Man (Official Thread)

Big Ears

Music Lover
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Posts
5,195
Reaction score
136
Location
Hampshire, England
thumbnail.aspx



The Man homepage

A Biography of Man


Man were formed in 1962 as The Bystanders, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, and consisted of Micky Jones (guitar), Ray Williams (bass), Jeff Jones (drums), Clive John aka Clint Space (keyboards) and Vic Oakley (vocals), replacing Owen Money (aka Gerry Braden). They were a close harmony vocal group, which released a number of singles and appeared on mainstream BBC radio shows. The Bystanders also played a large number of live performances in local clubs. By 1968, the band wanted to change musical direction to a more psychedelic/American west-coast guitar sound, so singer Vic Oakley left, to be replaced by Roger 'Deke' Leonard (guitar, vocals) from Dream, and the band changed its name to Man.

Man were initially signed to Pye Records, for whom they recorded their first two albums: the psychedelic Revelation (Pye 1968) and more progressive 2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle (Pye 1969). Deke Leonard departed, for the first of many occasions, to be replaced by Martin Ace, also from Dream. The band then toured Europe, supporting Chicago. Leonard rejoined, but Ace stayed on as a multi-instrumentalist. Soon after, Ray Williams and Jeff Jones were replaced respectively by Terry Williams (the third member of Dream to join Man) on drums and Ace switching to bass. The albums made little impact in the UK, but the band accrued a sizeable following on the continent, so they spent a year in Germany, where, having to play 4–5 hours a night, most numbers became extended jams.

Manager Barrie Marshall obtained a new record contract with United Artists, for whom Man recorded the self-titled Man album (Liberty 1970). They continued to play on the continent with Soft Machine, Yes and Family, and appeared on the United Artists sampler album, All Good Clean Fun (United Artists 1971). The group undertook a tour of Switzerland, to promote the latter, together with English bands Help Yourself (including future Man members Malcolm Morley on Keyboards and Ken Whaley on bass) and Gypsy. The fourth album, the consistently strong Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In? (United Artists 1971) was recorded at Rockfield Studios by Kingsley Ward and the band played shows with Badfinger. Constant touring created pressure and in January 1972, Clive John (keyboards) left the band, to form Iowerth Pritchard and the Neutrons, with Phil Ryan and Will Youatt.

The lineup of Micky Jones, Deke Leonard, Martin Ace and Terry Williams, supported Hawkwind and Brinsley Schwarz at a charity gig at The Roundhouse, London, on 13th February 1972, which was recorded and released as a limited edition double album, Greasy Truckers Party (UA1972). Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth (United Artists 1972) was recorded on 8th April 1972 and sold at a reduced price. Only 8,000 copies were pressed, which sold out in a week, making it No. 1 in the 'budget' album chart. Man recorded the first of three John Peel radio sessions on 29th August 1972, the others following on 18th September 1973 and 31st October 1974.

Martin Ace left Man, to form The Flying Aces, and Leonard departed again. Clive John rejoined together with his new band members, Phil Ryan (keyboards) and Will Youatt (bass). The new incarnation of the band recorded Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day (United Artists 1972). A party on 19th December 1972, with Dave Edmunds, Help Yourself, The Flying Aces and others, was issued as a double 10” album, Christmas at the Patti (United Artists 1973), which again topped the 'budget' album chart, but, on tour, Clive John had a dispute with Micky Jones and left for the second time. For Back Into The Future (United Artists 1973), Alan 'Tweke' Lewis from Wild Turkey joined on second guitar. On 24th June 1973, Man recorded the live half of the double album at The Roundhouse, backed by the Gwalia Male Voice Choir. Album sales were good, but pressing was limited by a shortage of plastic during the oil crisis. The follow-up tour, saw Man supported by Deke Leonard’s Iceberg. When Ryan and Youatt left to form The Neutrons in December 1973, Leonard rejoined, along with two former members of Help Yourself and Iceberg: Malcolm Morley (keyboards) and Ken Whaley (bass).

