Gull
Adult Ring-billed Gull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Suborder:	Lari
Family:	Laridae Vigors, 1825
Genera
11, see text

Gulls (often informally called seagulls) are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns (family Sternidae) and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders. Until the twenty-first century most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but this arrangement is now known to be polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera.^[1]

Gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They typically have harsh wailing or squawking calls, stout, longish bills, and webbed feet. Most gulls, particularly Larus species, are ground-nesting carnivores, which will take live food or scavenge opportunistically. Live food often includes crabs and small fish. Gulls have prophylactic unhinging jaws which allow them to consume large prey. Apart from the kittiwakes, gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea^[2] The large species take up to four years to attain full adult plumage, but two years is typical for small gulls. Large White-Headed Gulls are typically long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the Herring Gull.^[3]

Gulls nest in large, densely packed noisy colonies. They lay two to three speckled eggs in nests composed of vegetation. The young are precocial, being born with dark mottled down, and mobile upon hatching.^[4]

Gulls—the larger species in particular—are resourceful, inquisitive and intelligent^[5] birds, demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure. For example, many gull colonies display mobbing behaviour, attacking and harassing would-be predators and other intruders.^[6] Certain species (e.g. the Herring Gull) have exhibited tool use behaviour, using pieces of bread as bait with which to catch goldfish, for example.^[7] Many species of gull have learned to coexist successfully with humans and have thrived in human habitats.^[8] Others rely on kleptoparasitism to get their food. Gulls have been observed preying on live whales, landing on the whale as it surfaces to peck out pieces of flesh.^[9]

Description and morphology[link]

The Pacific Gull is a large white-headed gull with a particularly heavy bill

Gull species range in size from the Little Gull, at 120 g (4.2 oz) and 29 cm (11.5 inches), to the Great Black-backed Gull, at 1.75 kg (3.8 lbs) and 76 cm (30 inches). They are generally uniform in shape, with heavy bodies, long wings, moderately long necks . The tails of all but three species are rounded; the exceptions being the Sabine's Gull and Swallow-tailed Gulls, which have forked tails, and the Ross's Gull, which has a wedge-shaped tail. Gulls have moderately long legs (certainly longer than the terns) with fully webbed feet. The bill is generally heavy and slightly hooked, with the larger species having stouter bills than the smaller species. The bill colour is often yellow with a red spot for the larger white-headed species and red, dark red or black in the smaller species.^[10]

The gulls are generalist feeders, indeed they are the least specialised of all the seabirds, and their morphology allows for equal adeptness in swimming, flying and walking. They are more adept walking on land than most other seabirds, and the smaller gulls tend to be more manoeuvrable while walking. The walking gait of gulls includes a slight side to side motion, something that can be exaggerated in breeding displays. In the air they are able to hover and they are also able to take off quickly with little space.^[10]

The general pattern of plumage in adult gulls is a white body with a darker mantle; the extent to which the mantle is darker varies from pale grey to black. A few species vary in this, the Ivory Gull is entirely white, and some like the Lava Gull and Heermann's Gull have partly or entirely grey bodies. The wingtips of most species are black, which improves their resistance to wear and tear, usually with a diagnostic pattern of white makings. The head of gulls may be covered by a dark hood or be entirely white. The plumage of the head varies by breeding season; in non-breeding dark-hooded gulls the hood is lost, sometimes leaving a single spot behind the eye, and in white-headed gulls non-breeding heads may have streaking.^[10]

Distribution and habitat[link]

Swallow-tailed Gulls are endemic to the Galapagos Islands

The gulls have a worldwide cosmopolitan distribution. They breed on every continent, including the margins of Antarctica, and are found in the high Arctic as well. They are less common on tropical islands, although a few species do live on islands such as the Galapagos and New Caledonia. Many species breed in costal colonies, with a preference for islands, and one species, the Grey Gull, breeds in the interior of dry deserts far from water. There is considerable variety in the family and species may breed and feed in marine, freshwater or terrestrial habitats.^[10]

Most gull species are migratory, with birds moving to warmer habitats during the winter, but the extent to which they migrate varies by species. Some species migrate long distances, like the Franklin's Gull, which migrates from Canada to wintering grounds in the south of South America. Other species move much shorter distances and may simply disperse along the coasts near their breeding sites.^[10]

Behaviour[link]

Diet and feeding[link]

Gulls are highly adaptable feeders that opportunistically take a wide range of prey. The food taken by gulls includes fish and marine and freshwater invertebrates, both alive and already dead, terrestrial arthropods and invertebrates such as insects and earthworms, rodents, eggs, carrion, offal, reptiles, amphibians, plant items such as seeds and fruit, human refuse, and even other birds. No gull species is a single-prey specialist, and no gull species forages using only a single method. The type of food depends on circumstances, and terrestrial prey such as seeds, fruit and earthworms are more common during the breeding season while marine prey is more common in the non-breeding season when birds spend more time on large bodies of water. ^[10]

