Manfred Mann, the living legend, and his Earth Band will be performing in Germany soon. The 79-year-old South African and his band are obviously unstoppable. But Corona did manage to mess up the touring schedule.

When a baby boy named Manfred Sepse Lubowitz was born in Johannesburg in 1940, nobody had the slightest clue he would found the first South African Rock band, become a global superstar a few years later, and that his career would last for so many decades.

Music in the Apartheid State

When Mann started spreading his music, South Africa was a racist state which discriminated, oppressed and even murdered its Black majority. For a musician of Jewish origin who was opposed to Apartheid, things were not easy either.

With a friend, he founded a band called The Vikings as early as 1959, when many of us were not even conceived. In 1961, he moved to England, where he began writing for the ‘Jazz News’. The pseudonym he used was Manfred Mann, which sounded far more catchy than Manfred Sepse Lubowitz.

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Manfred Mann has been touring for many decades. Photo: RS-Foto

Mann is a true musician. In Johannesburg, and under his birth name, he studied music at the University of the Witwatersrand while hitting Jazz club stages as a pianist at night. Much later, when es was a Rock star, the Jazz influence would stay with him.

The Mighty Mann

Manfred Mann constantly ran bands, delivering “all that Jazz” and the Blues. With a group named after him, Manfred Mann, they scored several hits before the 1970-s started, including “Mighty Quinn”, a tune anyone older than 40 would know.

Mann disbanded the band in 1969, only to create a new one which would play experimental Jazz-Rock tunes. He was one of the pioneers of this genre, along with Santana, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago and a few other groups.

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band was founded in 1971. It stands for huge hits such as “Blinded by the Light”, “Spirits in the Night” or “Davy’s on the Road Again”. Mann always had some other groups on the side, but Manfred Mann’s Earth Band has been the main product in the past 47 years.

The Fun Starts

This very band, with Manfred Mann himself, who will turn 80 on October 21st, 2020, will be performing on stages in Germany this year and next, if the damned Corona virus lets him. The entire tour was already postponed, and it might happen again.

But, for now, a gig in Augsburg is scheduled for November 10th, 2020, and one in Winterbach on November 14th. Then, on May 27th, 2021, St. Ingbert is on the touring plan. Rockenhausen is next, on May 29th. On November 19th, 2021, the Manfred Mann Earth Band will be raising the roof in Karlsruhe.

Hagen, Koblenz and Nieder-Olm will be covered on December 16th, 18th and 19th, 2021, respectively. An additional gig in Bad Pyrmont, scheduled for August 28th, 2021, still needs to be confirmed. The same applies to more performances. https://www.eventim.de/artist/manfred-manns-earth-band/" rel="nofollow - Tickets for all confirmed concerts are https://www.eventim.de/artist/manfred-manns-earth-band/" rel="nofollow - available here.

Welcome to mainland Europe, Manfred!

from https://berlinspectator.com