and Pete Brown-Early career:...
(keyboards) and Youatt (bass). The new band recorded Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day
Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day
Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day is the seventh album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man.Issued just one month after the previous album, Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth, it features a radically different line up...
which received good reviews. A party on 19 December 1972, with Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
, Help Yourself, The Flying Aces and others, was issued as Christmas at the Patti
Christmas at the Patti
Christmas at the Patti is a live album, recorded at Man's Christmas party, held at the Patti Pavilion, Swansea, on 19 December 1972. 'The album features Man and Help Yourself with guests Deke Leonard, Dave Edmunds and B J Cole, together with appearances by Ducks Deluxe, The Jets, The Flying Aces...
, a double 10” album, which again topped the “budget” album chart, but on tour John fell out with Micky Jones, and left again.
The four-piece started to record Back Into The Future
Back Into The Future
Back Into The Future is the ninth album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man. It was released in September 1973.It was originally issued as a double LP and was the first album recorded since the departure of Clive John...
, but felt the need for a second guitarist, so Alan “Tweke” Lewis joined from Wild Turkey. On 24 June 1973 they recorded the live half of this double album at Man’s spiritual London home, The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England, which has been converted into a performing arts and concert venue. It was originally built in 1847 as a roundhouse , a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was only used for railway...
, backed by the Gwalia Male Voice Choir
Gwalia Singers (Swansea)
The Gwalia Singers is a Welsh male voice choir based in Swansea, Wales.- History :The choir was formed in 1966 by Bryan Myles. They competed in their first serious competition in 1978 - the Welsh Brewers' Choral Competition, held in Carmarthen. The following year they won in the category for fewer...
, who had previously sung with Man at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, when they supported Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
. The album initially sold well, rising to No 23, and again, this was tipped to be album that would make the band, but pressing was restricted by a lack of plastic during the oil crisis. The follow-up tour had Deke Leonard’s Iceberg as support. During the tour, Micky Jones and Leonard discussed a new Man line-up, so when Ryan and Youatt left to form The Neutrons in December 1973, Leonard disbanded Iceberg and rejoined Man along with two former members of Help Yourself; Malcolm Morley
Malcolm Morley (musician)
Malcolm Morley is a British rock singer, guitarist and keyboard player who came to fame in the 1970s. Best known as a founder of Help Yourself and as a member of Man, he continues to perform to this day.-Early career:...
(keyboards) and Ken Whaley (bass), who had also played in Iceberg.
The next album Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics was produced by Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker is a multiple award-winning Anglo-American music producer, songwriter, arranger and Recording Academy Governor, who has produced Platinum and Gold certified pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present.- Career :Baker began his career at Decca Records in England at the age...
, noted for his work with Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, and spent 4 weeks in the UK album chart, peaking at No 24. In March/April 1974 Man supported Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
on The 1999 Party
The 1999 Party
The '1999' Party is a live album by Hawkwind recorded at the Chicago Auditorium Theatre on 21 March 1974 released retrospectively in November 1997 by EMI. It was issued for the first time as part of EMI's re-releasing re-mastered versions of the Hawkwind back catalogue...
, a 5 week US tour. At the Los Angeles Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
on 12 March, Jim Horn
Jim Horn
Jim Horn is an American saxophonist and woodwind player. He was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for five years, playing sax and flute on the road, and in the recording studio...
joined on saxophone, which was issued as a bonus disc with the reissue of the Rhinos ... Album in 2007. The 21 April gig in Chicago, was recorded for radio, and issued on CD as The 1999 Party Tour in 1997, but omits Morley from the credits, although he is on the recording.
Morley left the day before recording started on the next album Slow Motion
Slow Motion (Man album)
Slow Motion is the ninth album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man and was released on the United Artists Records label. It was the only album recorded by this line-up, Malcolm Morley having left the day before recording was due to start. He was not replaced, so the album was recorded by the...
. Before the album was released, the band toured the UK (again with Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
) and USA in August–October 1974. They returned to the USA in March 1975, to promote the album by touring with REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
and New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. Their best known song is "Panama Red"...
