Mike d'Abo
Encyclopedia
Michael David "Mike" d'Abo (born 1 March 1944) is an English
singer and songwriter
, best known as the former lead vocalist of Manfred Mann
.
and Selwyn College, Cambridge
. He was born in March 1944, is 5 in 11 in (1.8 m), and has eyes "that honestly seem to change from blue to brown to green, depending on the light" (Pete Goodman, music journalist). D'Abo's original intention at Cambridge was to read theology
and become a priest but, faced with "everything to learn" (not least Classical Greek and Hebrew), and a disconnect between the "strange, impractical philosophy" he was being taught and his idealism about "bringing comfort to people" and spreading "understanding in the world," he "became wholly disillusioned" (Rave
, November 1966). He switched to economics, also unsuccessfully, and left Cambridge with "a first class jazz collection" but without completing his studies. His musical career began while he was still at Harrow School
. He had minor success with a group of Old Harrovians, Band of Angels
that had their own comic strip in a UK pop music
weekly, Fab 208. Band of Angels
didn't make the big time but d'Abo did: in August 1966 he joined Manfred Mann
['MM'], already a chart-topping group, as replacement for Paul Jones
, who was leaving to go solo
.
D'Abo later reflected on what had gone wrong for Band of Angels: "We weren't right for each other. We weren't a group. They didn't want me to be too outstanding, a thing that happens naturally in most groups....Also we looked old-fashioned when we started. I knew I looked wrong but I didn't want to change, I looked like me and what I am. It is just lucky that fashion now agrees with me." (Rave
, November 1966)
Comparison between d'Abo and Jones was a media preoccupation at the time of the switch, but d'Abo wasted little worry on it. "I enjoy being with the group," he told Pete Goodman. "We really do have an enormously wide range of musical tastes among us."
D'Abo's first big hit with MM, "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James," was nearly launched with "Mr Jones" in the title. It had not occurred to the group that a reference to Paul Jones might have been surmised. D'Abo first recorded
the As Is album
(with the attaching single
"Just Like a Woman
"). All of the UK
Fontana
and U.S.
Mercury
releases featured d'Abo.
He composed a hit single, "Handbags and Gladrags
", for Chris Farlowe
(which was also notably recorded by Rod Stewart
and Stereophonics
and subsequently became the theme music
to the BBC television
show The Office
). He also wrote two songs recorded by Rod Stewart on Immediate Records
: "Little Miss Understood" and "So Much to Say (So Little Time)." With d'Abo fronting, Manfred Mann enjoyed numerous hits, including "Ragamuffin Man", "Ha Ha Said the Clown," "My Name Is Jack." and the Dylan
-penned number one
hit
, "Mighty Quinn
."
In December 1968 d'Abo played the lead in Gulliver Travels (subtly, not Gulliver's Travels
) at the Mermaid Theatre
, Blackfriars, London. After the MM group disbanded in 1969, he also portrayed Herod
on the original recording of Jesus Christ Superstar
. He had a cameo role on the original recording of Evita and co-wrote the song "Build Me Up Buttercup
", made famous by The Foundations
. He also wrote "Loving Cup" for The Fortunes
and "Mary, Won't You Warm My Bed" for Colin Blunstone
. In 1970 he composed and performed the music for the Peter Sellers
film There's a Girl in My Soup
and played John Lennon in No One was Saved at the Royal Court Theatre Schools scheme. D'Abo also worked with Mike Smith, the former keyboard player of the Dave Clark Five. In 1976 they released an album on the CBS (UK) label, "Smith & d'Abo."
Recently, d'Abo has participated in The Manfreds
, a group of original Manfred Mann members other than Mann himself, and played occasional live dates with his part-time group, The Mighty Quintet. In 2000 he briefly advised and worked with Stars in Their Eyes
champion Ian Moor
. He was musical director during the filming of Moor's live concert video
, Naturally, at the Hull New Theatre and played keyboards
for the concert.
, Ben d'Abo, and twins Ella and Louis (born in November 2007). He is a first cousin of actress Maryam d'Abo
.
, "The Golden Years," playing music from the '50's onwards; it broadcast on Saturdays on BBC Radio Gloucestershire
. BBC Wiltshire Sound subsequently added the programme to their schedules.
During the '90s, he also presented "Late Night West," a popular weeknightly programme on west-of-England local radio for five nights a week he also presented 'Late Night West', a popular programme broadcast on BBC local radio in the west of England that included music, competitions, and a listener phone-in.
In the late '90s he contributed to 'The Mike d'Abo Story', a documentary written by Geoff Leonard, narrated and produced by Phil Vowels, and broadcast on BBC Radio Bristol
and BBC Radio Gloucestershire
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, best known as the former lead vocalist of Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
.
Biography
Michael David d'Abo, the son of a London stockbroker, was educated at Harrow SchoolHarrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...
