The Manfreds: 'What’s this? Our diamond jubilee? Wow!'

A massive part of the 60s British Invasion, The Manfreds’ music still retains a timeless quality six decades on. This tour will mark the last opportunity for fans to see both original frontmen, Paul Jones and Mike D’Abo, on tour together.

Joining D’Abo and Jones is original guitarist Tom McGuinness along with long-standing Manfreds members Rob Townsend on drums, Marcus Cliffe on bass and Simon Currie on saxophone and flute.

The band originally ran from 1962 until 1969 – defining the decade with their unique sound. Reforming as The Manfreds in 1991, the band have carried on performing together ever since for over 30 years.

Fans can expect many of the much-loved hits, including ‘Pretty Flamingo’, ‘5-4-3-2-1’, ‘The One In The Middle’, ‘Come Tomorrow’, ‘Sha La La’, ‘Ha Ha! Said The Clown’, ‘My Name Is Jack’, ‘Fox On The Run’, and chart-toppers ‘Mighty Quinn’ and ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy’, some of the most popular and instantly recognisable songs of the decade and massive pleasers at their concerts.

Alongside these classic chart toppers, The Manfreds will showcase a few Paul Jones / Mike D’Abo / Tom McGuinness solo hits, plus a few surprise renditions of their favourite rhythm ‘n’ blues numbers from over the years,.

Ahead of the tour, McGuiness said: “It’s 60 years ago this December that I joined Manfred Mann and 30 years and more since we got together for a one-off gig to celebrate my 50th birthday, with no idea that it would lead to a long-term reunion. How lucky I feel to be once again on stage making music with The Manfreds”.

Jones added: “What’s this? Our diamond jubilee? Wow!

“People say to me, ‘I bet you never dreamed you’d still be doing this after all these years/decades’, but the truth is that I always believed I’d be out here doing what I do until – and well beyond – this age. The only thing I didn’t know was that I’d still be a Manfred, and as Mike d’Abo frequently points out, we’ve got Tom McGuinness to thank for that.

“This tour is indeed a celebration of the longevity of a concept that came together over a long time – and mostly of its own accord.”

D’Abo commented: “I first became aware of Manfred Mann’s reputation with ‘5-4-3-2-1’ storming up the charts, Paul Jones oozing youthful confidence, the band – with a hint of academia about them – had a unique appeal.

“Little did I know that, in a couple of years, I’d be joining them as Paul’s replacement. What an incredible thrill and honour that was!”

Seemingly ageless, Jones, now 81, had a run-in with shingles, not too long ago. “I actually interrupted a gig!" he said. “It was my own fault as I should have taken the symptoms more seriously and I collapsed on stage. But I was OK a couple of days later.”

Despite the mention of this being the last tour where both Jones and D’Abo will be performing together, it’s not all bad news, as Jones explained.

“It’s up to Mike, really, but we think that this will be the last actual tour together, but there will likely be some isolated events where we’ll be together.”

As well as the hits, The Manfreds will no doubt be playing some songs that weren’t hits in the ‘chart’ sense.

“Especially if Mike is not with us, we do more non-hit material,” explains Jones. “But how do you define a hit? Apart from chart hits, there are those songs that you have to do and as far as I’m concerned, there’s always room for songs that were hits in the clubs like ‘Smokestack Lightnin’’ and ‘Watermelon Man’”.

After 60 years of performing, Jonesl understandably has many hightlights. “Certainly some of my theatre work, for instance, ‘Conduct Unbecoming’, which I first did at The Theatre Royal in Bristol and then both the West End and Broadway.

“Musically, there are all kinds of things. Firstly, I recorded an album at Ronnie Scott’s with Memphis Slim. I was always a fan of his and I had a call saying he wanted a harmonica player for a gig.

“Another one, was when I got a call asking me to go to LA to put some harmonica on an album that Percy Sledge was making – he was always a hero of mine. While I was there, I was asked if I would like to sing with him, and we did ‘Big Blue Diamonds’ from his 2004 album Shining Through The Rain.

“Of course, it’s a highlight to be still playing with The Manfreds. I very much enjoy the musicianship and listening to the others in the band.”

Jones is also busy away from The Manfreds. “I also do big band gigs and there’s my Christian work with my wife Fiona,” he says.

So far, he has resisted writing his autobiography.

“It’s too big a job for me at the moment, and you have to be very careful with research. Is this something that I remember happening or was it something I heard.

“For instance, I read recently that our then producer John Burgess brought ‘Doo Wah Diddy Diddy’ to the band. But the truth was that we brought it to him. I heard it played on the radio and ordered it, I played it to the band and we thought it could be a hit. We introduced it into our live set before we recorded it.

“And before you ask, I have no thoughts of retiring.”

I’ll leave the final word with D’Abo who, along with his other accomplishments, like composing ‘Handbags And Gladrags’, and co-composing ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’, is also responsible for the unforgettable ‘Finger of Fudge’ advertising jingle.

“Well… the good news is that The Manfreds are still doing it! Yes, we’re all back together again – Paul Jones, myself & Tom McGuinness – belting out the hits we created all those years ago. What an amazing survival story.“

The Manfreds 60th anniversary tour comes to Halifax’s Victoria Theatre on October 20.