, but the tour collapsed on the first night. A new US tour, with REO Speedwagon and Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
broke up two-thirds of the way through. Additional dates were arranged, but most were cancelled when Micky Jones developed pneumonia, so the final gigs were to be at the San Francisco Winterland. These were a great success, and promoter Bill Graham
Bill Graham
William Carvel "Bill" Graham, PC QC is a former Canadian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defence, and Leader of the Opposition and interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.-Personal life:...
paid them a bonus, and rebooked them, but Whaley had had enough, and left.
Martin Ace flew out as a stand in, and the band met and rehearsed with John Cipollina
John Cipollina
John Cipollina was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service...
of Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
, who played with them at Winterland, and agreed to play a UK tour. On this tour, the Roundhouse gig was recorded, but it is rumoured that Micky Jones had to over-dub Cipollina’s guitar, as it was out of tune, before the Maximum Darkness
Maximum Darkness
Maximum Darkness is an album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man and was released on the United Artists Records label September 1975. It was the second complete live album released by the band, and featured John Cipollina as special guest...
album could be released. The album eventually reaching no 25 in the UK album chart. and Martin Ace continued as “stand in” bassist, until the end of a French tour, with Hawkwind, Gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
and Magma
Magma (band)
Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a...
, when he returned to the Flying Aces.
MCA
The band changed label to MCA RecordsMCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
, Ryan
Phil Ryan (musician)
Phil Ryan is a Welsh keyboardist and composer, best known for his work with Man and Pete Brown-Early career:...
rejoined on keyboards, but as no bass players they knew were available, the band had to audition for the first time in their history. Auditions went badly, until the final audition, of John McKenzie of Global Village Trucking Company, who was immediately offered the job. They then recorded The Welsh Connection
The Welsh Connection
The Welsh Connection is the eleventh album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man and was released on the MCA Records label 1976. It was their first MCA release, and the first after a change of line-up that saw John McKenzie take over on bass from Martin Ace, and Phil Ryan rejoin...
which reached No 40 in the UK Album Chart and was toured in March/April 1976 in Britain and June/July in the US. During the US tour differences arose again, and on the subsequent European tour Ryan and McKenzie announced they would be leaving, and the rest of the band agreed to call it a day. The MCA record deal, however, was for 3 albums, but nobody was willing to contribute new material, and their attempts at covers were poor, so MCA eventually agreed to a live farewell album. All's Well That Ends Well was recorded at the Roundhouse on 11–13 December, although the final gig was in Slough on 16 December 1976. The band agreed that they “would never, ever, be one of those bands who reformed in a futile attempt to recapture past glories ...”.
Interval
After the 1976 break up, band members undertook numerous projects, often with other former members.Martin Ace
Ace left Man before The Welsh Connection to reform The Flying Aces with his wife George (guitar), Mickey GeeMickey Gee
Michael Richard 'Mickey' Gee was a rock and roll guitarist who played alongside some of the most prominent Welsh musicians of the last forty years.He died on 21 January 2009 in Cardiff from emphysema.-Career:...
(guitar), Phil Ryan (keyboards) and Stuart Halliday (drums).
Ryan returned to Man and Halliday joined ‘’Alkatraz’’ being replaced first by Dave Charles
Dave Charles
Dave Charles, also known as David Charles is a British drummer, recording engineer & record producer. He often appears under both names on the same album, e.g. Help Yourself's The Return of Ken Whaley, where Dave Charles is credited with drums and vocals and David Charles as producer.Charles'...
, (ex Help Yourself) and then Mike Gibbins (ex Badfinger)
In the 1980s Ace & Micky Jones occasionally backed Welsh Elvis impersonator, Peter Singh in The Screaming Pakistanis and Ace also played with guitarist David Tipton with John 'Pugwash' Weathers
John Weathers
John Patrick 'Pugwash' Weathers is a drummer, best known for playing with the innovative progressive rock band Gentle Giant.-Early life:...
