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HE wrote the haunting hit Handbags and Gladrags and enjoyed 60s chart-topping success fronting Manfred Mann.
He played Herod on the original recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, composed Hollywood film scores and among myriad other achievements in a 40-year musical career, penned the immortal advertising jingle Finger of Fudge for Cadbury’s.
But Mike d’Abo has finally revealed that his stockbroker dad came within an ace of putting a gigantic spanner in the works.
Mike explains: “I had been knocking around the 60s music scene for a while when my father told me it was time to get a proper job.
“Then I got the break as Manfred Mann’s lead singer. It was in the nick of time because dad was about to march me down to the local enlisting agent for the army.
“I got away with it by the skin of my teeth!”
With Mike at the helm, Mann enjoyed numerous hits including Raggamuffin Man, Ha Ha, Said the Clown and Mighty Quinn which notched top spot in the charts.
Mike joined the band in ‘66 after they had considered Rod Stewart, Wayne Fontana and Long John Baldry to replace Paul Jones.
“Luckily, I was on a TV show with my first group Band of Angels. All the other members of Manfred Mann were watching and they obviously thought I could be a contender,” he said.
“I wasn’t convinced Band of Angels were good enough to go anywhere but I thought I might have some potential.”
Mike’s central role in the 60s British rock scene brought him face to face with all the big names of the era, including his heroes - the Beatles.
“I was a massive fan and they came into a club where Angels were playing. We played four covers of their songs in a row and they asked us over for a drink.
“We had a great natter and it was the highlight of my career at that point. They were really, really big stars by then.”
When Mann disbanded in 1969, Mike branched out recording solo albums, making his West End acting debut and writing a string of tunes that have entered the national subconscious.
Hollywood beckoned with his musical talents featuring on the soundtrack to 70s hit movie There’s A Girl In My Soup.
Today, Mike tours with The Manfreds, fronts his own outfit - Mike d’Abo and His Mighty Quinn Quartet - and burns up the miles with the Reelin’ And-A-Rockin’ nostalgia tour.
This year he plans a new solo album and an autobiography.
But the biggest event of 2007 is the birth of twins his third wife is expecting.
“We have been trying to have children for 15 years and suddenly to be told at 62 you are going to be a father again is both devastating and exciting news.
“It’s fantastic. The twins are due in August so it will be all hands to the pumps changing nappies for me again.”
Mike’s currently in one of his most fertile and creative writing patches for some years, sparked by a winter trip to Cyprus where he has a holiday home.
“I am extremely prolific at the moment. It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up - I’m gonna write a new song today.
“I am coming up with songs which are out of th This year he plans a new solo album and an autobiography.
But the biggest event of 2007 is the birth of twins his third wife is expecting.
“We have been trying to have children for 15 years and suddenly to be told at 62 you are going to be a father again is both devastating and exciting news.e ordinary, more contemporary than the songs I have been writing in the recent past.
“The bulk of them will be on the new album.”
Modern chart-toppers hold little appeal although he insists he is not turning into the Grumpy Old Man of music.
“I like songs which nod their heads in the direction of our musical heritage - you can see and hear a link to blues, jazz, rock or pop.
“Something with a bit of musicality about it that bears the hallmarks of chord progression, choruses and verses.
“I’m not so keen on the stuff that sounds extremely repetitive in a primitive way. I find some of the urban stuff very aggressive.
“But music is constantly evolving and I have to keep my ear to the ground to hear what is going down.
“It’s not in a song writer’s interest to stop listening
ends
Copyright: Bernie Saunders, January 2007
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