Beginnings 1962—1963
The Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers (as the band were originally called) were formed in London in December 1962 by keyboard player Manfred Mann and drummer/vibes player Mike Hugg. Born out of the British blues boom then sweeping London's clubs (which also spawned such luminaries as The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds), the band were completed by Mike Vickers on lead guitar, Dave Richmond on bass, and Paul Jones fronting as lead vocalist and harmonica player. Gigging constantly throughout late 1962 and early 1963, the band soon attracted attention for their distinctive sound propelled by Mann's keyboards, Jones' soulful vocals and an occasional horn section.
Manfred Mann's Cock-A-Hoop (1964)
The group signed to HMV Records in March 1963 after a change of name to Manfred Mann (at the suggestion of their label's producer), and debuted in July of that year with the jazzy instrumental single "Why Should We Not?", which failed to chart, as did the follow up (with vocals this time), "Cock-A-Hoop"
Early success 1964—1965
Groovin' with Manfred Mann EP (1964)
In 1964 the group were asked to provide a new theme tune for the ITV pop music TV series Ready Steady Go!. They responded with the energetic "5-4-3-2-1" which, with the help of weekly TV exposure, rose to No.5 in the UK charts. It was shortly after "5-4-3-2-1" was recorded that Richmond left the band, being replaced by Tom McGuinness - the first of many line-up changes. After a further self-penned hit ("Hubble Bubble (Toil And Trouble)") the band struck gold with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", a cover of a minor hit earlier that year by The Exciters. The track, which showcased Jones' powerful singing, reached the top of both the UK and US charts (The Exciters version had only charted #78 in the US).
During 1965 the group continued to have hits with both self-penned and cover material, their sound increasingly moving away from the blues-based music of their early years to a highly successful pop-soul hybrid. Notably the group began to have success with interpretations of Bob Dylan songs, including "With God On Our Side" as a track on a best-selling EP.
The One In the Middle EP (1965)
They also reached No.2 in the UK with the controversial "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", which was banned or edited by a number of TV and radio stations. Prior to this latter release, Paul Jones announced his intention to quit the band for a solo career once a replacement could be found.
The Mike d'Abo years 1966—1969
Jones stayed with the band for one more year, during which time Mike Vickers was replaced by Jack Bruce of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (long enough to play bass on the band's second UK No.1 single "Pretty Flamingo"). Jones was eventually replaced by Mike d'Abo - among those on the shortlist was Rod Stewart - and this was one of the few occasions when a band has successfully swapped lead singers and remained at the top. Jack Bruce left to form Cream and was replaced by Klaus Voorman (a longtime Beatles associate), with McGuinness moving to guitar. To complete the changes, the group switched labels to Fontana Records.
With d'Abo as vocalist, the group pursued a softer acoustic pop sound, with a tinge of Dylanesque social comment and surrealism in the lyrics. Their first Fontana Records single was in fact a Dylan cover, "Just Like A Woman", and the group went on to score their biggest hit for two years with a cover of his "Mighty Quinn".
Frustrated with the limitations and image of being seen purely as a hit singles band (their last two albums failed to chart), the group split in 1969.
1970s and on— Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Mann went on to write advertising jingles after the group's demise, but still continued to work in the group format. Initially he formed Manfred Mann Chapter Three (with Mike Hugg), an experimental jazz rock band, described by Mann as an over reaction to the hit factory of the Manfred Mann group. This was, however, short lived and by 1971 they had disbanded and Mann had formed a new group, Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
For further details, see Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
5-4-3-2-1 The Manfreds (1998)
1990s and on—The Manfreds
In the 1990s, most of the original 1960s line-up reformed as The Manfreds, minus Manfred Mann himself (hence the name), playing most of the old 1960s hits and a few jazz instrumentals, sometimes with both Paul Jones and Mike d'Abo fronting the line-up.
At the same time Jones and Tom McGuinness (McGuinness formed McGuinness Flint in 1970, but they disbanded in 1975) have been mainstays of The Blues Band (which they helped form in 1978).
