A dramatic music night with highs, and a low

Some months ago Helena spotted that The Manfreds (composed of former members of the Manfred Mann band) were booked to play at the Stroud Subscription Rooms. We decided to go and hoped that my sister Rosie could come to visit and hear them too, but unfortunately nearer the time she reluctantly decided she couldn’t come. 

Helena said they were starting at 7-30pm, which turned out to be correct, though I assumed they would be coming on late. There was a nearly full house too of a rather vintage audience. I grew up buying their first singles including 5-4-3-2-1, which as the singer Paul Jones explained was commissioned by the brilliant TV programme ‘Ready Steady Go’ to be their theme tune.

The band were lead by the original singer Paul Jones, as well as their founding guitarist Tom MacGuiness, with a fine selection of younger musicians. They played a selection of the original pop hits as well as quite a few blues and jazz songs, including several that Tom MacGuiness wrote for his subsequent band, MacGuiness Flint, before teaming up again with Paul Jones in The Blues Band.

I was really impressed by Paul Jones’ wit and repartee, his energy, vocal range and the iconic harmonica playing which was such a part of the original band’s sound. He seemed so fit and strong despite him being 80 years old.

After the interval they played a couple of hits and then Paul was introducing their next song, when suddenly he staggered and fell backwards to the stage floor. Time stood still until Tom MacGuiness shouted out that this wasn’t a joke, and they rushed to help him. They quickly took him from the stage and a few minutes later, there were requests for any medically trained people in the audience to come forward, and several people got up to attend. With the audience still wondering and worried about what had happened, Tom returned a few minutes later to say an ambulance had been called and that the show had to end. Sadly we all slowly left.

I’m sure everyone remained concerned and I certainly looked for online information when we got home, but there was no news. Twenty-four hours later, a friend at the Shambles market told me he’d just read a press statement saying that Paul had developed ‘shingles’, was feeling ok and had been told to rest. The Manfred’s tour was continuing with a replacement singer, Mike D’Abo, who had also replaced Paul as the main singer in the original Manfred Mann band back in the 60s. Appropriately enough Mike D’Abo now lives in the Stroud area with his family. 

In the end it was a good night which turned sour, but with an outcome which didn’t end as badly as at one point we’d feared. The music sounded very good.

My extra shows the band's last number before the incident.