(ex Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band was known for the complexity and sophistication of its music and for the varied musical skills of its members. All of the band members, except the first two drummers, were multi-instrumentalists...
) on drums.
Micky Jones
Shortly after the break-up, Micky Jones recorded some demos with John McKenzie (bass), Malcolm Morley (guitar & keyboards) and Derek Ballard (drums). In 1978 he formed the Micky Jones Band, with Tweke Lewis (guitar), Steve Dixon (drums), Al McLaine (bass) and Steve Gurl (ex Wild Turkey & Babe RuthBabe Ruth (band)
Babe Ruth are a rock music group, primarily active through the 1970s, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Their characteristically 'heavy' sound is marked by powerful vocals from Janita Haan and full arrangements by Alan Shacklock...
) (keyboards).
Lewis & Gurl left, so Jones, Dixon & McLaine continued as three-piece Manipulator occasionally known as ‘’The Acidtones’’. In 1981 Jones disbanded Manipulator and formed The Flying Pigs with Mick Hawksworth (bass) and Phil Little (drums).
Deke Leonard
Leonard reformed Iceberg, with Lincoln Carr (bass) and Terry Williams (when not playing with Rockpile). He still had a record contract and initially recorded with Martin Ace and Terry Williams, but needed two attempts to complete the album ‘'Before Your Very Eyes’', release of which was delayed for five years, when EMI took over United Artists.A later line up included 2 musicians Leonard had played with in Help Yourself, Richard Treece (guitar & bass) and B.J. Cole (pedal steel guitar), plus Reg Isadore (drums). Leonard took up writing, and briefly moved to the USA, where he worked on a Walter Egan
Walter Egan
Walter Egan is an American rock musician, best known for his 1978 gold status hit single "Magnet and Steel" from his album Not Shy, produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut of Fleetwood Mac fame...
album.
Leonard formed The Force with Sean Tyla
Sean Tyla
Sean Tyla is an English rock guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and songwriter, sometimes known as the “Godfather of Boogie”...
(ex Ducks Deluxe
Ducks Deluxe
Ducks Deluxe were an English pub rock band of the 1970s, who have recently reformed. Usually called "The Ducks" by their fans, they were known for up-tempo, energetic performances, and the successful careers of their members, after they disbanded.-History:...
) (guitar), Micky Groome
Micky Groome
Micky Groome is an English bassist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer.- Early life and career :...
(bass) and Paul Simmons (drums). Their album Force's First also included Terry Williams and Martin Ace. The Force disbanded after Tyla suffered severe stage fright in 1982, and Leonard reformed the band as another Iceberg
John McKenzie
McKenzie initially joined Ryan and Pete Brown, before joining Steve HillageSteve Hillage
Steve Hillage is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s...
appearing on some tracks of the ‘'Live Herald'’ album. He then became a session/backing musician, touring with Dr John, Albert Lee
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
, Davy Spillane
Davy Spillane
Davy Spillane is a songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle.early yearsDavy was born in Dublin in 1959 . At the age of 12 he started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him and inspired him with his love of all music genres...
, The Christians, Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
, Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...
and Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
and recording with Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
, Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Mary Coughlan
Mary Coughlan (singer)
Mary Coughlan is an Irish jazz and folk singer and actress. She has received great acclamation in her native country, for her emotional and heartfelt jazzy musical renditions.-Background:...
, Paul Brady
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
, Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan, born Máire Ní Bhraonáin , also known as Máire Brennan , is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist who began performing professionally in 1970, when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music"...
, Andrea Corr
Andrea Corr
Andrea Jane Corr is an Irish musician, songwriter and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon, and Jim...
, Damien Rice
Damien Rice
Damien Rice is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who plays guitar, piano, clarinet and percussion....
, and Wham.
