Tom McGuinness of Manfred Mann: the Sixties icon who can’t stop playing)
“THE closest I’ve ever been to Cyprus was hearing ‘Akrotiri Calling’ on Two Way Family Favourites in the sixties,” joked rocker Tom McGuinness, who is in Cyprus next month for a one-off concert with The Manfreds.
History records the Swinging Sixties was a decade that included the summer of love, hippies, outrageous drug-taking and an explosion of new musical bands – it was a perfect time for all aspiring musicians.
For McGuinness, his introduction to a musical career which has lasted nearly 40 years fell into place in 1963 when he started playing guitar in a band alongside another 18-year-old guitarist called Eric Clapton.
“My then girlfriend, who later became my wife, was at art school with Eric and introduced me to him. We discovered that we had a mutual interest in blues and managed to put a band together,” recalled McGuinness.
For nearly a year Clapton and McGuinness honed their craft at a series of dingy venues and clubs in south east England, but the two struggled to find bookings.
“To be honest there was not one of us in the band who was capable of holding it together, and organising things. We didn’t fall apart because of musical differences. We fell apart because we were not capable of organising another gig!”
Months later, Clapton received his lucky break when he was invited to join the up-and-coming Yardbirds band and by a stroke of luck and a friendship with Manfred Mann vocalist Paul Jones, McGuinness was offered a new job.
“Actually I had known Paul for a long time. We had tried to get a blues band together as early as 1962, but we literally could not find anyone else who wanted to play it.
“That all changed a year or so later when R&B became popular and bands like the Animals, Spencer Davies and the Yardbirds were suddenly flavour of the month, now playing in dancehalls and balls rooms – twelve months before we were struggling to get a pub gig.”
McGuinness joined Manfred Mann just as two of their singles were used as the theme music to the pioneering British television music programme, Ready Steady Go.
“5-4-3-2-1” provided their breakthrough Top 10 hit in early 1964 and by the summer, the group registered their first UK number one record, with “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”.
“I got into the Manfred Mann group just before Christmas 1963,” McGuiness recalled. “They actually wanted a bass player, which I told them I was, infact the first time I ever played bass guitar was the moment I walked on stage with them after getting the job.
“With the arrogant confidence of a young man I thought I can do that easily, because I had been playing guitar up until then which had six strings and a bass guitar only had four…and they didn’t find me out. Six weeks later we had a big hit.”
Over the next two years the band were seldom out of the charts, with hits such as “Sha La La”, “Come Tomorrow”, “Oh No, Not My Baby” and Bob Dylan’s “If You Got To Go, Go Now”.
In May 1966, they returned to the number one spot on the British charts with the sublime “Pretty Flamingo”.
Manfred Mann, quickly became one of Britain’s most successful pop groups, and even launched into business to protect the exploitation of pop artists.
Manfred Mann said he had seen youths “taken to the cleaners” by managers, publishers, and recording companies who force them to sign away rights in contracts they do not understand.
The hits continued until 1969 when fans were left shocked by a small announcement on page 6 of the home news section of the Times newspaper in London.
“The Manfred Mann pop group has decided to split up after five years, a spokesman said last night. The decision was reached amicably. Manfred Mann, aged 27, has teamed up with his drummer, Mike Hugg, to form a new band,” the report read.
Unlike the Beatles, whose disbandment ended up in the courts, Manfred Mann break-up was a fairly friendly parting of the ways.
“We didn’t fall out at all, far from it. The problem was boredom. Manfred Mann, the keyboard player, and Mike Hugg were finding the whole thing a real treadmill, because what we would do is go into the studio every three months, record a single and it would be a hit.”
For McGuinness his later partnership with Hughie Flint was to endure for many years – and provided the pair with a string of hits as “McGuinness Flint”
Their first single “When I’m Dead and Gone” reached number two on the UK Singles Chart at the end of the year and the debut album McGuinness Flint also made the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart.
Since then McGuinness has not stopped, and says his impending visit to Cyprus should be “a cracker”.
“I can’t wait, it will be a fantastic show and I’ll finally get to see that island,” he said.
On September 12, Tom McGuiness, Paul Jones and Mike D’Abo will perform as The Manfreds at Coral Beach Hotel. For a special Coral Beach Hotel overnight offer) 26-881059