The eighth album Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, known for his work with Queen, and spent four weeks in the UK album chart, peaking at No. 24. In March/April 1974, Man supported Hawkwind on The 1999 Party, a five-week US tour. At the Los Angeles Whisky a Go Go on 12th March, Jim Horn joined the band on saxophone, and the show was issued as a bonus disc accompanying the Rhino reissue in 2007. The 21st April gig, in Chicago, was recorded for radio and issued on CD as The 1999 Party Tour in 1997 (Point 1997), but it incorrectly omits Malcolm Morley from the credits. The group toured the UK, again with Badfinger, and the USA in August–October 1974.

Malcolm Morley left Man the day before recording started on the ninth album Slow Motion. To promote the album, they returned to the USA in March 1975, to tour with REO Speedwagon, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Blue Öyster Cult. During the final gigs at the San Francisco Winterland, Micky Jones developed pneumonia and Ken Whaley left, so Martin Ace flew out as a substitute bassist. The band met and rehearsed with John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service, who played with them at Winterland and agreed to remain for a UK tour. On this tour, the Roundhouse gig was recorded and released as Maximum Darkness (United Artists 1975), but it is rumoured that Micky Jones over-dubbed Cipollina’s guitar, because it was out of tune. The album reached No. 25 in the UK album chart and Martin Ace continued as bassist until the end of a French tour with Hawkwind, Gong and Magma, when he returned to the Flying Aces.

Man signed to MCA Records, with Phil Ryan rejoining on keyboards (from Pete Brown) and John McKenzie, of Global Village Trucking Company, on bass. They then recorded The Welsh Connection (MCA 1976), which reached No. 40 in the UK Album Chart and was promoted with tours in March/April 1976 in Britain and June/July in the US. A live farewell album, All's Well That Ends Well (MCA 1977) was recorded at the Roundhouse on 11th–13th December, although the final gig was in Slough, Berkshire, on 16th December 1976.

During the interval, Martin Ace and Micky Jones occasionally backed Welsh Elvis impersonator, Peter Singh, in The Screaming Pakistanis. Micky Jones formed the Micky Jones Band in 1978, with Tweke Lewis (guitar), Steve Dixon (drums), Al McLaine (bass) and Steve Gurl (ex Wild Turkey & Babe Ruth) (keyboards). Lewis and Gurl left, so Jones, Dixon and McLaine continued as a 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 reformed Iceberg, initially with Martin Ace and Terry Williams (who also played with Rockpile) and began work on an album, Before Your Very Eyes. Recording took two attempts, during which Lincoln Carr replaced Ace on bass, and the release was delayed for five years, until EMI took over United Artists. A later lineup included two musicians from Help Yourself, Richard Treece (guitar and bass) and B.J. Cole (pedal steel guitar), along with Reg Isadore (drums) from Robin Trower. Leonard briefly moved to the USA, where he worked on a Walter Egan album. He 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 in 1982. On the breakup of Man, Williams immediately joined Rockpile with Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe and Billy Bremner. They continued until 1982, issuing several successful albums and singles and touring the USA and Europe. Williams briefly worked with Meat Loaf, before receiving an offer from Dire Straits, with whom he enjoyed enormous commercial success.

Phil Ryan formed The Brown and Ryan Band with John McKenzie on bass, Taff Williams (ex Neutrons) on guitar and Steve Jones on drums. He moved to Denmark, where his wife Bolette was born, and wrote music for films and TV. John McKenzie played on some tracks from Steve Hillage's Live Herald album and became a session/backing musician, touring with Dr John, Albert Lee, Davy Spillane, The Christians, Seal, Alison Moyet and Everything but the Girl. He recorded with Bob Dylan, The Pretenders, Eurythmics, David Bowie, Mary Coughlan, Paul Brady, Moya Brennan, Andrea Corr, Damien Rice and Wham!
 