Ivory Gull feeding on carrion

In addition to taking a wide range prey items gulls display great versatility in how they obtain prey. Prey can be obtained in the air, on water or on land. In the air a number of hooded species are able to hawk insects on the wing; larger species perform this feat more rarely. Gulls on the wing will also snatch items both off water and off the ground, and over water they will also plunge-dive to catch prey. Again smaller species are more manoeuvrable and better able to hover-dip fish from the air. Dipping is also common when birds are sitting on the water, and gulls may swim in tight circles or foot paddle to bring marine invertebrates up to the surface. Food is also obtained by searching the ground, often on the shore among sand, mud or rocks. Larger gulls tend to do more feeding in this way. In shallow water gulls may also engage in foot paddling. A unique method of obtaining prey to gulls involves dropping heavy shells of clams and mussels onto hard surfaces.^[10] Gulls may fly some distance in order to find a suitable surface on which to drop shells, and there is apparently a learnt component to the task as older birds are more successful than younger ones.^[11] While overall feeding success is a function of age, the diversity in both prey and feeding methods is not. It has been suggested that the time taken to learn foraging skills explains the delayed maturation in gulls.^[10]

Gulls have only a limited ability to dive below the water in order to feed on deeper prey. In order to obtain prey from deeper down many species of gull feed in association with other animals, where marine hunters drive prey to the surface when hunting.^[10] Examples of such associations include four species of gull feeding around plumes of mud brought to the surface by feeding Grey Whales,^[12] and also between Orcas and Kelp Gulls (and other seabirds).^[13]

Breeding[link]

Black-legged Kittiwakes nest colonially but have tiny, closely packed territories

Gulls are monogamous and colonial breeders that display mate fidelity that usually lasts for the life of the pair. Divorce of mated pairs does occur, but it apparently has a cost that persists for a number of years after the break up, and is thought to be selected against. Gulls also display high levels of site fidelity, returning to the same colony after breeding there once and even usually breeding in the same location within that colony. Colonies can vary from just a few pairs to over a hundred thousand pairs, and may be exclusive to that gull species or shared with other seabird species. A few species nest singly, and single pairs of Band-tailed Gulls may breed in colonies of other birds. Within colonies gull pairs are territorial, defending an area of varying size around the nesting site from others of their species. This area can be as large as a 5 m radius around the nest in the Herring Gull to just a tiny area of cliff ledge in the kittiwakes.^[10]

Most gulls breed once a year and have predictable breeding seasons lasting for three to five months. Gulls begin to assemble around the colony for a few weeks prior to occupying the colony. Existing pairs re-establish their pair-bonds, and unpaired birds begin courting. Birds then move back into their territories and new males establish new territories and attempt to court females. Gulls defend their territories from rivals of both sexes through calls and aerial attacks.^[10]

The nest of a Greater Black-backed Gull, with three typical eggs

Nest building is also part of the pair-bonding. Gull nests are usually mats of herbaceous matter with a central nest cup. Nests are usually built on the ground, but a few species build nests on cliffs, including the kittiwakes which almost always nest in such habitats, and in some cases in trees, like Bonaparte's Gulls. Species that nest in marshes must construct a nesting platform in order to keep the nest dry, particularly in species that nest in tidal marshes. Both sexes gather nesting material and build the nest, but the division of labour isn't always exactly equal. ^[10]

Clutch size is typically three eggs, although it is two in some of the smaller species and only one egg for the Swallow-tailed Gull. Within colonies birds will synchronise their laying, with synchronisation being higher in larger colonies, although after a certain level this levels off. The eggs of gulls are usually dark tan to brown or dark olive with dark splotches and scrawl markings, and are well camouflaged. Both sexes incubate the eggs, with incubation bouts lasting between one and four hours during the day and one parent incubating through the night.^[10]

Incubation lasts between 22 and 26 days, and begins after laying the first egg, although it is discontinuous until the second egg is laid. This means the first two chicks are born close together, and the third chick some time later. Young chicks are brooded by their parents for about one or two weeks, and are often at least one parent will remain with them until they fledge in order to guard them. Both parents feed the chicks, although early on in the rearing period the male does most of the feeding and the female most of the brooding and guarding. ^[10]

Taxonomy[link]

The taxonomy of gulls is confused by their widespread distribution zones of hybridization leading to geneflow. Some have traditionally been considered ring species, but recent evidence suggests that this assumption is questionable.^[14] Until recently, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but this arrangement is now known to be polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of the genera Ichthyaetus, Chroicocephalus, Leucophaeus, Saundersilarus and Hydrocoloeus.^[1] Some English names refer to species complexes within the group:

• Large white-headed gull is used to describe the 18 or so Herring Gull-like species from California Gull to Lesser Black-backed Gull in the taxonomic list below.
• White-winged gull is used to describe the 4 pale-winged, High Arctic-breeding taxa within the former group; these are Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Thayer's Gull, and Kumlien's Gull.