Down in Mexico
Manfred Mann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Too small to be a village and not large enough to be a town
Joe plays the blues
Joe plays the blues because he needs to
Down in Mexicali there's a crazy little place that I know
Where the drinks are hotter than the chilli sauce
And the boss is a guy named Joe
He wears a red bandana plays a Blues piano
In a little old bar in Mexico
He's a cool survivor, plays an old synthesiser
And a honky tonk down in Mexico
First time that I saw him, he was sitting on a piano stool
I said "Tell me Joe when does the fun begin"
He just winked his eye and said "Be cool"
He wears a red bandana plays a Blues piano
In a little old bar in Mexico
He's a cool survivor, plays an old synthesiser
And a honky tonk down in Mexico
Joe plays the blues
Joe plays the blues because he needs to
Need is the ultimate monkey at the "Time Out Of Joint Café"
A weird landscape of whacked-out plots
With hi-fi loving farmers who look more like organic ghosts
Being served by misanthropic robots
Joe only plays one song
One continuous vomitific never-ending song
Half spoken in some obsolete vernacular
He tells one long story about a girl
A girl he met down in Mexico
He wears a red bandana plays a Blues piano
In a little old bar in Mexico
He's a cool survivor, plays an old synthesiser
And a honky tonk down in Mexico
Joe plays the blues
Joe plays the blues because he needs to
The song Down in Mexico by Manfred Mann is about a place in Mexico where the drinks are hot and the boss is a guy named Joe. It is a small spot that is too small to be considered a town and too large to be considered a village. The song mentions Joe, who is a cool survivor and plays the blues piano in a little old bar in Mexico. He wears a red bandana and plays an old synthesizer. Joe plays the blues because he needs to, and it is the ultimate monkey at the "Time Out Of Joint Café". This cafe is described as a weird landscape of whacked-out plots with hi-fi loving farmers who look more like organic ghosts. They are being served by misanthropic robots. Joe only plays one song, which is a continuous vomitific never-ending song that is half spoken in an obsolete vernacular. He tells one long story about a girl he met down in Mexico.
The song is a tribute to Joe Corrozzo, who was a honky-tonk piano player in Tijuana, Mexico. The song was written by Tony Hiller, whose words were put to music by Manfred Mann. The song was released in 1972 and became a top 20 hit in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The song was also featured in the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a little spot in Mexico
There is a small place in Mexico
Too small to be a village and not large enough to be a town
The place is too small to be called a village and too big to be a town
Joe plays the blues
A guy named Joe plays the blues music
Joe plays the blues because he needs to
Joe plays the blues music because he feels a need to do so
Down in Mexicali there's a crazy little place that I know
There is a crazy little place known to the artist down in Mexicali
Where the drinks are hotter than the chilli sauce
The place serves drinks that are hotter than the chili sauce
And the boss is a guy named Joe
Joe is the boss there
He wears a red bandana plays a Blues piano
Joe wears a red bandana and plays blues music on a piano
In a little old bar in Mexico
Joe performs in a small old bar situated in Mexico
He's a cool survivor, plays an old synthesiser
Joe is a cool survivor and plays a vintage synthesizer
And a honky tonk down in Mexico
He performs honky-tonk music in Mexico
First time that I saw him, he was sitting on a piano stool
The artist saw him sitting on a piano stool for the first time
I said "Tell me Joe when does the fun begin"
The singer asked Joe when the fun will start
He just winked his eye and said "Be cool"
Joe responds by winking his eye and asking the singer to remain calm
Joe only plays one song
Joe only plays a single song
One continuous vomitific never-ending song
The song he plays is an endless, continuous tune
Half spoken in some obsolete vernacular
Some of the song is spoken in an outdated language
He tells one long story about a girl
Within the song, Joe tells a single long story about a girl
A girl he met down in Mexico
The girl that Joe talks about he met in Mexico
Contributed by Mateo N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Adrian
on The Runner
Canadian Sinver / Songwriter Ian Thomas wrofe this song. He lives in Stoney Creek, Canada.
Dennis the Menace
on Do Wah Diddy Diddy
I live in Davenport,was still in the army when the band was stranded herein Davenport.