Man (band) - Reformed

Reformed

The band reformed in 1983, with a line-up of Micky Jones and Deke Leonard on guitars, Martin Ace on bass and John “Pugwash” Weathers (formerly of Gentle Giant) on drums. This line up was to stay constant until 1996, except from a short spell, when Weathers was unwell, and Rick Martinez temporarily took over

After rehearsals, their first gig was on All Fools Day at the Marquee Club in London, and in June they recorded Friday 13th (Picasso PIK 001) at The Marquee, but this comprised old numbers, not new material. Not having a recording contract to promote them, albums were issued on several labels, e.g. Friday 13th was also issued as Live at the Marquee (Great Expectations PIPCD 055) and Talk about a Morning (Dressed to Kill DRESS 600). Later that year they played the Reading Festival which was recorded for Tommy Vance’s Friday Rock Show and released as Live At Reading '83 in 1993.

In 1983, they also recorded an album of new material in Germany, but fell out with the producer, who was also the album’s promoter, so the album was never issued. The first studio album to be issued, The Twang Dynasty was issued in 1992 and included the track "Fast and Dangerous" which was used on trailers for Paul Whitehouse’s Fast Show, although the band were not paid for this.

Their performance at 1994’s Glastonbury Festival was issued as Live 1994 - Official Bootleg (and reissued as Live Official Bootleg), and in 1995 they recorded Call Down The Moon issued on the Hypertension label, and produced by the band and Ron Sanchez – a US musician and DJ, who had long championed their cause.

Weathers left in 1996, allegedly because Gentle Giant were about to reform, and was replaced by returning drummer Terry Williams, who in the interim, had served in bands such as Dire Straits. Williams recorded some tracks, later released on the Undrugged album, and then Leonard suffered a minor stroke, so the band played a few gigs as a 3 piece. When Leonard returned in 1997, Williams left, to be replaced by drummer Bob Richards formerly of The Wild Family and The Adrian Smith Band.

Former keyboardist Phil Ryan returned in 1998 taking the band back to the classic 5-piece line-up, which recorded a live double album at The Star Club, Oberhausen, West Germany, in March that year. Ryan played a major role in producing 2000's Endangered Species, but then had to withdraw from the band for personal reasons. Ryan was replaced by Gareth Llewellyn Thorrington, who missed the recording of Down Town Live at the Down Town Blues Club, Hamburg, in May 2001, as his flight was cancelled due a bomb-scare, but appeared on part of the Undrugged album (an “unplugged” album with a twist in the title), which had been started in 1996, and was finally issued in 2002. Undrugged has some classic covers, including Brian Wilson's Sail on Sailor and Ray Charles's Georgia On My Mind both lead vocals being by Micky Jones.

In 2002 Micky Jones was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to take time off for treatment. Micky's place was temporarily taken by his son George Jones, but when Micky had recovered enough to rejoin, in 2004, Leonard decided to leave, again, so George became a permanent member of the band. In 2005, Micky Jones' health deteriorated due to the re-occurrence of his brain tumour and he was replaced by Martin Ace's son Josh Ace.

In 2006, the album Diamonds and Coal was released, after which Thorrington was sacked, and the band continued as a 4-piece. The 40th anniversary tour in 2008, saw the return of Ryan on keyboards, giving a multi-generational line up, with two early members (Martin Ace and Phil Ryan), two sons of early members (George Jones and Josh Ace) and Bob Richards, who had been in the band since 1997. This line up also recorded a studio album, but before this was mixed, the band split. Josh Ace, Martin Ace and Phil Ryan recruited James Beck (guitar, vocals) and Rene Robrahn (drums, vocals) to the new line up and wiped parts of the album to replace George Jones. Bob Richards parts were kept on as they were unable to record over them, due to the lack of a click track. This latest album Kingdom of Noise was finally released in June 2009.

After leaving Man, Micky Jones continued to perform for a while, but was then diagnosed with another tumour, he spent the next year and a half in and out of hospital, his health meant he remained at a care home in Swansea for the next 3 years until he died peacefully, at the age of 63, on 10 March 2010. Fans paid tribute to Micky Jones online, calling Man the greatest Welsh band of all time.

Clive John, AKA Clint Space, another of the founding members, died after a long fight against emphysema on 24 August 2011.