Big Ears

Music Lover
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Posts
5,195
Reaction score
136
Location
Hampshire, England
Re: Man

Man reformed in 1983, with a lineup of Micky Jones and Deke Leonard on guitars, Martin Ace on bass and John 'Pugwash' Weathers (formerly of Gentle Giant) on drums, and continued until 1996. Their first gig was on 1st April 1983 at the Marquee Club in London, and in June they recorded Friday 13th (Picasso 1983) at The Marquee, but this comprised all old material. The album was also released as Live at The Marquee by Great Expectations and Talk About a Morning by Dressed to Kill. Man played the Reading Festival, which was recorded for Tommy Vance’s Friday Rock Show and released as Live At Reading '83 ten years later (Raw Fruit 1993). The first studio album to be issued was The Twang Dynasty (Voiceprint 1992). Their performance at Glastonbury Festival was issued as Live 1994 - Official Bootleg (Voiceprint 1999) and reissued as Live Official Bootleg (Point 2001). In 1994, they recorded Call Down The Moon (Hypertension 1995) in Seattle, which was released the following year.

Weathers left in 1996, to rejoin Gentle Giant, and was replaced by returning drummer Terry Williams from Dire Straits. Williams recorded some tracks, later released on the Undrugged (Point 2002) album, but Leonard suffered a minor stroke, so the band played a few gigs as a three-piece. When Leonard returned in 1997, Williams left, to be replaced by Bob Richards formerly of The Wild Family and The Adrian Smith Band. Former keyboard player Phil Ryan returned, making the band a five-piece, which recorded a live double album, 1998 at The Star Club, Oberhausen, West Germany, in March (1998 at the Star Club, Krucker 1998). Phil Ryan played a major role in producing Endangered Species (Evangeline 2000), but had to leave the band for personal reasons. Ryan was replaced by Gareth Llewellyn Thorrington, who missed the recording of Down Town Live (Altrichter 2002) at the Down Town Blues Club, Hamburg, in May 2001, as his flight was cancelled due a bomb-scare. However, he appeared on part of the Undrugged album, an 'unplugged' album, which was started in 1996, but was not released until 2002. Undrugged contains some covers, including Brian Wilson's Sail on Sailor and Ray Charles's Georgia On My Mind, both having lead vocals 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, but when Micky had recovered enough to rejoin, in 2004, Leonard decided to leave, again, so Jones Jnr 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.

In 2006, the album Diamonds and Coal (Point 2006) was released, after which Thorrington left, and the group continued as a four-piece. The 40th anniversary tour in 2008, saw the return of Phil 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. The band split, so Josh Ace, Martin Ace and Phil Ryan recruited James Beck (guitar, vocals) and Rene Robrahn (drums, vocals). The album, Kingdom of Noise (Point 2009), was released.

After leaving Man, Micky Jones continued to perform for a while, but was diagnosed with another tumour and spent the next year-and-a-half in and out of hospital. His poor health resulted in three years in a Swansea care home until 10th March 2010, when he passed away peacefully, at the age of 63. Clive John, aka Clint Space, another original member, died after a long fight against emphysema on 24th August 2011.

Thanks to PA, Wikipedia and the NME Book of Rock

Original lineup: Micky Jones (guitar, vocals), Ray Williams (bass), Jeff Jones (drums), Clive John aka Clint Space (keyboards) and Deke Leonard (guitar, vocals)

Back Into the Future lineup: Micky Jones (guitar, vocals), Tweke Lewis (guitar), Will Youatt (bass), Terry Williams (drums) and Phil Ryan (keyboards)

Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics lineup: Micky Jones (guitar, vocals), Terry Williams (drums), Deke Leonard (guitar, vocals), Malcolm Morley (keyboards) and Ken Whaley (bass)

Final lineup: Josh Ace (guitar), Martin Ace (bass), Phil Ryan (keybards), James Beck (guitar, vocals) and Rene Robrahn (drums, vocals)
 

Big Ears

Music Lover
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Posts
5,195
Reaction score
136
Location
Hampshire, England
Re: Man

Discography
1. Revelation LP (January 1969) Pye
2. 2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle LP (September 1969) Dawn

