Philip John Manning(born 1948) is an Australianbluessinger-songwriter and guitarist. Manning has been a member of various groups includingChainand has had a solo career. As a member of Chain, Manning co-wrote their January 1971 single "Black and Blue"which became number one on the Melbourne charts and also Judgement, which reached number two in Sydney. The related album,Toward the Bluesfollowed in September and peaked in the top 10 albums chart.[1][2]
Phil Manning | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Philip John Manning |
| Born | 1948 (age 75–76) Devonport, Tasmania,Australia |
| Genres | Blues,blues rock |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar,slide guitar |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Biography
editEarly years
editPhilip John Manning was born inDevonport, Tasmaniain 1948.[3]He has a brother Dennis Manning who is also a musician. Phil Manning's early bands were Anonymous Incorporated and Cocaine Spell – he was in the latter with drummer, Charlie Watts, and the pianist, John A. Bird.[4]Manning moved to Melbourne in late 1966 and joined Tony Worsley and The Blue Jays,[5]replacing Vince Melouney (ex-Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) on guitar.
Bay City Union were an electric blues band, which had formed in Brisbane and relocated to Melbourne in December 1966. Manning joined on guitar, and played alongsideGlenn Wheatleyon guitar andMatt Tayloron vocals and harmonica.[6]Manning left by 1968 to join the Laurie Allen Revue (seeBobby & Laurie).[3]
Chain
editLate in 1968, Manning joined The Beat 'n Tracks (originally fromPerth) and in December the group were in Melbourne and recruitedWendy Saddington(ex-James Taylor Move) on vocals. They changed their name to The Chain and later toChainto provide electric blues-rock.[6]Chain have had numerous line-up changes and hiatuses, their most famous line-up are Manning and Taylor with Barry Harvey on drums and Barry Sullivan on bass guitar (both ex-Thursday's Children,Wild Cherries).[7]
Chain's January 1971 single, "Black and Blue"reached the top 20 on the AustralianKent Music ReportSingles Chart.[2]Manning co-wrote the song with fellow members Harvey, Sullivan and Taylor.[1]They had a second top 40 hit with "Judgement" issued in July. Also in July, teen newspaper,Go-Setpublished its annual popularity poll and Manning was voted at No. 3 for 'Best Guitarist'.[8]The related Chain album,Toward the Bluesfollowed in September and peaked in the top 10 on the Albums Chart.[2]Manning has returned to Chain periodically for performances and further recordings, while contemporaneously maintaining his solo career.[3]
Other bands and solo work
editManning left Chain in July 1971 to work with Warren Morgan (ex-Chain, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) on keyboards in a band called Pilgrimage. They issued a single, "Walk in the Light" in November and supported United Kingdom progressive rock group,Pink Floyd,in September and pop artist,Elton John,in October.[3]He briefly returned to Chain from November for three months before joiningLeo de Castro's Friends.[3]In April 1972, Manning formed Willy & the Philtones which was renamedBand of Talabenein July with Tony Buettel on drums, Phil Gaunt on bass guitar and Tony Naylor on guitar.[3][6]In December he joined Mighty Mouse which at various times included Harvey, Sullivan, Ian Clyne on keyboards, and Mal Capewell on sax and flute.[6]By February 1973, Mighty Mouse was renamed as Chain (their 15th line-up) and Manning left by July 1974.[3]
In December 1974, Manning released his debut solo album,I Wish There Was a Way,onMushroom RecordsandFestival Records.Australian music historian,Ian McFarlane,described the album as in a "mellow, reflective singer/songwriter mode".[3]The album spawned two singles, "Love Is the Mender" in December and "I Wish There Was a Way" in March 1975.[3]In May, he formed the Phil Manning Band with Greg Cook on guitar and synthesiser (ex-Cam-Pact,Mándu Band), Bruce Devenish on drums and Eddie McDonald on bass guitar (ex-Bakery).[3]They recorded the pop single "Train to Ride" which was issued in October. However, in September the line-up had changed to Steve Cooney on guitar, Tony Doyle on drums and Paul Wheeler on bass guitar (ex-Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs,MacKenzie Theory).[3]The group disbanded in March 1977 and Manning joinedJohn Paul Young's backing band the Allstars for three months.[3]
In July 1977 he formed Manning Keays Band withJim Keayson vocals (ex-The Masters Apprentices) and Peter Cuddihy on bass guitar (ex-Space Waltz), John Grant on keyboards (ex-Freeway), Andrew Kay on violin and keyboards, and Robert Ross on drums.[3]When Keays left later in the year, the soul pop group was renamed as Manning and released a self-titled album in May 1978.Manningprovided the singles "When a Man Loves a Woman"(aPercy Sledgecover) in December 1977 and "Call Me" in April 1978.[3]In July a new line-up of Phil Manning Band was Cuddihy, Grant, John J Hackett on drums (ex-Rum Jungle) and Midge Marsden on guitar. His brother, Dennis, briefly joined on keyboards and in May 1979 they issued the single, "Just the Way It Goes". Dennis had left, Robbie Geapon replaced Cuddihy on bass guitar and Bob Bickerton (ex- Mándu Band) replaced Hackett on drums to record an album,LiveonPolydor Records,for New Zealand release only, in 1979.[3]
