Interview With Mike D'abo From The Manfreds

The Manfreds are going out on tour this autumn on their Maximum Rhythm and Blues tour, which will also include their hits like The Mighty Quinn and Do Wah Diddy. Support on the tour comes from Georgie Fame. I asked Mike D'Abo about the tour and also visiting Yorkshire.

The tour is billed as Maximum Rhythm and Blues but are you also going to play all the hits too?

Of course, we will be performing all the hits. When the Manfreds started in the early sixties they were very much a rhythm and blues band with a jazz element; the English though do not seem to get jazz with it being more of a niche market, so the jazz element had to go so they became more rhythm and blues based.

They had to get a singer then and Paul Jones showed up. Paul had liked artists such as American blues artist John Lee Hooker, who he listened to whilst at Oxford University so that went down well with the rest of the band. When I joined the band they became an out and out pop band, though I wanted to keep the soul element going.

It's going to be a great tour as we have Georgie Fame on the tour too who fits into the Rhythm and Blues tag.

The tour comes to Yorkshire, do you have any good memories?

Definitely, it is always good to get up to the north. I seem to be on the road on tour quite a lot. We play Sheffield City Hall on the tour, it is a great venue. I always like to pop into John Lewis' across the road from the City Hall. Last time we were there in Sheffield I visited a kitchen shop too which had a great range.

Then there is Halifax, again the Victoria Theatre is a special place. I like to have a good pint of beer. I remember that there is a Wetherspoons close by. Halifax has some beautiful buildings and also you can be outside of the town and within minutes you are in beautiful Yorkshire countryside.

You wrote the song Handbags and Gadrags, do you have a favourite version?

I get asked this question a lot. I have yet to get a favourite version, for me no one has done the ultimate version. I like it when the singer extracts as much as they can from the song.

Andrew Oldman, the record producer phoned me up and said that Chris Farlowe had just done Out of Time and had I got a good song for Chris to sing, which was Handbags.

Rod Stewart recorded it too in 1966, though at the time he was not a household name. He came over and sang some songs but he didn't want the song as a single as Chris had already recorded the song at that point, so he released Little Misunderstood instead, but still wanted to record the song for an album - An Old Raincoat Will Never Let You Down. He did it with me on piano. I played Rod the new melody and we got some other musicians in and we stayed up all night recording the song.

The Stereophonics then did a version in 2000 and their version was note for note just like the original version. Over the years it has been covered many times, even Englebert did a version of the track.

As regards who did the best version, I would have to say that the version Chris did is important as it got people to hear the song. Rod's version is the most memorable whereas the version by the Stereophonics, at first I didn't think much of the piano playing, but Kelly Jones gave a great vocal to the song, so the verdict is still out. I still believe there is a better recording to be done. For these 3 artists though I will have to be diplomatic and give each one 33 1/3.

Do you listen to current artists?

I try to keep up though I find it hard. I have twins who are now 11, they made me aware of George Ezra who I think is very good. I'm so busy myself writing songs on the piano I tend not to try and get influenced by other artists. These days though with technology everyone can sound so good.

What have you learnt from the music business over the years?

With the Manfreds we were told to use outside material but I realised that writing your own songs is where the bread and butter is, so to speak. That is where the money is. Over the years it has paid for school fees, bought a house in the Mediterranean, which I don't have anymore and generally it has given me a boost to my income.

The business though has changed beyond all recognition. Most artists these days write their own material which is better as it builds up your own identity.

I am really looking forward to the tour though, with Georgie and the Manfreds it will indeed be Maximum Rhythm and Blues.

The tour visits:

SHEFFIELD CITY HALL - 26 OCTOBER
HALIFAX VICTORIA THEATRE - 3 NOVEMBER
HULL NEW THEATRE - 27 NOVEMBER
YORK GRAND OPERA HOUSE - 29 NOVEMBER