The Manfreds review at Northcott Theatre

Musician and Blues lover Ralph Dunlop enjoys a trip down memory lane.

The current members of The Manfreds take to the stage to enthusiastic, expectant applause. Paul Jones greets the audience. Unbelievably, at 84 he still retains his boyish charm and wide smile: it’s clear that quite a number of the crowd are here for Paul! The band warms us up with a shuffling version of Route 66. Then 5-4-3-2-1 kicks in, and we are instantly transported back to Friday nights in the monochrome sixties and the ageless theme song to Ready Steady Go: the weekend starts here! We are in the presence of a pukka Blues band with real pedigree. Paul Jones’ harmonica playing, like his smile, hasn’t aged a bit – he was, and still is, a master of this humble instrument. Paul and Simon Currie on sax continuously converse with each other with their eyes, nods and smiles, but it’s their instruments that do the real talking.

Next in the spotlight is Tom McGuinness, taking the lead with Malt and Barley Blues before we return to the Manfreds’ catalogue with Sha La La. Train Shuffle gives Simon Currie a chance to shine, with a masterclass in Blues sax assisted by Tom on lead guitar. Then back to a lesser-known Manfred Mann number, The One in the Middle, a pop-infused Blues song from the 1965 EP of the same name.

Between songs, Paul Jones tells us the stories behind various compositions, telling us why, how, when and where they were recorded, and dropping names and places with a naïve charm. He still appears surprised by the band’s rise to stardom and success.

Postcard from Happisburgh spotlights Marcus Cliffe on acoustic guitar. A self-penned number from the Norfolk seaside – gentle and lilting, this is a musical lace tapestry of harmonics and yearning progressions. Sigh.

In 1965 Manfred Mann released a classic cover of the Goffin & King song Oh No Not My Baby. In 2026 they’re still doing it – a distinctive Tamla-sounding number proving you can never keep a good song down. Then McGuinness steps up and the band are back on the Blues. Heading for a Breakdown gives us more of what the crowd want before we are hit with one of the Manfreds’ most famous singles – Pretty Flamingo – and we’re back in the 60s again. What joy!

The first set comes to and end with the howlin’ Smokestack Lightning, cementing the fact we have been witness to a group of Blues afficionados. The second set begins with four acoustic songs to rest the ears and get back to basics. Dylan’s Just Like a Woman can do no wrong and the harmonies work perfectly. Straighten Up and Fly Right takes us back to the 40s, then it’s Without You, the flip side of 5-4-3-2-1. A John Lee Hooker soundalike written by Paul Jones that gets our feet tapping.

Ending the acoustic set comes Dylan’s If You’ve Got to Go, Go Now. This song reached No.2 in the UK charts in 1965 and is still up there as one of the Manfreds’ classic singles.

Tom McGuinness’s 2018 track Ain't It Strange How Things Can Change is a treat, and

You’ve Got to Move gives us a taste of timeless Gospel soul, followed by Nat Adderley’s classic composition Work Song, executed sublimely by Simon Currie and the band.

Paul tells us, “Now we’ve got to do one of mine!” and treats us to his solo rendition of I’ve Been a Bad, Bad Boy from 1967, and when Tom offers McGuinness Flint’s mandolin classic, When I’m Dead and Gone, the crowd sings along.

And that’s the end. Well, not quite, because we’ve all noticed there are some songs missing!

The audience clamours and the band returns for an encore… or two. Yes, who would have thought that Bob Dylan’s anthem about an Inuit chief come to save the world – The Mighty Quinn from 1968 – would be such a mighty hit for the Manfreds. But not the biggest: that one will end the show.

Do Wah Diddy Diddy reached No.1 in the UK and the US in 1964. Perhaps regarded as their theme tune, this song never fails to delight the crowd and here in a packed Northcott Theatre it certainly hits the spot. Us oldies are reminded of teenage excitement and yearning nostalgia. To us, it is our youth. To the younger crew it’s just a collection of really good songs. For all of us it’s a fantastic reminder of the power of music to bring us all together for a damned good night out.