The Matt Taylor Phil Manning Band was formed in Perth in late 1980 with his former Chain bandmate. The group included Roy Daniel on bass guitar and Ric Whittle on drums and recorded an album,Oz Bluesand a single "Spring Hill" both issued in June 1981. This group disbanded by December and a new line-up of Phil Manning Band was formed withChris Coppingon keyboards (ex-Procol Harum),Kerryn Tolhurston guitar (ex-The Dingoes), andWayne Duncanon bass guitar andGary Youngon drums (both ex-Daddy Cool). Copping was replaced by Mick O'Connor on keyboards. By 1983, with only Duncan and Young remaining, they became the Phil Manning Trio.[3]In December he reformed Chain with Taylor and remained in the group until 1986.[3]
Manning relocated to Queensland and recorded anacousticsolo album,It's the Blues,which was issued in early 1988 on his own label, Tamborine Music.[3]In 1990, he followed with acassette-only album,Live at the Storey Bridge.Manning's material for the two albums included originals together with cover versions ofBlind Blake,Big Bill Broonzy,Robert Johnson,Muddy WatersandPaul Simon.[3]Three more albums followed in the 1990s,Can't Stop(November 1992),The Back Shed(March 1995) andTwo Roads(August 1997).Take Notewas issued in 2000 andMigrants Dancein 2003. A compilation album,The Essential Acoustic Collectionwas released in 2006 andCheckmate Movefollowed in 2010.
In November 2015 Phil's catalogue was released digitally on iTunes and all streaming platforms.
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [9] | ||
| I Wish There Was a Way | 93 | |
| Manning (as Manning) |
|
- |
| Phil Manning Band (as Phil Manning Band featuring Midge Marsden) |
|
— |
| Oz Blues (as Matt Taylor Phil Manning Band) |
|
60 |
| It's Blues |
|
- |
| Live at Stoney Bride |
|
- |
| Can't Stop |
|
- |
| The Back Shed |
|
- |
| Two Roads |
|
- |
| The First Thirty Years |
|
- |
| Take Note |
|
- |
| Migrants Dance |
|
- |
| The Essential Acoustic Collection |
|
- |
| Checkmate Move |
|
- |
Singles
edit- "Love Is the Mender" (1974)
- "I Wish There Was a Way" (1975)
- "When a Man Loves a Woman"(1977)
- "Call Me" (1978)
- "Spring Hill" (1981)
Awards and nominations
editGo-Set Pop Poll
editThe Go-Set Pop Pollwas coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper,Go-Setand was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities.[10]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | himself | Best Guitarist | 3rd |
References
edit- General
- McFarlane, Ian(1999)."Whammo Homepage".Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop.St Leonards, NSW:Allen & Unwin.ISBN1-86508-072-1.Archived fromthe originalon 5 April 2004.Retrieved21 October2011.Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Specific
- ^ab""Black and Blue" at APRA search engine ".Australasian Performing Right Association(APRA).Retrieved26 October2011.
- ^abcKent, David(1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992.St Ives, NSW:Australian Chart Book.ISBN0-646-11917-6.Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 untilARIAcreated their ownchartsin mid-1988.
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrsMcFarlane,'Phil Manning' entryat theWayback Machine(archived 4 July 2004). Archived fromthe originalon 4 July 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^Bird, John A.; Kimball, Duncan; Turnbull, Simon (2002)."John A. Bird".Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975.Ice Productions.Retrieved20 October2011.
- ^Culnane, Paul; Kimball, Duncan (2007)."Tony Worsley & the Fabulous Blue Jays".Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975.Ice Productions.Retrieved20 October2011.
- ^abcdCulnane, Paul; Kimball, Duncan (2007)."Chain".Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975.Ice Productions.Retrieved26 October2011.
- ^McFarlane,'Chain' entryat theWayback Machine(archived 23 August 2004). Archived fromthe originalon 23 August 2004. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ^Kent, David Martin (September 2002).The place ofGo-Setin rock and pop music culture in Australia, 1966 to 1974(PDF)(MA).Canberra,ACT:University of Canberra.pp. 255–264. Archived fromthe original(Portable Document Format(PDF))on 4 September 2015.Retrieved27 October2011.Note: This PDF is 282 pages.
- ^Kent, David(1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992(illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 191.ISBN0-646-11917-6.
- ^"Australian Music Awards".Ron Jeff.Retrieved16 December2010.