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May 2012 @ The Brook

If classical music moves to the beat of the conductor's baton, then Manfred Mann is the orchestrator of much memorable music in the fields of pop and rock. He's been building bands, picking great songs and mixing styles ever since the early 1960s – and even if statistics told the whole story, a hit-list of 22 UK chart singles, six EPs and 12 albums would be impressive enough.

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The Six Decades of Manfred Mann

In the last two or three years several new artists have discovered the music of Manfred Mann and included it in their own work. These include The Prodigy / Stand Up (One Way Glass); Massive Attack / Black Milk (Tribute) and Kanye West / So Appalled (You Are, I Am). Remixed versions of the Earth Band's Blinded By The Light and For You have entered the German charts by Michael Mind and Disco Boys. This is evidence of the lasting legacy of Manfred Mann.

Manfred Mann's career has now spanned a remarkable six decades as he approaches his 50th year in the UK music industry. While his star has waxed and waned (at least from a UK media perspective) he has continued to build bands, record new music, collaborate with fellow musicians and tour to the present day. From the outset Manfred has been best known as an interpreter of other performer's material, selecting often obscure or undiscovered tracks and adding his own interpretation, often resulting in a very different take. Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Mike Heron, Sting, Paul Weller, Del Amitri, Super Furry Animals plus many more have all been given the Manfred treatment resulting in many memorable singles or album tracks.

Arriving in the UK in 1961 from his native South Africa, Manfred quickly established himself and was soon working with Mike Hugg, forming The Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers. With the addition of Paul Jones and a move to performing R&B material, the stage was set for their emergence onto a national stage. Signing a contract with EMI's HMV label a change of name was suggested, Manfred Mann had arrived.

The breakthrough for the band came when they were invited to write the new theme tune for the TV show "Ready Steady Go", the song co-written by Manfred with Mike Hugg and Paul Jones was '5-4-3-2-1' and it established the band who would register consistent chart success throughout most of the rest of the Sixties. Three UK Number 1 records, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (also a US number 1), "Pretty Flamingo" and "Mighty Quinn" cemented their place in the pop firmament. However the pop 'straight-jacket' restricted the band from expressing their own tastes and would eventually lead the break up in 1968.

As a reaction to the years of pop success, Manfred and Mike Hugg formed Manfred Mann Chapter Three is 1969. The band was to be shortlived, suffering under its own self imposed rules. "It was a conscious decision to turn our back on what we'd been doing, but we had too many anti-pop rules; no guitar, we had only to write our own songs." Two free form jazz albums were recorded which had little pretence at any commercial value. Despite the 'failure' at the time, these albums when re-evaluated at more than 40 years distance do contain some remarkable music and 'One Way Glass' has been sampled by The Prodigy for their track 'Stand Up' which has received considerable air play, especially as backing for many TV programmes since its release.

The demise of Chapter Three led to the formation Manfred's next band – the Earth Band – they first played together in March 1971. With the shackles of the Chapter Three rules disposed of, the band developed its own style which has evolved constantly since then. Earth Band have lived up to their name, touring the States, almost all of Europe and as far a field as Australia during their 40 years existence. An eponymous first album was released in 1972. A year later saw Manfred returning to the charts with the single "Joybringer", based on Gustav Holtz's "Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity".

Earth Band hit the headlines in 1976 with the release of the album "The Roaring Silence" and the hit single "Blinded By The Light" which provided the band with their 2nd Top 10 UK single and a Number 1 record in the US. Despite this success and a culmination of 4 years touring of the States, it was at this time that the band turned their back on this major market. "We went around America for siz weeks, with me not seeing my children, and came back with $1500 dollars in my pocket – on a Number 1 record! We didn't break the market, just had one big hit. So we were never really famous in America."

By the time of the next album release, 'Watch' in 1978, Punk had arrived and the new wave had supposedly consigned Manfred and his Earth Band to history in the UK. However the different musical tastes on the continent offered a new market, in particular Germany. 'Watch' was the best selling album in Germany behind Grease and Saturday Night Fever. Over the next 8 years a steady flow of albums saw the band touring extensively in Europe.