3. Man LP (March 1971) Liberty: CD (1998) Point PNTVP117CD: CD Remix (2007) Esoteric ECLEC 2012
4. Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In? LP (November 1971) United Artists: CD Remix (2007) Esoteric ECLEC 2013
5. Greasy Truckers Party (with other artists) LP (April 1972) UK: United Artists UDX 203/4: CD (1997) Point PNTVP 104: CD Re-mix (2007) EMI 0999 503235 2 4
6. Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth LP (September 1972) United Artists USP1000: CD (1997) BGO CD 365: CD Re-mix (2007) Esoteric ECLEC 2014
7. Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day LP (October 1972) United Artists: CD (1991) BGO CD 14: CD Remix (2007) Esoteric ECLEC 2019
8. Christmas at the Patti (with other artists) LP (1973) United Artists: CD (1997) Point PNTVP110CD: CD Re-mix (2007) Esoteric ECLEC 2018
9. Back Into The Future LP (September 1973) United Artists: CD (1993) BGO CD 211: CD Re-mix (2008) Esoteric ECLEC 2060
10. Rhinos, Winos, and Lunatics LP (May 1974) United Artists: CD (1993) BGO CD 208: CD Re-mix (2007) Esoteric ECLEC 2020
11. Slow Motion LP (November 1974) United Artists: CD (1993) BGO CD 209: CD Re-mix (2008) Esoteric ECLEC 2062
12. Maximum Darkness LP (September 1975) United Artists: CD (1991) BGO CD 43: CD Re-mix (2008) Esoteric ECLEC 2061
13. The Welsh Connection LP (March 1976) MCA: CD (2003) Point PNTVP102CD
14. All's Well That Ends Well LP (November 1977) MCA MCF2815: CD (1998) Point EAMCD 068

15. Friday 13th (1984) CD (June 2001) Point PNTVP106CD

16. The Twang Dynasty (1992) Road Goes On Forever: CD (1997) Point PNTVP113CD
17. Call Down The Moon CD (May 1995) Hypertension HYCD 200 154
18. 1998 At The Star Club CD (1998) LC5768/LD5768

19. Endangered Species CD (June 2000) Evangeline GEL 4001
20. Down Town Live (2002) Altrichter Music AM 310559
21. Undrugged (May 2002) Point PNTVP 121CD
22. Diamonds and Coal (2006) Point PNTVP 134 CD
23. Kingdom of Noise (2009) Point PNTVP 135 CD


Man live at the Patti Pavilion, Swansea, Wales, 18th December 2004




Micky Jones tribute Concerts 3rd and 18th September 2008 at Ponterdawe
Arts Center, South Wales. Date uncertain.




7171551 by Man, but actually an Iceberg track. Date not known.

 

Big Ears

Music Lover
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Posts
5,195
Reaction score
136
Location
Hampshire, England
Re: Man

Man photographed in San Francisco c. 1974. L-R Terry Williams, Ken Whaley, Deke Leonard, Micky Jones.

ManSlowMotion.jpg


Man's Map of wales from the Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day (UA 1972) gatefold sleeve.

map1024.jpg

From: The Man homepage - miscellaneous


Do You Like It Here now, Are You Settling In? (UA 1971)

Man+Do+You+Like+It+Here+Now.png


This piece was designed by Rick Griffin for an album cover that was not used due to an objection by Mad Magazine. The album was named Slow Motion and was recorded by Man, a Welsh rock band in 1974. The cover ultimately used a portion of Griffin’s work, but eliminated the Alfred E. Neuman character.

MAN.jpg


261114541_fb8b8de9af_z.jpg
 

Sweaty

ThE OtHeR rAmOnE
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Posts
5,722
Reaction score
23
Location
Chesterfield, England
Great thread Big Ears, just added a couple of things if you don't mind, nice read, I have the 2nd album on CD and have seen them live once with one of their lineups. The rain poured down and the whisky flowed but they were great.

I would deffo go and see them again, love to here their music live, well all good music live I suppose:)
 

Big Ears

Music Lover
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Posts
5,195
Reaction score
136
Location
Hampshire, England
Great thread Big Ears, just added a couple of things if you don't mind, nice read, I have the 2nd album on CD and have seen them live once with one of their lineups. The rain poured down and the whisky flowed but they were great.

I would deffo go and see them again, love to here their music live, well all good music live I suppose:)

Thanks Sweaty. I would love to see them live, but it would now be without Micky Jones.
 

Find member

Forum statistics

Threads
30,658
Posts
1,064,913
Members
6,353
Latest member
edmerka

Members online

Top