Manfred Mann

Manfred Mann were 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.

In 1964, the group was asked to provide a new theme tune for the ITV pop music television programme Ready Steady Go! They responded with "5-4-3-2-1" which, with the help of weekly television exposure, rose to No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Shortly after "5-4-3-2-1" was recorded, Richmond left the band, though he would record with them occasionally later. He was replaced by Jones' friend Tom McGuinness—the first of many changes. After a further self-penned hit, "Hubble Bubble (Toil And Trouble)", the band struck gold with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", a cover version of the Exciters' No. 78 Hot 100 hit earlier that year. The track reached the top of the UK, Canadian, and US charts.

With the success of "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" the sound of the group's singles moved away from the jazzy, blues-based music of their early years to a pop hybrid that continued to make hit singles from cover material. They hit No. 3 in the UK with another girl-group cover, "Sha La La" (originally by the Shirelles), which also reached No. 12 in the US and Canada, and followed it with the sentimental "Come Tomorrow" (originally by Marie Knight) but both were of a noticeably lighter texture than their earliest output. Meanwhile, B-sides and four-song EPs showcased original material and instrumental solos. The group also returned to jazz and R&B themes on their albums: their first, 1964's The Five Faces of Manfred Mann, included standards such as "Smokestack Lightning" while the second and last with this line-up, Mann Made, offered several self-composed instrumentals and a version of "Stormy Monday Blues" alongside novelties and pop ballads. With a cover of Maxine Brown's "Oh No Not My Baby" began a phase of new depth and sophistication in the arrangements of their singles. The group began its string of successes with Bob Dylan songs with a track on the best-selling EP The One in the Middle, "With God on Our Side", next reaching No. 2 in the UK with "If You Gotta Go, Go Now". The EP's title track reached the British Top 10, the last self-written song (by Jones) and the band's last R'n'B workout to do so. The run climaxed with a second UK No. 1 single, "Pretty Flamingo", produced by John Burgess.

The group had managed an initial jazz/rhythm-and-blues fusion, and then had taken chart music in their stride—but could not hope to cope with Paul Jones' projected solo career as a singer and actor, and with Mike Vickers' orchestral and instrumental ambitions. Jones intended to go solo once a replacement could be found, but stayed with the band for another year, during which Vickers left. McGuinness moved to guitar, his original instrument, contributing the distinctive National Steel Guitar to "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" and "Pretty Flamingo", and was replaced on bass by Jack Bruce, who had been playing for the Graham Bond Organisation for some time before a recent brief stint with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. At the same time Bruce joined, the group expanded to a seven-piece with the addition of brass players Lyn Dobson and Henry Lowther. This line-up recorded the single "Pretty Flamingo" and the EPs Machines and Instrumental Asylum, the latter beginning the group's experiments with instrumental versions of chart songs.