Phil Ryan
Ryan rejoined his former Piblokto partner Pete BrownPete Brown
Peter Ronald Brown is an English performance poet and lyricist.Best known for his collaborations with Jack Bruce, Brown also worked with The Battered Ornaments, formed his own group Pete Brown & Piblokto!, and worked with Graham Bond and Phil Ryan. Brown also writes film scores and formed a film...
and briefly formed The Brown & Ryan Band with McKenzie (bass), Taff Williams (ex Neutrons) (guitar) and Steve Jones (drums). A second line up of Pete Brown, Phil Ryan, Taff Williams, Dill Katz (bass) and Jeff Seopardie (drums) known as both ‘’Pete Brown and the Interoceters’’ and ‘’Ray Gammond and the Interoceters’’ recorded some tracks issued on Pete Brown’s 1984 album ‘’Party in the Rain’’. He also played a few gigs with the Flying Aces.
Ryan then moved to Denmark, where his wife Bolette came from, and wrote music for films and TV
Terry Williams
On the breakup of Man, Williams immediately joined RockpileRockpile
Rockpile were a British rock and roll group of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong rockabilly and power pop influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave...
with Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
, Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
and Billy Bremner
Billy Bremner (musician)
William "Billy" Bremner is a guitarist best known for his work in the band Rockpile and on many of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds' albums...
. They continued until 1982, issuing several successful albums & singles and touring the USA and Europe. Williams briefly worked with Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, before receiving an offer from Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
, who he was still working with, when Man reformed.
Reformed
The band reformed in 1983, with a line-up of Micky Jones and Deke Leonard on guitars, Martin Ace on bass and John “Pugwash” WeathersJohn Weathers
John Patrick 'Pugwash' Weathers is a drummer, best known for playing with the innovative progressive rock band Gentle Giant.-Early life:...
(formerly of Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band was known for the complexity and sophistication of its music and for the varied musical skills of its members. All of the band members, except the first two drummers, were multi-instrumentalists...
) on drums. This line up was to stay constant until 1996, except from a short spell, when Weathers was unwell, and Rick Martinez temporarily took over
After rehearsals, their first gig was on All Fools Day at the Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
in London, and in June they recorded Friday 13th (Picasso PIK 001) at The Marquee, but this comprised old numbers, not new material. Not having a recording contract to promote them, albums were issued on several labels, e.g. Friday 13th was also issued as Live at the Marquee (Great Expectations PIPCD 055) and Talk about a Morning (Dressed to Kill DRESS 600). Later that year they played the Reading Festival which was recorded for Tommy Vance
Tommy Vance
Tommy Vance was a British pop radio broadcaster, born in Eynsham, Oxfordshire. He was one of the few music broadcasters in the United Kingdom to champion hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the only national radio forum for both bands and fans...
’s Friday Rock Show
Friday Rock Show
The Friday Rock Show was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 10pm to midnight on Friday nights from 1978 to 1993. Throughout most of its run it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Ostensibly for the genre of rock in general, it was most closely associated with heavy metal...
and released as Live At Reading '83 in 1993.
In 1983, they also recorded an album of new material in Germany, but fell out with the producer, who was also the album’s promoter, so the album was never issued. The first studio album to be issued, The Twang Dynasty
The Twang Dynasty
The Twang Dynasty is the tenth studio album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man, but the first to be released after their reformation in 1983....
was issued in 1992 and included the track "Fast and Dangerous" which was used on trailers for Paul Whitehouse
Paul Whitehouse
Paul Whitehouse is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show, The Fast Show. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders...
’s Fast Show, although the band were not paid for this.
Their performance at 1994’s Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
was issued as Live 1994 - Official Bootleg (and reissued as Live Official Bootleg), and in 1995 they recorded Call Down The Moon
Call Down The Moon
Call Down The Moon was the eleventh studio album released by the Welsh progressive rock band Man, and only the second since they had reformed in 1983. It was also their first American release in 20 years...
issued on the Hypertension label, and produced by the band and Ron Sanchez – a US musician and DJ, who had long championed their cause.
Weathers left in 1996, allegedly because Gentle Giant were about to reform, and was replaced by returning drummer Terry Williams
Terry Williams (drummer)
Terrence "Terry" Williams is a Welsh rock drummer, whose resume includes work for Dire Straits, B. B. King, and Bob Dylan....
