Manfred Mann: Frustrated of Being so Successful!

Manfred Mann is the name of one of the most famous British pop and R&B bands in the 1960’s.  However, Manfred Mann himself was the original founder of the previously mentioned band in 1962.  The real name of Manfred Mann, who was born on October 21, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa, was Manfred Liebowitz.  Thus, Liebowitz and Mike Hugg, who was a friend that played the drums, started their career making background performances.  Also, Paul Jones, the lead vocalist, Tom McGuinness and Mike Vickers later joined the band.  With these members, they reached #1 with many hits, including “Pretty Flamingo”, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, “5-4-3-2-1”, “If You Gotta Go, Go Now", and "Come Tomorrow”.

In 1966, Paul Jones left the band and Mike d’Abo was the one substituting him.  Nevertheless, this was not the only change made within the band.  Vickers also decided not to belong to the band anymore, so Rod Stewart took his position later on.  However, this is one of the few bands that, despite changing the lead vocalist and other members, has continued being successful.  Actually, with these Manfred Mann’s new members, they could enjoy other hits in the United Kingdom, including “Ha Ha Said the Clown”, “Fox on the Run”, “My Name Is Jack” and “Ragamuffin Man”.

Nonetheless, there is an incredible fact that, at the end of the decade, really surprised Manfred Mann’s fans.  Incredibly, they got frustrated of the fact that they were considered to be an only-hits band, which, according to them, made them have some limitations.  For this matter, they split at the very end of the decade, in 1969.  Afterwards, Manfred Mann created a group called Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, which was initially named Manfred Mann Chapter Three.