. He was born in March 1944, is 5 in 11 in (1.8 m), and has eyes "that honestly seem to change from blue to brown to green, depending on the light" (Pete Goodman, music journalist). D'Abo's original intention at Cambridge was to read theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and become a priest but, faced with "everything to learn" (not least Classical Greek and Hebrew), and a disconnect between the "strange, impractical philosophy" he was being taught and his idealism about "bringing comfort to people" and spreading "understanding in the world," he "became wholly disillusioned" (Rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
, November 1966). He switched to economics, also unsuccessfully, and left Cambridge with "a first class jazz collection" but without completing his studies. His musical career began while he was still at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
. He had minor success with a group of Old Harrovians, Band of Angels
Band of Angels
Band of Angels is a 1957 romantic drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, and Sidney Poitier. The movie was directed by Raoul Walsh.-Plot:Amantha Starr is the...
that had their own comic strip in a UK pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
weekly, Fab 208. Band of Angels
Band of Angels
Band of Angels is a 1957 romantic drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, and Sidney Poitier. The movie was directed by Raoul Walsh.-Plot:Amantha Starr is the...
didn't make the big time but d'Abo did: in August 1966 he joined Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
['MM'], already a chart-topping group, as replacement for Paul Jones
Paul Jones (singer)
Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:As P. P...
, who was leaving to go solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
.
D'Abo later reflected on what had gone wrong for Band of Angels: "We weren't right for each other. We weren't a group. They didn't want me to be too outstanding, a thing that happens naturally in most groups....Also we looked old-fashioned when we started. I knew I looked wrong but I didn't want to change, I looked like me and what I am. It is just lucky that fashion now agrees with me." (Rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
, November 1966)
Comparison between d'Abo and Jones was a media preoccupation at the time of the switch, but d'Abo wasted little worry on it. "I enjoy being with the group," he told Pete Goodman. "We really do have an enormously wide range of musical tastes among us."
D'Abo's first big hit with MM, "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James," was nearly launched with "Mr Jones" in the title. It had not occurred to the group that a reference to Paul Jones might have been surmised. D'Abo first recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
the As Is album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
(with the attaching single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Just Like a Woman
Just Like a Woman
Just Like a Woman is a 1992 British film by Christopher Monger starring Julie Walters, Adrian Pasdar and Paul Freeman. Gerald, a finance executive , finds himself thrown out by his wife when she discovers women's underwear in their flat; in fact the clothes belong to him. He takes lodgings with...
"). All of the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Fontana
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
and U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
releases featured d'Abo.
He composed a hit single, "Handbags and Gladrags
Handbags and Gladrags
"Handbags and Gladrags" is the name of a song written in 1967 by Mike d'Abo, who was then the lead singer of Manfred Mann. D'Abo describes the song as "saying to a teenage girl that the way to happiness is not through being trendy. There are deeper values."The original demo tape of the original...
", for Chris Farlowe
Chris Farlowe
Chris Farlowe is an English rock, blues and soul singer. He is best known for his hit single "Out of Time", which rose to #1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1966, and his association with Colosseum and the Thunderbirds.Outside his music career, Farlowe collects war memorabilia.-Career:Inspired by Lonnie...
(which was also notably recorded by Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
and Stereophonics
Stereophonics
The Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band now living in turners x that formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in Cynon Valley, Wales. The band currently comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing...
and subsequently became the theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
to the BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
show The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
). He also wrote two songs recorded by Rod Stewart on Immediate Records
Immediate Records
Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.-History:...
: "Little Miss Understood" and "So Much to Say (So Little Time)." With d'Abo fronting, Manfred Mann enjoyed numerous hits, including "Ragamuffin Man", "Ha Ha Said the Clown," "My Name Is Jack." and the 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...
-penned number one
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, "Mighty Quinn
Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
"Quinn the Eskimo " is a folk-rock song written by Bob Dylan and first recorded during The Basement Tapes sessions in 1967. The song was first released in January 1968 as "Mighty Quinn" by the British band Manfred Mann and became a great success...
."
In December 1968 d'Abo played the lead in Gulliver Travels (subtly, not Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
) at the Mermaid Theatre
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
, Blackfriars, London. After the MM group disbanded in 1969, he also portrayed Herod
Herod Antipas
Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
on the original recording of Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
. He had a cameo role on the original recording of Evita and co-wrote the song "Build Me Up Buttercup
Build Me Up Buttercup
"Build Me Up Buttercup" is the name of a song written by Mike d'Abo and Tony Macaulay, and released by The Foundations with Colin Young singing the lead vocals in 1968. This was the third major hit for The Foundations. Colin Young replaced Clem Curtis in 1968 and this was the first Foundations hit...
", made famous by The Foundations
The Foundations
The Foundations were a British soul band, active from 1967 to 1970. The group, made up of West Indians, White British, and a Sri Lankan, are best known for their two biggest hits, "Baby Now That I've Found You" , written by Tony Macaulay and John MacLeod; and "Build Me Up Buttercup" The Foundations...
. He also wrote "Loving Cup" for The Fortunes
The Fortunes
The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, The Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US and UK Top 10s...
and "Mary, Won't You Warm My Bed" for Colin Blunstone
Colin Blunstone
Colin Blunstone is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.-Biography:...
