Manfred Sepse Lubowitz, known professionally as Manfred Mann, is a South African-English keyboardist, arranger, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member and eponym of the bands Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann Chapter Three, and Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
Born on October 21, 1940, Lubowitz was raised in a Lithuanian-Jewish family in Johannesburg, the son of David Lubowitz and Alma Cohen. He studied music at the University of the Witwatersrand and worked as a jazz pianist at various clubs in Johannesburg.
Strongly opposed to the apartheid system, Lubowitz moved to the United Kingdom in 1961 and began writing for Jazz News under the pseudonym Manfred Manne. The next year, he met drummer and keyboard player Mike Hugg, and they formed the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers, which eventually evolved into the five-piece group Manfred Mann.
The band had a succession of hit records, including "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," "Sha La La," "Pretty Flamingo," and "Mighty Quinn." They split up in 1969, and Mann formed Manfred Mann Chapter Three, an experimental jazz rock band. After two albums, the band disbanded, and Mann formed Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1971, which still records and performs today.
Manfred Mann has also released solo projects under "Manfred Mann's Plain Music" and "Manfred Mann '06." He is known for his distinctive keyboard parts, often improvised and inspired by jazz. He has used various keyboard instruments throughout his career, including piano, organ, mellotron, and Minimoog synthesizer.
In the 2000s, he has regularly used a Roland keytar on stage for two or three songs, decorated with zebra stripes.
