Considered to be one of the best live bands on the touring circuit, The Manfreds, featuring original Manfred Mann members Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness, are excited to be returning to some of their favourite, more intimate, venues in 2025.
They are considered one of the finest and most respected bands from the 1960’s era. Their numerous hits were not just ‘pop’ songs, many were R&B based with an undercurrent of jazz – a very unusual but winning combination of playing style and substance.
As a result, their records have a timeless quality and, some 60 years on, The Manfreds, with original front man Paul Jones, will be performing, many of their hits including ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy’, one of the most popular and instantly recognisable songs of the ‘60’s and still the biggest audience pleaser at their concerts, along with a mix of Jazz and Blues covers and tracks from their individual solo albums.
Paul Jones, with his unique harmonica sound, will be joined by Tom McGuinness on guitar, Pete Riley on drums, Mike Gorman on keyboards, Marcus Cliffe on bass, and Simon Currie on saxophone/ flute.
Between 1964 and 1979 Manfred Mann scored three British Number One hits – plus two more Number One hits in America plus another seven that went Top 5 and six more that made the Top 10. Over this period Manfred Mann’s bands featured some of the finest singers on the British pop and rock scene:… (click for more information)
Keyboards (formerly Drums & Vibes)
In 1962 Mike hired Manfred to play with him in a jazz combo for a summer season at Butlins Holiday Camp. Returning to London they quickly formed the Mann-Hugg Quartet, with Mike on vibraphone and Manfred on piano. Slowly the blues began to dominate – adding 4 brass and PP Jones on vocals, Mike switched… (click for more information)
Vocals and Harmonica
Paul Jones was awarded Harmonica Player Of The Year in 2010, 2011 and 2012 at the British Blues Awards., earning him a place the Hall of Fame. Apart from The Manfreds and The Blues Band, the long and growing list of those he has played for, both live and on record, includes Chris Barber, Eric… (click for more information)
Guitarist
Tom was born in Wimbledon in 1941. Along with a whole generation, hearing Lonnie Donegan records on Radio Luxembourg inspired him to take up the guitar. His parents bought him a guitar and Bert Weedon's instruction book Play In A Day and so useful was this book that after a month he still couldn't even… (click for more information)
Bass
Born in Leeds in 1962, Marcus studied piano from the age of nine. He started playing bass guitar/double bass in high school then went on to Leeds College of Music to study Jazz and Light Music as a pianist, but changed to bass after one year and graduated in 1983. After leaving college he joined… (click for more information)
Saxophone & Flute
Looking back at Simon Currie’s incredible list of credits, it seems a completely natural progression to find him playing alongside THE MANFREDS. From 1983-88 he was a member of The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO). This enabled him to share the concert platform with the likes of GEORGE SHEARING, MEL TORMÉ, PEGGY LEE, ROSEMARY CLOONEY,… (click for more information)
Website: https://www.themanfreds.com