Frederick Lawrence Mandel (born 1953) is a Canadian

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, keyboard player and guitarist.

Career

Born in

Estevan Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History The ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Mandel became involved in music from an early age. He started playing the piano at four and picked up the guitar aged eight. Growing up in an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

household, he found his parents less than encouraging of his musical endeavors. Nevertheless, in 1964, at the age of 11, with his family having moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, he became immersed in the local music scene. Mandel made his first appearance on record courtesy of

Domenic Troiano Domenic Michele Antonio Troiano (January 17, 1946 – May 25, 2005) was a Canadian guitarist and songwriter, best known as a member of Mandala, Bush, James Gang, and The Guess Who. He also recorded music for film and television, often made guest ...

(whose band he was in at the time). Troiano was invited to record on

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's first solo record and got Mandel to play keyboards on the record. This led to Alice Cooper inviting Mandel to join his live band. Mandel did this for four years (1977–1980) progressing from keyboards to lead guitar and finally ending up working as the musical director. During his work with Alice Cooper, Mandel was invited to play keyboards on the

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

album ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

'' and this was followed up by some recordings with

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

. In the 1980s, Mandel was asked to perform with

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

on their 1982 tour supporting their album ''

Hot Space ''Hot Space'' is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 21 May 1982 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work, they employed many el ...

'' (the

Hot Space Tour The Hot Space Tour was the ninth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen in support of their 1982 album ''Hot Space''. The tour started on the 9th of April in Gothenburg, Sweden and ended, after sixty-nine concerts, in Tokorozaw ...

). He struck up a good working relationship with the band and was later invited to be a contributing musician on their 1984 album '' The Works'' (thus becoming the first significant guest performer on a Queen record). Mandel performed on "Man on the Prowl" and three of the album's singles, "

Radio Ga Ga "Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with " I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included on the album '' The Works'' ...

", "

Hammer to Fall "Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album '' The Works''.

", and "

I Want to Break Free "I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their bassist John Deacon. It appears on the album '' The Works'' (1984), and was released in three versions: album, single and extended. The track became a staple of t ...

" (the famous synthesizer solo on the latter, often mistaken for guitar, is played by Mandel on a

Roland Jupiter-8 The Jupiter-8, or JP-8, is an eight-voice polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizer introduced by Roland Corporation in early 1981. The Jupiter-8 was Roland's flagship synthesizer for the first half of the 1980s. Approximately 3300 units have ...

). Mandel also played on two Queen spinoffs:

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

's 1983 mini album ''

Star Fleet Project ''Star Fleet Project'' is a solo project of Brian May, Queen's guitarist, and a mini-album of the same name. Released as the work of Brian May + Friends, the album consisted of May, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alan Gratzer (then of REO Spee ...

'' and

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

's 1985 album '' Mr. Bad Guy''. Following this, Mandel went on tour with

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending pro ...

who were performing their last gigs with their classic line up on a tour named

Famous Last Words Famous Last Words may refer to: * List of last words, collection of last words attributed to historical figures before their death Music * Famous Last Words (band), an American metal band Albums * ''Famous Last Words'' (Al Stewart album), ...

. Later on, Mandel was offered the chance play with his teen idol

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, whom Mandel states as being "...to this day, one of the most bad-ass rock and roll piano players around!" In 2013, Mandel worked with legendary thrash band

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

on the track " Smokin'", originally by

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, ultimately released on Anthrax's album '' Anthems'', an EP principally featuring covers from some of the band's favorite acts of the 1970s, along with two versions of "Crawl", a song from their previous studio album.

Selected discography

* The

Band: '' Burnin' at the Stake'' (1977) *

: ''

The Alice Cooper Show ''The Alice Cooper Show'' is a live album by Alice Cooper, released by Warner Bros. in December 1977. It was recorded live in Las Vegas at the Aladdin Hotel on August 19 and 20, 1977, during Cooper's "King of the Silver Screen" United States ...

'' (1977, live album) * Alice Cooper: '' From the Inside'' (1978) *

: ''

'' (1979) * Alice Cooper: ''

Flush the Fashion ''Flush the Fashion'' is the fifth solo studio album by American singer Alice Cooper, released on April 28, 1980 by Warner Bros. Records. It was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles with producer Roy Thomas Baker, known for his work with Q ...

'' (1980) *

+ Friends: ''

'' (1983) * Queen: '' The Works'' (1984) *

: '' Mr. Bad Guy'' (1985) *

: ''

Ice on Fire ''Ice on Fire'' is the nineteenth studio album by English musician Elton John. Recorded at Sol Studios and released in November 1985, it was his first album since ''Blue Moves'' produced by his original long-time producer, Gus Dudgeon. Davi ...

'' (1985) * Elton John: ''

Leather Jackets A leather jacket is a jacket-length coat that is usually worn on top of other apparel or item of clothing, and made from the tanned hide of various animals. The leather material is typically dyed black, or various shades of brown, but a wide ...

'' (1986) * Elton John: ''

Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra ''Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra'', released in 1987, is the twenty-eighth official album release for English musician Elton John. It is a live album recorded at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 14 December 1986 with ...

'' (1987) *

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

: ''

Tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

'' (1987) * Elton John: ''

Reg Strikes Back ''Reg Strikes Back'' is the 21st studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in 1988, it was his self-proclaimed comeback album, and his own way of fighting back against bad press. The "Reg" in ''Reg Strikes Back'' refers to John's b ...

'' (1988) * Elton John: ''

Sleeping with the Past ''Sleeping with the Past'' is the 22nd studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 29 August 1989. It is his best-selling album in Denmark (where it was recorded) and is dedicated to his longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin. The ...

'' (1989) *

: '' Some Things Never Change'' (1997) * Queen: ''

Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl ''Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl'' is a DVD/live album by the British rock band Queen released on 25 October 2004 in Europe and on 9 November 2004 in the US. It was recorded live at the Milton Keynes Bowl, Buckinghamshire, England, on 5 J ...

'' (2004; DVD bonus material) *

Philip Sayce Philip Sayce is a Welsh-born, American/Canadian guitarist, singer, songwriter, performer, and producer. Early life Sayce was born in Aberystwyth, his family moved to Canada when he was two years old, and he grew up in Toronto. His parents, Kenn ...

: ''Peace Machine'' (2009) *

: '' Anthems'' (2013) Film: * ''

Roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

'' (1980)

References

;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandel, Fred 1953 births Living people People from Estevan Canadian rock keyboardists Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Jewish Canadian musicians Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Canadian session musicians 20th-century Canadian keyboardists 20th-century Canadian guitarists Musicians from Saskatchewan Musicians from Toronto Alice Cooper (band) members Elton John Band members Jewish heavy metal musicians