, who in the interim, had served in bands such as Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
. Williams recorded some tracks, later released on the Undrugged album, and then Leonard suffered a minor stroke, so the band played a few gigs as a 3 piece. When Leonard returned in 1997, Williams left, to be replaced by drummer Bob Richards formerly of The Wild Family and The Adrian Smith Band.
Former keyboardist Phil Ryan
Phil Ryan (musician)
Phil Ryan is a Welsh keyboardist and composer, best known for his work with Man and Pete Brown-Early career:...
returned in 1998 taking the band back to the classic 5-piece line-up, which recorded a live double album at The Star Club, Oberhausen, West Germany, in March that year. Ryan played a major role in producing 2000's Endangered Species, but then had to withdraw from the band for personal reasons. Ryan was replaced by Gareth Llewellyn Thorrington, who missed the recording of Down Town Live at the Down Town Blues Club, Hamburg, in May 2001, as his flight was cancelled due a bomb-scare, but appeared on part of the Undrugged
Undrugged
Undrugged is a studio album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man and was released in April 2002.-Track listing:#"Scotch Corner" – 6:33...
album (an “unplugged” album with a twist in the title), which had been started in 1996, and was finally issued in 2002. Undrugged has some classic covers, including Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
's Sail on Sailor and Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
's Georgia On My Mind
Georgia on My Mind
"Georgia on My Mind" is a song written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell . It is the official state song of the U.S. state of Georgia. Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy's sister, Georgia Carmichael. However, the lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough to refer either to the state or...
both lead vocals being by Micky Jones.
In 2002 Micky Jones was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to take time off for treatment. Micky's place was temporarily taken by his son George Jones, but when Micky had recovered enough to rejoin, in 2004, Leonard decided to leave, again, so George became a permanent member of the band. In 2005, Micky Jones' health deteriorated due to the re-occurrence of his brain tumour and he was replaced by Martin Ace's son Josh Ace.
In 2006, the album Diamonds and Coal
Diamonds and Coal
Diamonds and Coal is a studio album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man and was released 23 November 2006. It was recorded during the late-Spring, early Summer of 2006 at King Studios in Swansea.-Track listing:# "Diamonds and Coal" – 8:10...
was released, after which Thorrington was sacked, and the band continued as a 4-piece. The 40th anniversary tour in 2008, saw the return of Ryan on keyboards, giving a multi-generational line up, with two early members (Martin Ace and Phil Ryan), two sons of early members (George Jones and Josh Ace) and Bob Richards, who had been in the band since 1997. This line up also recorded a studio album, but before this was mixed, the band split. Josh Ace, Martin Ace and Phil Ryan recruited James Beck (guitar, vocals) and Rene Robrahn (drums, vocals) to the new line up and wiped parts of the album to replace George Jones. Bob Richards parts were kept on as they were unable to record over them, due to the lack of a click track. This latest album Kingdom of Noise
Kingdom of Noise
Kingdom of Noise is a studio album by the Welsh progressive rock band Man and was released 9 June 2009.-Track listing:# "Shadow of the Hand" – 5:53# "Steal the World" – 4:18# "Iceflowers" – 4:46...
was finally released in June 2009.
After leaving Man, Micky Jones continued to perform for a while, but was then diagnosed with another tumour, he spent the next year and a half in and out of hospital, his health meant he remained at a care home in Swansea for the next 3 years until he died peacefully, at the age of 63, on 10 March 2010. Fans paid tribute to Micky Jones online, calling Man the greatest Welsh band of all time.
Clive John, AKA Clint Space, another of the founding members, died after a long fight against emphysema on 24 August 2011.
Discography
For a full discography see "The Manband Archive". In August 2011 this listed 412 releases, on 71 labels, in 24 countries.Further reading
- Leonard D. (1996 & Rev. 2001) Rhinos, Winos & Lunatics. Northdown Publishing ISBN 1-900711-00-1 & ISBN 1900711091
- Leonard D. (2000) Maybe I Should’ve Stayed in Bed? Northdown Publishing ISBN 1-900711-09-5