Hybridisation between species of gull occurs quite frequently, although to varying degrees depending on the species involved (see Hybridisation in gulls). The taxonomy of the large white-headed gulls is particularly complicated.

In common usage, members of various gull species are often referred to as sea gulls or seagulls. This name is used informally to refer to a common local species or all gulls in general, and has no fixed taxonomic meaning.^{[citation needed]}

The American Ornithologists' Union combines Sternidae, Stercorariidae, and Rhynchopidae as subfamilies in the family Laridae, but recent research ^[15][16][17] indicates that this is incorrect.

List of species[link]

Gulls acquire food from humans both through handouts and theft

This is a list of gull species, presented in taxonomic sequence.

Sabine's Gull is the only species in the genus Xema

An American Herring Gull eating a sea star

Ivory Gull

A gull attacking a coot. Note that this gull is probably going after the bread or other food item in the bill of this American Coot, though Great Black-backed Gulls are known to kill and eat coots.

Gulls in a feeding frenzy

Genus Larus

• Pacific Gull, Larus pacificus
• Belcher's Gull, Larus belcheri
• Olrog's Gull, Larus atlanticus
• Black-tailed Gull, Larus crassirostris
• Heermann's Gull, Larus heermanni
• Common Gull or Mew Gull, Larus canus
• Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
• California Gull, Larus californicus
• Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
• Kelp Gull, Larus dominicanus (called "Southern Black-backed Gull" or "Karoro" in New Zealand)
  • Cape Gull, Larus dominicanus vetula
• Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens
• Western Gull, Larus occidentalis
• Yellow-footed Gull, Larus livens
• Glaucous Gull, Larus hyperboreus
• Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides
  • Kumlien's Gull, Larus glaucoides kumlieni
• Thayer's Gull, Larus thayeri
• European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
• Heuglin's Gull, Larus heuglini
• American Herring Gull, Larus smithsonianus
• Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis
• Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans
• East Siberian Herring Gull, Larus vegae
• Armenian Gull, Larus armenicus
• Slaty-backed Gull, Larus schistisagus
• Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus

Genus Ichthyaetus

• White-eyed Gull, Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus
• Sooty Gull, Ichthyaetus hemprichii
• Great Black-headed Gull, Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus
• Audouin's Gull, Ichthyaetus audouinii
• Mediterranean Gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
• Relict Gull, Ichthyaetus relictus

Genus Leucophaeus

• Dolphin Gull, Leucophaeus scoresbii
• Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla
• Franklin's Gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan
• Lava Gull, Leucophaeus fuliginosus
• Gray Gull, Leucophaeus modestus

Genus Chroicocephalus

• Silver Gull, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
• Red-billed Gull, Chroicocephalus scopulinus
• Hartlaub's Gull, Chroicocephalus hartlaubii
• Brown-hooded Gull, Chroicocephalus maculipennis
• Gray-hooded Gull, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus
• Andean Gull, Chroicocephalus serranus
• Black-billed Gull, Chroicocephalus bulleri
• Brown-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
• Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
• Slender-billed Gull, Chroicocephalus genei
• Bonaparte's Gull, Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Genus Saundersilarus

• Saunders's Gull, Saundersilarus saundersi

Genus Hydrocoloeus

• Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus

Genus Rhodostethia

• Ross's Gull, Rhodostethia rosea

Genus Rissa

• Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
• Red-legged Kittiwake, Rissa brevirostris

Genus Pagophila

• Ivory Gull, Pagophila eburnea

Genus Xema

• Sabine's Gull, Xema sabini

Genus Creagrus

• Swallow-tailed Gull, Creagrus furcatus'

Evolution[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The Laridae are known from fossil evidence since the Early Oligocene, some 30-33 ma (million years) ago. A fossil gull from the Middle to Late Miocene of Cherry County, Nebraska, USA is placed in the prehistoric genus Gaviota; apart from this and the undescribed Early Oligocene fossil, all prehistoric species were tentatively assigned to the modern genus Larus. Among those of them that have been confirmed as gulls, "Larus" elegans and "L." totanoides from the Late Oligocene/Early Miocene of southeast France have since been separated in Laricola.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Grant, Peter J. (1986) Gulls: a guide to identification ISBN 0-85661-044-5
• Howell, Steve N. G. and Jon Dunn (2007) Gulls of the Americas ISBN 0-618-72641-1
• Olsen, Klaus Malling & Larsson, Hans (1995): Terns of Europe and North America. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-4056-1

