| D'Abo was born in Betchworth, Surrey, the son of Dorothy Primrose (née Harbord) and Edward Nassau Nicolai d'Abo,[1] a London stockbroker. His surname comes from his father's part Dutch ancestry. He was educated at Harrow School and Selwyn College, Cambridge. He is 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), and has eyes "that honestly seem to change from blue to brown to green, depending on the light" (Pete Goodman, music journalist). D'Abo's original intention at Cambridge was to read theology and become a priest but, faced with "everything to learn" (not least Classical Greek and Hebrew) he "became wholly disillusioned" (Rave, November 1966). He switched to economics, also unsuccessfully, and left Cambridge with "a first class jazz collection" but without completing his studies. In August 1966 Manfred Mann, an established chart-topping group, as replacement for Paul Jones, who was leaving to start a solo career. Comparisons between d'Abo and Jones became a media preoccupation at the time of the switch, but d'Abo wasted little time dwelling upon it. "I enjoy being with the group," he told Pete Goodman. "We really do have an enormously wide range of musical tastes among us." D'Abo's first big hit with Manfred Mann was "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James". It was nearly recorded with "Mr Jones" in the title before it occurred to the group that it might be interpreted as being an implied reference to Paul Jones. D'Abo first recorded the As Is album (with the attaching single "Just Like a Woman"). All of the UK Fontana and US Mercury releases featured d'Abo.[citation needed] He composed and produced Chris Farlowe's "Handbags and Gladrags", a hit single (which was also notably recorded by Rod Stewart and Stereophonics and subsequently became the theme music to the BBC television show The Office) and "The Last Goodbye". He also wrote two songs recorded by Rod Stewart on Immediate Records: "Little Miss Understood" and "So Much to Say (So Little Time)." With d'Abo fronting, Manfred Mann enjoyed numerous hits, including "Ragamuffin Man", "Ha Ha Said the Clown," "My Name is Jack" and the Dylan-penned number one hit, "Mighty Quinn." Manfred Mann subsequently disbanded in 1969. |
| The Manfreds were coming to Benidorm Palace on Sunday 6th March 2016 and I caught up with Mike D'Abo to chat about this concert. and his great career........pictures of the Benidorm Palace concert are shown including Mike and Paul Jones |
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