A brief hiatus in the late 80's saw Earth Band off the road. The purchase of a 70+ year old song book of American Indian tribal chants inspired Manfred to develop his personal masterpiece 'Plains Music'. Of all the material he has recorded over the years "it's the only thing I can listen to that's reasonably natural, not trying to be anything. The other stuff I keep hearing how I should have done it differently!"

Earth Band re-emerged into the spotlight in 1991 and have continued to tour to this day. Whilst the output of new albums has diminished, they have toured regularly with Germany continuing to form a significant part of their rota. Manfred has no plans to hang up his keyboard, "Count Basie rocked till he dropped, Beethoven rocked till he dropped, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald…it doesn't seem that odd that people should play music for their lives, if that's what they do. Pop, rock and jazz is the music of the 20th century, certainly the last half, and the best music will last. I started off being a musician and I'm carrying on being a musician. As long as people will pay to see us do gigs, I'll perform."

One look at the biographies and accomplishments of the individual players that make up the ULTIMATE EAGLES will tell you a great deal about what you can expect when you come to see them perform.

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THE ULTIMATE EAGLES... recreate the music of the Eagles with reverence, accuracy, excitement and with a stage show that focuses its bright lights on the 1970's when the Eagles were at their mightiest.

The band features Danny Vaughn (Waysted, Tyketto), Chris Childs (Thunder, The Union, Paul Young), Chris Wright, Christian Philips (Duffy, Sonic Executives), Ryan Aston (Abbamania) and Michael Lawrence (The Commitments).

One look at the biographies and accomplishments of these individual players will tell you a great deal about what to expect.

The band has a simple yet bold mission statement:
‘To Play Eagles Music Better Than Anybody, Anywhere, Second Only To The Eagles Themselves'- Y'all come along now and judge for yourselves...

You may just be whisked away for an evening in the sunny climes of Southern California!

One look at the biographies and accomplishments of the individual players that make up the ULTIMATE EAGLES will tell you a great deal about what you can expect when you come to see them perform. You're looking at guys that have played every kind of venue, in many different countries, at every level, from clubs, to theatres, to festivals and stadiums. You're looking at years of professional, world touring experience by 6 of the most accomplished musicians you're likely to find in any band; tribute or original. You've got award winners, rock stars, and players that have been regularly featured in some of the biggest publications in music.

Not to mention some TV time as well; Top of The Pops? MTV? They've done that too! Four of the guys were also a part of England's Illegal Eagles, one of the most well-known and well- respected Eagles tribute bands that have come down the road in a long while.

This multi award-winner (British Comedy Award 2009 for ‘Outnumbered') serves up a one-man show, brimming with jokes, stories, gossip, music, cash prizes, nudity and trampolining and containing "mild peril."

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For the past 30 years, Andy has been celebrated as one of Britain's most prolific and successful comedy writers and performers. He is known to millions for his appearances on TV shows such as ‘Have I Got News For You' and ‘QI'. He is co-creator and co-writer of the latest BBC One TV hit sitcom ‘Outnumbered' which is now in to its fourth series.

He is widely recognised as co-creator and co-writer of the classic Channel 4 TV sitcom ‘Drop the Dead Donkey'. His other TV work includes writing sketches for ‘Not the Nine O'Clock News', ‘Alas Smith and Jones', and ‘The Armstrong and Miller Show'.

Andy is a very popular voice on national radio, known for his frequent appearances on BBC Radio 4 where he is an outstanding regular panellist on the ‘News Quiz' and a guest on ‘I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue'. For over a decade he has starred as Satan in his own award-winning Radio 4 sitcom ‘Old Harry's Game', and in recent years has been a creative force behind ‘Revolting People' and ‘Trevor's World of Sport'.

"Andy Hamilton just can't stop being funny"
The Times

Article from Chortle.co.uk

Join award-winning comedy writer and performer Andy Hamilton for a brand new one-man show, brimming with jokes, stories, gossip, music, cash prizes, nudity and trampolining. (Contains mild peril).