External links[link]

Look up gull in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Laridae

• Rudy's Gull-index Pictures of less well-known plumages of large gulls
• Gull videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Gullpix Pictures of gulls, sorted by species

One Man may refer to:

• One Man (album), a 1998 album by Mark King
• One Man (film), a 1977 Canadian film
• One Man (horse), an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse
• One Man, a 2002 album by American R&B singer Tank

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Man are a rock band from South Wales whose style is a mixture of West Coast psychedelia, progressive rock, blues and country-rock. Formed in 1968 as a reincarnation of Welsh rock harmony group ‘’The Bystanders’’, Man are renowned for the extended jams in their live performances, and having had numerous line up changes.

The Bystanders[link]

Man evolved out of The Bystanders, a successful close harmony pop group from Merthyr Tydfil who played numerous club residencies in Wales, often playing several clubs a night. The Bystanders issued eight singles, including "98.6" (#45 in UK Singles Chart, in February 1967)^[1] which featured in the 2009 film, The Boat That Rocked (although Keith's version was the bigger hit, reaching #24 in the UK) and "When Jesamine Goes", written by their manager Ronnie Scott and Marty Wilde under the pseudonyms of Frere Manston and Jack Gellar, which was later covered by The Casuals as "Jesamine" and got to #2 in the UK Chart. They also recorded sessions of cover versions for the BBC as rules restricting needle time required "live" performances between the records during the 1960s; ^[2] becoming regulars on the ’’Jimmy Young Show’’, "The David Symonds Show" and others.

When formed in 1962 The Bystanders included Owen Money, then known as Gerry Braden,^[3] but he was replaced by Vic Oakley, giving the classic line up of Micky Jones (guitar), Ray Williams (bass), Jeff Jones (drums), Clive John (aka Clint Space) (keyboards) and Vic Oakley (vocals). By 1968 the other members wanted to change musical direction to a more psychedelic/American west-coast guitar sound, so Oakley left, to be replaced by Deke Leonard; and the band changed its name to Man.^[4]

Pye years[link]

Man were initially signed to Pye Records, for whom they recorded their first two albums:- Revelation noted for the simulated orgasm on "Erotica", which received a UK ban,^[5] and 2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle. Whilst mixing the second album, Leonard left, and was replaced by Martin Ace from Leonard’s previous band, Dream. At this time, Man were recording three demo sessions a week for Leeds Music, including Down the Dustpipe which they taught to Status Quo.^[6]

Man then toured Europe, predominantly Germany, where they supported Chicago, but on their return, were stopped as suspected terrorists, then jailed for drugs offences in Belgium. Leonard then rejoined, but Ace stayed on as a multi-instrumentalist. Shortly after, Ray Williams and Jeff Jones were fired, with Terry Williams joining on drums and Ace moving to bass. Leonard, Ace and Terry Williams having been together in “Dream”, this was seen by some as a take-over.^[6]

A bootleg of the first gig by this line up, October 1970 in Hamburg, was issued as To Live for to Die and was later re-bootlegged by the band.^[7] Despite good reviews in Britain Two Ounces of Plastic ... was more popular in Germany, so the band spent a year in Germany, where, having to play 4–5 hours a night, most numbers became extended jams.

United Artists years[link]

Their manager, Barrie Marshall, obtained a new record contract with Andrew Lauder of United Artists Records, for whom the band recorded the eponymous Man album, which received mixed reviews. Their media break came when outperforming Soft Machine, Yes and Family at a concert in Berlin, but they continued to play on the continent.^[8] Having appeared on the United Artists sampler album, All Good Clean Fun, they undertook a tour of Switzerland, to promote the album, together with Help Yourself and Leicester band Gypsy.

The next album Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In? recorded at Rockfield Studios by Kingsley Ward, received good reviews, and the band played German TV and Iceland with Badfinger.^[9] Constant touring was creating internal pressures, and in January 1972, John left the band, to form “Iowerth Pritchard and the Neutrons” with Phil Ryan and Will Youatt.

