Seven years after their formation, MAN from Wales performed at Rockpalast on April 17, 1975, with a set lasting just under an hour. At Studio L in Cologne, MAN, then consisting of the three founding members Micky Jones (vocals, guitar), Deke Leonard (guitar, vocals, keyboard, harmonica), Terry Williams (drums, vocals), and Martin Ace (bass, vocals - with the band since 1970), played six songs.
What was impressive about MAN was their musical “live” performance with their very own “Welsh” mix of rock, blues, country, folk, and a good dose of West Coast rock. Nevertheless, influences from (distant) Grateful Dead, but above all from the Californian Quicksilver Messenger Service, are unmistakable and also intentional.
In 1975, “Maximum Darkness” was released, the Welsh band's magnum opus, their collaboration with Quicksilver's master guitarist John Cippolina. MAN also opened their set in Cologne with “7171 - 551” from “Maximum Darkness.”
Martin Ace recalls: "We were rehearsing at Sausalito Heliport (San Francisco) and John Cipollina came by at that time. We jammed together. We then played with John in Sacramento and at Winterland in San Francisco, and the others asked me if I wanted to join them on an already booked tour of Germany, which included a Rockpalast TV show in Cologne. So when we arrived in Cologne, we were pretty well rehearsed, and I hope you can feel that in this performance.“
Even before the release of the highly acclaimed 1976 LP ”The Welsh Connection," there were again differences of opinion within the band. The album “All's Well That Ends Well” was recorded during the farewell tour of 1977 through the USA, Europe, and North Africa. From 1983 onwards, there were several attempts to reform MAN, but they never managed to match the success and quality of the 1970s.
Drummer Terry Williams made rock history with Rockpile and Dire Straits from 1978 onwards, Deke Leonard released solo albums (including the highly acclaimed “Iceberg”) and published books about the world of rock music. He died in 2017, Micky Jones had already passed away 7 years earlier. Martin Ace still tours with the second generation of MAN and releases records.
1. 7171-551
2. Hard Way To Die
3. C'mon
4. Someone Is Calling
5. A Hard Way To Live
6. Many Are Called, But Few Get Up
