The legendary Manband from Wales...
...is, without doubt, one of my all-time favourite bands. Oh come on, any band that can come up with a song lyrics like:
"I like to eat bananas because they got no bones / I like marijuana because it gets me stoned."
has got to be worth listening to. Yeah, no prizes for guessing that I don't subscribe to the dumbass theory that smoking grass leads you to try harder drugs. No it doesn't. It leads you to giggling, raiding the fridge and falling asleep. If someone is going to end up hooked on coke or smack, they will do, irrespective of whether they smoke a joint at any point in their lives. But that particular avenue is best explored in the Rant section at some point, I think. Back to the Manband...
I have seen Man live on quite a few separate occasions over the years. My friend Mick Schofield first got me to listen to them in 1982, by playing me "Be Good To Yourself", "Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics" and "Slow Motion". He then progressed through "Greasy Truckers", "Padget Rooms" and "Christmas at the Patti". I was impressed. As we worked our way through the back catalogue, he inevitably dug out "Maximum Darkness" and that was the one that really sold me. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it was a combination of the music and the wicked Rick Griffin cover, who can say? Certainly, I still love the version of 7171-551 from that album.
"I like to eat bananas because they got no bones / I like marijuana because it gets me stoned."
has got to be worth listening to. Yeah, no prizes for guessing that I don't subscribe to the dumbass theory that smoking grass leads you to try harder drugs. No it doesn't. It leads you to giggling, raiding the fridge and falling asleep. If someone is going to end up hooked on coke or smack, they will do, irrespective of whether they smoke a joint at any point in their lives. But that particular avenue is best explored in the Rant section at some point, I think. Back to the Manband...
I have seen Man live on quite a few separate occasions over the years. My friend Mick Schofield first got me to listen to them in 1982, by playing me "Be Good To Yourself", "Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics" and "Slow Motion". He then progressed through "Greasy Truckers", "Padget Rooms" and "Christmas at the Patti". I was impressed. As we worked our way through the back catalogue, he inevitably dug out "Maximum Darkness" and that was the one that really sold me. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it was a combination of the music and the wicked Rick Griffin cover, who can say? Certainly, I still love the version of 7171-551 from that album.
Man - The Talbot Stoke 13th November 1998
Setlist: Ride and the View / C'Mon / Do It / Manillo / Man with X-Ray Eyes / Brother Arnold's Red and White Striped Tent / Wings of Mercury / 7171-551 / Many Are Called But Few Get Up / Spunk Rock // Bananas
Notice the date on the ticket too! The first time I saw Man they had just recorded their Friday 13th album....ooh, creepy, or what?
By now, the band lineup had evolved to be the classic trio of Ace/Jones/Leonard and new drummer, Bob Richards. Their performance was excellent and a lot heavier than they had been - not a bad development as far as I was concerned. As usual they were extremely friendly, talkative and glad to see fans, both before and after the gig. I'd forgotten just how good this band could be.
I didn't have to wait so long for the next gig. I seem to remember the gig at some hovel in Birmingham, called The Foundry, on 31st January 1999, but I can't find any souvenir of it and I can't, for the life of me, remember anything else about it either, apart from buying Martin a pint.! It was at some roach-infested cellar is about all I can recall.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
December 2001
Notice the date on the ticket too! The first time I saw Man they had just recorded their Friday 13th album....ooh, creepy, or what?
By now, the band lineup had evolved to be the classic trio of Ace/Jones/Leonard and new drummer, Bob Richards. Their performance was excellent and a lot heavier than they had been - not a bad development as far as I was concerned. As usual they were extremely friendly, talkative and glad to see fans, both before and after the gig. I'd forgotten just how good this band could be.
I didn't have to wait so long for the next gig. I seem to remember the gig at some hovel in Birmingham, called The Foundry, on 31st January 1999, but I can't find any souvenir of it and I can't, for the life of me, remember anything else about it either, apart from buying Martin a pint.! It was at some roach-infested cellar is about all I can recall.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
December 2001