Man
I had never heard of Man until I started listening to KOME in San Jose, which in ’74 and ’75, was pretty much a total prog-rock station.
The DJ’s there knew of these Welshmen (and others from the Welsh psychedelic/hippie scene) and championed them on the radio. Man were very influenced by the San Francisco psychedelic scene, especially Quicksilver Messenger Service, so SF had special meaning to them, and they played here a lot in the mid-70’s.
First time I saw them was in 1974, when they supported Hawkwind on their ‘1999 Tour’, in Berkeley. Partway through their set, they stopped, and over the PA, they fed in Tim Leary talking to us from prison! After a few minutes with Dr Tim, Deke Leonard from Man came up to the mic and said ‘He’s helped me through many trips..’.
Went to see them probably 6 or 7 more times at Winterland in San Francisco as well as Berkeley and San Jose, both headlining and support, and sometimes with John Cippolina from Quicksilver Messenger Service joining them.
Guitarist/singer Micky Jones was the one constant in their changing lineups, with members coming and going and coming back etc etc, until he died in 2010. His usual co-frontman, Deke Leonard, died a number of years ago as well. Their drummer Terry Williams went on to big fortune when he joined Dire Straits.
Full Frame
Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 03/23/75
Winterland, San Francisco, 4/4/75
Savoy Tivoli, San Francisco, 08/76