Andy Hamilton is one of Britain's most prolific and successful comedy writers and performers. He is known to millions for his appearances on TV shows such as Have I Got News For You and QI. He is co-creator and co-writer of BBC One's current hit sitcom Outnumbered and was co-creator of the classic sitcom Drop The Dead Donkey. His other TV works includes writing sketches for Not The Nine O'Clock News, Alas Smith and Jones and The Armstrong and Miller Show. Join Andy for an evening of jokes, laughter and much more!

"Is Hamilton a genius?"
The Independent on Sunday

Born in Fulham, London in 1954, Andy Hamilton read English at Downing College, Cambridge.

In the 1970s he earned his living as a comedy scriptwriter, contributing to a huge range of programmes, including Shelley, The Marti Caine Show and Not The Nine O'Clock News.

Meanwhile, on radio he served his apprenticeship on Week Ending and The News Huddlines.

In 1984, he produced and wrote for Channel 4's Who Dares, Wins… and created ITV sitcom The Kit Curran Radio Show, working with Guy Jenkin.

The duo enjoyed greater success in the 1990s with Drop the Dead Donkey.

In 2003, Hamilton reunited with one of that show's stars, Neil Pearson, for Trevor's World of Sport, but was vocal in the press about his displeasure when BBC One rescheduled the series halfway through its run.

“Technically they stand head to head with the best of their generation...Jon Boden plays fiddle with an earthy vigour that's utterly compelling and sings in a frantic breathless manner as if the hounds of hell are taking lumps out of his backside, while John Spiers harmonises and plays urgent driving melodeon to a very high standard indeed...halfway to reinventing the style without even realising it…" fRoots Magazine

Jon Boden was named Folk Singer of the Year at 2010 BBC Folk Awards.

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Founders of Bellowhead…Spiers & Boden

Jon Boden - winner of the Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Folk Awards 2010

In spring 2011 Spiers & Boden will head out on the road on a 10th anniversary tour which includes a birthday party show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire with special guests including Eliza Carthy. This will mark a decade of touring a recording for one of the most popular duos on the vibrant English folk scene.

Described by The Guardian as “the finest instrumental duo on the traditional scene” and twice winners of the BBC Radio 2 folk award for Best Duo, Spiers and Boden have made the genre of spontaneous, punky English folk very much their own stomping ground. Loud, proud, and with just a few acoustic instruments, they create a multitude of textures upon which they present traditional stories and dance music which have taken them on to the main stages of major festivals.

“Technically they stand head to head with the best of their generation...Jon Boden plays fiddle with an earthy vigour that's utterly compelling and sings in a frantic breathless manner as if the hounds of hell are taking lumps out of his backside, while John Spiers harmonises and plays urgent driving melodeon to a very high standard indeed...halfway to reinventing the style without even realising it…" fRoots Magazine

"Dynamics, drive and passion" BBC Radio 2 folk website

The irrepressible performances of John Spiers and Jon Boden have ensured they are in high demand with venues and major festivals through out the world and past performances have included, in the UK, Cambridge Folk
Festival, WOMAD and Larmer Tree Festival and abroad have included Roskilde Festival (Denmark), Nordsjofestivalen (Norway) and Namest Nad Oslavou (Czech Republic).

Their fifth album, Vagabond, was released on Navigator May 26th 2008. The eleven tracks on the album focus on the role of the itinerant and outsider, a theme prominent in traditional material, from ‘Robin Hood’ to the ‘Beggar Boy’.

Winners of the Best Duo category at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in both 2004 and 2006, and a Critic’s choice nomination at the BBC World Music Awards, and nominees for the same award in 2009, John & Jon are also founding members of the wildly ambitious eleven piece big-band folk phenomenon, Bellowhead (BBC Folk Awards for Best Live Act in 2005, 2007, 2008, Observer Top 20 albums of 2007).

They are currently Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank as part of Bellowhead, an appointment which has led to a series of performances on The Southbank including a sold out show by Bellowhead to over 1,000 people in the Royal Festival Hall Ballroom in on New Year’s Eve 2009.

They have also enjoyed a long-term collaboration with Eliza Carthy as The Rat Catchers and performed on her Nationwide Mercury Prize nominated album Anglicana.