. In 1970 he composed and performed the music for the Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
film There's a Girl in My Soup
There's a Girl in My Soup
There's a Girl in My Soup is a 1970 British comedy film, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. Sellers appears as Robert Danvers, a vain, womanizing and wealthy host of a high-profile cooking show...
and played John Lennon in No One was Saved at the Royal Court Theatre Schools scheme. D'Abo also worked with Mike Smith, the former keyboard player of the Dave Clark Five. In 1976 they released an album on the CBS (UK) label, "Smith & d'Abo."
Recently, d'Abo has participated in The Manfreds
The Manfreds
The Manfreds are a British pop group, formed in 1991 as a reunion of former members of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann, however without their eponymous founder Manfred Mann himself.-Personnel:*Paul Jones - vocals, harmonica...
, a group of original Manfred Mann members other than Mann himself, and played occasional live dates with his part-time group, The Mighty Quintet. In 2000 he briefly advised and worked with Stars in Their Eyes
Stars In Their Eyes
Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent show that ran on Saturdays nights from 21 July 1990 until 23 December 2006 in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars...
champion Ian Moor
Ian Moor
Ian Moor is an English singer, and the Stars in Their Eyes Champion of Champions.He was brought up in West Hull, living first in Anlaby, and then later in Willerby...
. He was musical director during the filming of Moor's live concert video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, Naturally, at the Hull New Theatre and played keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
for the concert.
Family
He is the father of actress Olivia d'AboOlivia d'Abo
Olivia d'Abo is an English actress and singer-songwriter, best known for portraying Karen Arnold in The Wonder Years and Nicole Wallace, the recurring villain in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Acting career:...
, Ben d'Abo, and twins Ella and Louis (born in November 2007). He is a first cousin of actress Maryam d'Abo
Maryam d'Abo
Maryam d'Abo is an English film and television actress, best known as Bond girl Kara Milovy in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights.-Early life:...
.
Radio
In 1997 D'Abo presented a programme on BBC Radio BristolBBC Radio Bristol
BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC Local Radio service for the English city of Bristol and the surrounding former Avon area. Launched in September 1970, it broadcasts from Broadcasting House in Bristol on FM frequencies 94.9 MHz , 104.6 MHz , 103.6 MHz , on AM 1548 kHz and on DAB.The...
, "The Golden Years," playing music from the '50's onwards; it broadcast on Saturdays on BBC Radio Gloucestershire
BBC Radio Gloucestershire
BBC Radio Gloucestershire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Gloucestershire, which started on 3 October 1988. It broadcasts from its studios in London Rd, Gloucester on 95 , 95.8 , 104.7 FM, 1413 in the Cotswolds & Forest of Dean AM and over the internet.-Transmitters:The...
. BBC Wiltshire Sound subsequently added the programme to their schedules.
During the '90s, he also presented "Late Night West," a popular weeknightly programme on west-of-England local radio for five nights a week he also presented 'Late Night West', a popular programme broadcast on BBC local radio in the west of England that included music, competitions, and a listener phone-in.
In the late '90s he contributed to 'The Mike d'Abo Story', a documentary written by Geoff Leonard, narrated and produced by Phil Vowels, and broadcast on BBC Radio Bristol
BBC Radio Bristol
BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC Local Radio service for the English city of Bristol and the surrounding former Avon area. Launched in September 1970, it broadcasts from Broadcasting House in Bristol on FM frequencies 94.9 MHz , 104.6 MHz , 103.6 MHz , on AM 1548 kHz and on DAB.The...
and BBC Radio Gloucestershire
BBC Radio Gloucestershire
BBC Radio Gloucestershire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Gloucestershire, which started on 3 October 1988. It broadcasts from its studios in London Rd, Gloucester on 95 , 95.8 , 104.7 FM, 1413 in the Cotswolds & Forest of Dean AM and over the internet.-Transmitters:The...
.
Discography
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | d'Abo | UNI |
| 1972 | Down At Rachel's Place | A&M A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:... |
| 1974 | Broken Rainbows | A&M A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:... |
| 1987 | Indestructible | President |
| 1988 | Tomorrow's Troubador | President |
| 2001 | The Mike D'Abo Collection, Vol. 1: 1964-1970 - Handbags & Gladrags The Mike D'Abo Collection, Vol. 1: 1964-1970 -Track listing:#Me - A Band Of Angels#Not True as Yet - A Band of Angels#Gonna Make a Woman of You - A Band of Angels#She'll Never Be You - A Band of Angels#Too Late My Love - A Band of Angels# Invitation - A Band of Angels#See the Little People... |
RPM |
| 2003 | A Little Miss Understood: Mike d'Abo Collection, Vol. 2 | RPM |
| 2004 | Handbags and Gladrags: The Mike D'Abo Songbook | President |
| 2004 | Hidden Gems & Treasured Friends | Angel Air Angel Air Angel Airlines, trading as Angel Air, was an airline based in Bangkok, Thailand, which was operational between 1997 and 2006.-Fleet:Over the years, Angel Airlines operated the following aircraft types:... |