The new four piece supported Hawkwind and Brinsley Schwarz at a charity gig at The Roundhouse on 13 February 1972, recorded and issued as Greasy Truckers Party, a limited edition double album which rapidly became a collectors' item.^[10] United Artists' A&R man, Andrew Lauder, persuaded them to follow this up with a live album.^[11] Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth was recorded on 8 April 1972. It was sold at a reduced price and only 8000 copies were pressed, which sold out in a week, making it No 1 in the “budget” album chart.^[12] Man recorded the first of their three Peel Sessions on 29 August 1972, (the others being 18 September 1973 & 31 October 1974)^[13]

The band then tried to write a new studio album, but lacked inspiration. Martin Ace left, to form "The Flying Aces" with his wife George, so Micky Jones and Terry Williams sacked Leonard, and John rejoined together with his new band members, Ryan (keyboards) and Youatt (bass).^[14] The new band recorded Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day which received good reviews. A party on 19 December 1972, with Dave Edmunds, Help Yourself, The Flying Aces and others, was issued as Christmas at the Patti, a double 10” album, which again topped the “budget” album chart, but on tour John fell out with Micky Jones, and left again.

The four-piece started to record Back Into The Future, but felt the need for a second guitarist, so Alan “Tweke” Lewis joined from Wild Turkey. On 24 June 1973 they recorded the live half of this double album at Man’s spiritual London home, The Roundhouse, backed by the Gwalia Male Voice Choir, who had previously sung with Man at The Oval,^[15] when they supported Frank Zappa. The album initially sold well, rising to No 23,^[16] and again, this was tipped to be album that would make the band, but pressing was restricted by a lack of plastic during the oil crisis. The follow-up tour had Deke Leonard’s Iceberg as support. During the tour, Micky Jones and Leonard discussed a new Man line-up, so when Ryan and Youatt left to form The Neutrons in December 1973, Leonard disbanded Iceberg and rejoined Man along with two former members of Help Yourself; Malcolm Morley (keyboards) and Ken Whaley (bass), who had also played in Iceberg.^[8]

The next album Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, noted for his work with Queen, and spent 4 weeks in the UK album chart, peaking at No 24.^[16] In March/April 1974 Man supported Hawkwind on The 1999 Party, a 5 week US tour. At the Los Angeles Whisky a Go Go on 12 March, Jim Horn joined on saxophone, which was issued as a bonus disc with the reissue of the Rhinos ... Album in 2007. The 21 April gig in Chicago, was recorded for radio, and issued on CD as The 1999 Party Tour in 1997, but omits Morley from the credits, although he is on the recording.

Morley left the day before recording started on the next album Slow Motion. Before the album was released, the band toured the UK (again with Badfinger) and USA in August–October 1974. They returned to the USA in March 1975, to promote the album by touring with REO Speedwagon and New Riders of the Purple Sage, but the tour collapsed on the first night. A new US tour, with REO Speedwagon and Blue Öyster Cult broke up two-thirds of the way through.^[8] Additional dates were arranged, but most were cancelled when Micky Jones developed pneumonia, so the final gigs were to be at the San Francisco Winterland. These were a great success, and promoter Bill Graham paid them a bonus, and rebooked them, but Whaley had had enough, and left.^[17]

Martin Ace flew out as a stand in, and the band met and rehearsed with John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service, who played with them at Winterland, and agreed to play a UK tour. On this tour, the Roundhouse gig was recorded, but it is rumoured that Micky Jones had to over-dub Cipollina’s guitar, as it was out of tune, before the Maximum Darkness album could be released.^[18] The album eventually reaching no 25 in the UK album chart.^[16] and Martin Ace continued as “stand in” bassist, until the end of a French tour, with Hawkwind, Gong and Magma, when he returned to the Flying Aces.

MCA[link]

The band changed label to MCA Records, Ryan rejoined on keyboards, but as no bass players they knew were available, the band had to audition for the first time in their history. Auditions went badly, until the final audition, of John McKenzie of Global Village Trucking Company, who was immediately offered the job.^[19] They then recorded The Welsh Connection which reached No 40 in the UK Album Chart^[16] and was toured in March/April 1976 in Britain and June/July in the US. During the US tour differences arose again, and on the subsequent European tour Ryan and McKenzie announced they would be leaving, and the rest of the band agreed to call it a day.^[19] The MCA record deal, however, was for 3 albums, but nobody was willing to contribute new material, and their attempts at covers were poor, so MCA eventually agreed to a live farewell album. All's Well That Ends Well was recorded at the Roundhouse on 11–13 December, although the final gig was in Slough on 16 December 1976. The band agreed that they “would never, ever, be one of those bands who reformed in a futile attempt to recapture past glories ...”.^[20]

Interval[link]

After the 1976 break up, band members undertook numerous projects, often with other former members.