Jon Boden (singer, fiddle, guitar, stomp-box) follows in the footsteps of many of the great folk-singers with his theatrical style. Born in 1977 in Chicago, he grew up in Winchester and graduated in Medieval Studies from Durham and Composition for Theatre from the London College of Music. As well as forming half of Spiers & Boden and singing lead vocals in Bellowhead, Jon has also found time to release his own, self-penned album of contemporary indie rock songs, ‘Painted Lady’.

John Spiers (melodeon, concertina) was born in Birmingham and grew up in Abingdon (home to one of the few truly traditional morris sides) with a morris dancing father. He has a Masters degree in Natural Sciences from King's College Cambridge and has carved his own space in the folk scene with his unique blending of traditional squeezebox styles with his knowledge of contemporary dance music to create an infectious acoustic groove which provides the infectious rhythm of Spiers & Boden.

“Anyone who needs convincing that the current folk revival is becoming as intriguing, varied and experimental as it was back in the 1960s should check out the remarkable career of John Spiers and Jon Boden. In just a few years, they have established themselves as the finest instrumental duo on the traditional scene, and the contemporary equivalent of Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick….” The Guardian

Spiers & Boden’s new album ‘The Works’ was released July 2011.

Twenty years after their million selling album Spartacus reached No 1 in the UK album charts, legendary Liverpool band The Farm have reformed to play live again in 2011. The group who had eight top forty hit singles in the UK including Groovy Train and All Together Now that were a soundtrack for a generation will be returning to the stage with their original line –up.

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The Farm enjoyed worldwide success after the release of Spartacus in March 1991 on their Produce label.  The album was a worldwide hit and they were signed by the legendary Seymour Stein for Sire Records in the US in 1991.

For a four year period between 1990 and 1994 The Farm toured the world and their raucous live shows became the stuff of legend. The group went their separate ways in 1995 but continued to enjoy popular appeal and their records have become all time classics.

In December 2010 the original line-up returned to play their home town at the O2 Academy, to much acclaim. The concert was meant to be a one- off to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their anthem All Together Now but was such a success that they decided they should play live again. Peter Hooton lead singer of the band commented  ‘we enjoyed our gig at the Academy so much that we thought we would go out and play more in 2011.

After playing several festivals during the summer and the recent ‘Justice Tonight' tour with Mick Jones, The Farm have decided to reform and play a UK tour due to popular demand. They will be performing their UK No 1 album Spartacus in its entirety. It is twenty years since Spartacus topped the UK album charts and includes their massive hit singles Groovy Train and All Together Now. Peter Hooton lead singer of The Farm commented ‘we played a few festivals in the summer and the reaction was absolutely tremendous and lots of people were saying they had forgotten how great our live shows were. Playing the recent Justice Tonight tour with made us realise how much we have missed playing live.'

The critically acclaimed album which went straight in at No 1in March 1991 has never been performed live in the UK. The album produced by Graham ‘Suggs' McPherson of Madness was released on their own Produce label. An independent release in the true sense of the word the album and the band were voted best UK indie band of 1991 and 1992. Members of group have gone on to become film-makers, scriptwriter's authors and record producers.

The Spartacus Live tour will capture the heady days of indie/dance culture and will include the original line up of the band. The album was the best selling indie album of 1991 and went on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies all over the world. This will be the first time the group have toured the UK since their split in 1994.

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Fish's music defies trends and fashion, it's a brave statement in these days of banal musical small talk. His career, spanning over 20 years of the entertainment industry, is notable for his charismatic stage performances and uncompromising lyrics.

Graeme Smith, S1play: "...being at one of his gigs is like being entertained by a boisterous host at a particularly loud private party."

Edinburgh Evening News: "It's all great fun, and the crowd loved it. But in full flow Fish prowls the stage, a sinister and brooding figure. Dynamic and powerful, he roars out the lyrics with undiluted passion, at all times in total control of the crowd. A national tabloid recently suggested that Fish was no longer relevant to the music industry. If that is true then the music industry has lost touch with great music, entertainment, passion and lyrics that make you stop and think."