Manfred Mann

Manfred Mann was an English-based rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann. The group had two lead vocalists: Paul Jones from 1962 to 1966 and Mike d'Abo from 1966 to 1969. Other members of various group line-ups were Mike Hugg, Mike Vickers, Dave Richmond, Tom McGuinness, Jack Bruce, Lyn Dobson, Henry Lowther and Klaus Voormann.Prominent in the Swinging London scene of the 1960s, the group regularly appeared in the UK Singles Chart. Their breakthrough hit "5-4-3-2-1" (1964) was the theme tune for the ITV pop music show Ready Steady Go!. The band achieved a UK and US No. 1 hit with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (1964) and two further UK No. 1 singles, "Pretty Flamingo" (1966) and "Mighty Quinn" (1968).After the band split in 1969, Mann went on to form Manfred Mann Chapter Three (1969–1971) and Manfred Mann's Earth Band (1971–present).The Mann–Hugg Blues Brothers were formed in London in 1962 by keyboard player Manfred Mann and drummer/vibes/piano player Mike Hugg, who had previously been members of a house band in Clacton-on-Sea that also featured Graham Bond. Bringing a shared love of jazz to the British blues boom then sweeping London's clubs, the band went through several personnel changes during their formative period, with members including Tony Smith on bass guitar, Glyn Thomas on drums, and four brass players. By March 1963, the line-up had settled with Mann, Hugg, Mike Vickers on guitar, alto saxophone and flute, Dave Richmond on bass guitar and Paul Jones as lead vocalist and harmonica player. By this time they had changed their name to Manfred Mann & the Manfreds. Gigging throughout late 1962 and early 1963, they soon attracted attention for their distinctive sound.After changing their name to Manfred Mann at the behest of their label's producer John Burgess, the group signed with His Master's Voice, a sub-label of EMI Records, in March 1963 and began their recorded output that July with the slow blues instrumental single "Why Should We Not?", which they performed on their first appearance on television on a New Year's Eve show. It failed to chart, as did its follow-up (with vocals), "Cock-a-Hoop". The overdubbed instrumental soloing on woodwinds, vibes, harmonica and second keyboard lent considerable weight to the group's sound, and demonstrated the jazz-inspired technical prowess in which they took pride.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.