Martin Ace[link]

Ace left Man before The Welsh Connection to reform The Flying Aces with his wife George (guitar), Mickey Gee (guitar), Phil Ryan (keyboards) and Stuart Halliday (drums). Ryan returned to Man and Halliday joined ‘’Alkatraz’’ being replaced first by Dave Charles, (ex Help Yourself) and then Mike Gibbins (ex Badfinger)

In the 1980s Ace & Micky Jones occasionally backed Welsh Elvis impersonator, Peter Singh in The Screaming Pakistanis and Ace also played with guitarist David Tipton with John 'Pugwash' Weathers (ex Gentle Giant) on drums.^[21]

Micky Jones[link]

Shortly after the break-up, Micky Jones recorded some demos with John McKenzie (bass), Malcolm Morley (guitar & keyboards) and Derek Ballard (drums). In 1978 he formed the Micky Jones Band, with Tweke Lewis (guitar), Steve Dixon (drums), Al McLaine (bass) and Steve Gurl (ex Wild Turkey & Babe Ruth) (keyboards).

Lewis & Gurl left, so Jones, Dixon & McLaine continued as three-piece Manipulator occasionally known as ‘’The Acidtones’’. In 1981 Jones disbanded Manipulator and formed The Flying Pigs with Mick Hawksworth (bass) and Phil Little (drums).^[22]

Deke Leonard[link]

Leonard reformed Iceberg, with Lincoln Carr (bass) and Terry Williams (when not playing with Rockpile). He still had a record contract and initially recorded with Martin Ace and Terry Williams, but needed two attempts to complete the album ‘'Before Your Very Eyes’', release of which was delayed for five years, when EMI took over United Artists.^[23] A later line up included 2 musicians Leonard had played with in Help Yourself, Richard Treece (guitar & bass) and B.J. Cole (pedal steel guitar), plus Reg Isadore (drums). Leonard took up writing, and briefly moved to the USA, where he worked on a Walter Egan album.

Leonard formed The Force with Sean Tyla (ex Ducks Deluxe) (guitar), Micky Groome (bass) and Paul Simmons (drums). Their album Force's First also included Terry Williams and Martin Ace. The Force disbanded after Tyla suffered severe stage fright in 1982, and Leonard reformed the band as another Iceberg^[23]

John McKenzie[link]

McKenzie initially joined Ryan and Pete Brown, before joining Steve Hillage appearing on some tracks of the ‘'Live Herald'’ album. He then became a session/backing musician, touring with Dr John, Albert Lee, Davy Spillane, The Christians, Seal, Alison Moyet and Everything but the Girl and recording with Bob Dylan, The Pretenders, Eurythmics, David Bowie, Mary Coughlan, Paul Brady, Moya Brennan, Andrea Corr, Damien Rice, and Wham.

Phil Ryan[link]

Ryan rejoined his former Piblokto partner Pete Brown and briefly formed The Brown & Ryan Band with McKenzie (bass), Taff Williams (ex Neutrons) (guitar) and Steve Jones (drums). A second line up of Pete Brown, Phil Ryan, Taff Williams, Dill Katz (bass) and Jeff Seopardie (drums) known as both ‘’Pete Brown and the Interoceters’’ and ‘’Ray Gammond and the Interoceters’’ recorded some tracks issued on Pete Brown’s 1984 album ‘’Party in the Rain’’. He also played a few gigs with the Flying Aces.^[21]

Ryan then moved to Denmark, where his wife Bolette came from, and wrote music for films and TV

Terry Williams[link]

On the breakup of Man, Williams immediately joined Rockpile with Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe and Billy Bremner. They continued until 1982, issuing several successful albums & singles and touring the USA and Europe. Williams briefly worked with Meat Loaf, before receiving an offer from Dire Straits, who he was still working with, when Man reformed.^[21]

Reformed[link]

The band reformed in 1983, with a line-up of Micky Jones and Deke Leonard on guitars, Martin Ace on bass and John “Pugwash” Weathers (formerly of Gentle Giant) on drums. This line up was to stay constant until 1996, except from a short spell, when Weathers was unwell, and Rick Martinez temporarily took over

After rehearsals, their first gig was on All Fools Day at the Marquee Club in London, and in June they recorded Friday 13th (Picasso PIK 001) at The Marquee, but this comprised old numbers, not new material. Not having a recording contract to promote them, albums were issued on several labels, e.g. Friday 13th was also issued as Live at the Marquee (Great Expectations PIPCD 055) and Talk about a Morning (Dressed to Kill DRESS 600). Later that year they played the Reading Festival which was recorded for Tommy Vance’s Friday Rock Show and released as Live At Reading '83 in 1993.^[24]

In 1983, they also recorded an album of new material in Germany, but fell out with the producer, who was also the album’s promoter, so the album was never issued.^[25] The first studio album to be issued, The Twang Dynasty was issued in 1992 and included the track "Fast and Dangerous" which was used on trailers for Paul Whitehouse’s Fast Show, although the band were not paid for this.^[25]

Their performance at 1994’s Glastonbury Festival was issued as Live 1994 - Official Bootleg (and reissued as Live Official Bootleg), and in 1995 they recorded Call Down The Moon issued on the Hypertension label, and produced by the band and Ron Sanchez – a US musician and DJ, who had long championed their cause.

