Richard Manitoba

Richard Blum (born January 29, 1954), known by his stage name Handsome Dick Manitoba, is an American punk rock musician and radio personality. He was the singer of New York City-based band The Dictators from 1974 to 2008. With The Dictators, Manitoba sang on the albums The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! (1975), Manifest Destiny (1977), Bloodbrothers (1978) and D.F.F.D. (2005).

Manitoba also sang with a reunited version of MC5 from 2005 to 2012.

Manitoba is Jewish, and was raised in the Gun Hill Projects in the neighborhood of Williamsbridge, Bronx, New York City. He spent his last three teenage years living in Co-op City, Bronx, New York City. Manitoba was childhood friends with future bandmate, Scott "Top Ten" Kempner, since the 4th grade.

Manitoba began as a roadie for The Dictators. He made his official stage debut with the band at Popeye's Spinach Factory in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, in 1975.

The band's first major-label album, The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! (Epic Records, 1975), featured his picture on the cover and he was listed as the "Secret Weapon". While he sang some lead and some background, he was still considered a "mascot" of the band. He took on a larger singing role on The Dictators' second offering, Manifest Destiny, a 1977 release on the Asylum label. On Bloodbrothers, the third and final Dictators studio recording from the 1970s (Asylum, 1978), Manitoba sang lead vocals on most tracks. The Dictators disbanded in 1979.

Manitoba's red-sequined wrestling jacket has been on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since its opening in 1995.^{[citation needed]}

On January 24, 1986, The Dictators played a reunion show at The Ritz in New York City.

In 1986, Manitoba, along with other former members of the Dictators, formed Wild Kingdom. In 1989, the band rebranded itself to Manitoba's Wild Kingdom and, in 1990, released an album ...And You? on MCA Records.