Weathers left in 1996, allegedly because Gentle Giant were about to reform,^[26] and was replaced by returning drummer Terry Williams, who in the interim, had served in bands such as Dire Straits. Williams recorded some tracks, later released on the Undrugged album, and then Leonard suffered a minor stroke, so the band played a few gigs as a 3 piece. When Leonard returned in 1997, Williams left, to be replaced by drummer Bob Richards formerly of The Wild Family and The Adrian Smith Band.

Former keyboardist Phil Ryan returned in 1998 taking the band back to the classic 5-piece line-up, which recorded a live double album at The Star Club, Oberhausen, West Germany, in March that year. Ryan played a major role in producing 2000's Endangered Species, but then had to withdraw from the band for personal reasons. Ryan was replaced by Gareth Llewellyn Thorrington, who missed the recording of Down Town Live at the Down Town Blues Club, Hamburg, in May 2001, as his flight was cancelled due a bomb-scare, but appeared on part of the Undrugged album (an “unplugged” album with a twist in the title), which had been started in 1996, and was finally issued in 2002. Undrugged has some classic covers, including Brian Wilson's Sail on Sailor and Ray Charles's Georgia On My Mind both lead vocals being by Micky Jones.

In 2002 Micky Jones was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to take time off for treatment. Micky's place was temporarily taken by his son George Jones, but when Micky had recovered enough to rejoin, in 2004, Leonard decided to leave, again, so George became a permanent member of the band. In 2005, Micky Jones' health deteriorated due to the re-occurrence of his brain tumour^[22] and he was replaced by Martin Ace's son Josh Ace.

In 2006, the album Diamonds and Coal was released, after which Thorrington was sacked, and the band continued as a 4-piece. The 40th anniversary tour in 2008, saw the return of Ryan on keyboards, giving a multi-generational line up, with two early members (Martin Ace and Phil Ryan), two sons of early members (George Jones and Josh Ace) and Bob Richards, who had been in the band since 1997. This line up also recorded a studio album, but before this was mixed, the band split.^[27] Josh Ace, Martin Ace and Phil Ryan recruited James Beck (guitar, vocals) and Rene Robrahn (drums, vocals) to the new line up and wiped parts of the album to replace George Jones. Bob Richards parts were kept on as they were unable to record over them, due to the lack of a click track. This latest album Kingdom of Noise was finally released in June 2009.^[28]

After leaving Man, Micky Jones continued to perform for a while, but was then diagnosed with another tumour, he spent the next year and a half in and out of hospital, his health meant he remained at a care home in Swansea for the next 3 years until he died peacefully, at the age of 63, on 10 March 2010.^[29][30][31] Fans paid tribute to Micky Jones online,^[32] calling Man the greatest Welsh band of all time.

Clive John, AKA Clint Space, another of the founding members, died after a long fight against emphysema on 24 August 2011.^[33]

Discography[link]

For a full discography see "The Manband Archive". In August 2011 this listed 412 releases, on 71 labels, in 24 countries.^[34]

Band member timeline[link]

 id:guitar      value:yellow       legend:Guitar
 id:bass        value:yellowgreen    legend:Bass
 id:drums       value:powderblue2  legend:Drums
 id:keys       value:orange      legend:Keyboards
 id:lines       value:black        legend:Albums

 bar:Micky      text:"Micky Jones"
 bar:Deke    text:"Deke Leonard"
 bar:Ray   text:"Ray Williams"
 bar:Jeff   text:"Jeff Jones"
 bar:Clive    text:"Clive John"
 bar:Martin   text:"Martin Ace"
 bar:Terry      text:"Terry Williams"
 bar:Will     text:"Will Youatt"
 bar:Phil  text:"Phil Ryan"
 bar:Tweke     text:"Tweke Lewis"
 bar:Ken    text:"Ken Whaley"
 bar:Malc    text:"Malcolm Morley
 bar:Cippo     text:"John Cippolina"
 bar:John     text:"John McKenzie"
 bar:Pugwash     text:"John Weathers"
 bar:Rick     text:"Rick Martinez"
 bar:Bob     text:"Bob Richards"
 bar:Gareth     text:"Gareth Thorrington"
 bar:George     text:"George Jones"
 bar:Josh     text:"Josh Ace"
 bar:James     text:"James Beck"
 bar:Rene     text:"Rene Robrahn"

 width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Micky     from:01/11/1968 till: 16/12/1976 color:guitar
 bar:Deke    from:01/11/1968 till: 15/08/1969 color:guitar
 bar:Deke    from:16/03/1970 till: 15/04/1972 color:guitar
 bar:Deke    from:01/01/1974 till: 16/12/1976 color:guitar
 bar:Ray   from:01/11/1968 till:15/10/1970 color:bass
 bar:Jeff   from:01/11/1968 till:15/10/1970 color:drums
 bar:Clive    from:01/11/1968 till:15/01/1972 color:keys
 bar:Clive    from:16/04/1972 till:15/04/1973 color:guitar
 bar:Martin   from:16/08/1969 till:15/10/1970 color:guitar
 bar:Martin   from:16/10/1970 till:15/04/1972 color:bass
 bar:Martin   from:16/03/1975 till:31/08/1975 color:bass
 bar:Terry      from:16/10/1970 till: 16/12/1976 color:drums
 bar:Will     from:16/04/1972 till:31/12/1973 color:bass
 bar:Phil   from:16/04/1972 till:31/12/1973 color:keys
 bar:Phil     from:01/10/1975 till: 16/12/1976 color:keys
 bar:Tweke    from:16/06/1973 till:31/12/1973 color:guitar
 bar:Ken    from:01/01/1974 till:15/03/1975      color:bass
 bar:Malc    from:01/01/1974 till:15/07/1974 color:keys
 bar:Cippo    from:01/05/1975 till: 31/07/1975     color:guitar
 bar:John     from:01/10/1975 till:16/12/1976 color:bass
 bar:Micky     from:01/04/1983 till: 30/06/2002 color:guitar
 bar:Deke    from:01/04/1983 till: 30/06/1996 color:guitar
 bar:Martin    from:01/04/1983 till: end   color:bass
 bar:Pugwash    from:01/04/1983 till: 31/12/1986 color:drums
 bar:Terry    from:01/03/1987 till: 15/02/1988 color:drums
 bar:Pugwash    from:06/02/1988 till: 30/11/1989 color:drums
 bar:Terry    from:01/01/1990 till: 31/01/1990 color:drums
 bar:Rick    from:01/02/1990 till: 31/10/1990 color:drums
 bar:Pugwash    from:01/11/1990 till: 31/12/1995 color:drums
 bar:Terry    from:01/01/1996 till: 31/01/1997 color:drums
 bar:Deke    from:01/02/1997 till: 30/06/2004 color:guitar
 bar:Bob    from:01/02/1997 till: 31/12/2008 color:drums
 bar:Phil    from:01/01/1998 till: 30/06/2000 color:keys
 bar:Gareth    from:01/07/2000 till: 01/11/2006 color:keys
 bar:George    from:01/07/2002 till: 31/12/2008 color:guitar
 bar:Micky     from:01/07/2004 till: 30/06/2005 color:guitar
 bar:Josh     from:01/07/2005 till: end     color:guitar
 bar:Phil    from:01/07/2008 till: end     color:keys
 bar:James    from:01/01/2009 till: end     color:guitar
 bar:Rene    from:01/01/2009 till: end     color:drums

 at:01/01/1969 color:black layer:back
 at:01/09/1969 color:black layer:back
 at:01/03/1971 color:black layer:back
 at:01/11/1971 color:black layer:back
 at:28/04/1972 color:black layer:back
 at:01/09/1972 color:black layer:back
 at:01/10/1972 color:black layer:back
 at:01/04/1973 color:black layer:back
 at:01/09/1973 color:black layer:back
 at:01/05/1974 color:black layer:back
 at:01/10/1974 color:black layer:back
 at:01/09/1975 color:black layer:back
 at:01/03/1976 color:black layer:back
 at:01/03/1977 color:black layer:back
 at:01/01/1984 color:black layer:back
 at:14/11/1992 color:black layer:back
 at:01/03/1995 color:black layer:back
 at:01/07/1998 color:black layer:back
 at:12/07/2000 color:black layer:back
 at:01/04/2002 color:black layer:back
 at:23/11/2006 color:black layer:back
 at:09/06/2009 color:black layer:back

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Leonard D. (1996 & Rev. 2001) Rhinos, Winos & Lunatics. Northdown Publishing ISBN 1-900711-00-1 & ISBN 1-900711-09-1
• Leonard D. (2000) Maybe I Should’ve Stayed in Bed? Northdown Publishing ISBN 1-900711-09-5

External links[link]

• Comprehensive fan site
• Original fan site
• Micky Jones Official site
• Deke Leonard Official site
• The Harvard Man Home Page
• Tribute Album download page
• Man at Discogs.com