Michael John Hugg (born 11 August 1940) is a British musician who achieved fame as a founding member of the 1960s group Manfred Mann.

Biography

Hugg was born in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

, Hampshire in 1940. His parents condoned his jazz drumming as long as he continued his piano lessons. Pursuing a career in jazz, he met Manfred Mann while working as a musician at Butlin's Clacton, and they formed a seven-piece group. The Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers recruited Paul Jones and later Tom McGuinness. On signing with HMV Records their producer, John Burgess, changed their name to Manfred Mann. Hugg is a competent pianist and an able vibraphone player, but his main role in Manfred Mann was as drummer. However, he recorded several vibraphone solos with the band (e.g. "I'm your Kingpin") and used the instrument to augment hits such as "

Oh No Not My Baby "Oh No Not My Baby" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The song's lyrics describe how friends and family repeatedly warn the singer about a partner's infidelities. The song is regarded as an American standard due to its long-time p ...

". He was credited as co-writer of the group's early hits and contributed solo compositions throughout its life, including jazzy instrumentals ("Bare Hugg") and wistful acid-pop (" Funniest Gig", " Harry the One Man Band"). His abilities as a songwriter grew throughout the group's career, though Hugg became progressively unhappy with the band's commercial output, describing the group's single " Ha! Ha! Said the Clown", in an interview with ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' as one of the five worst records he had ever heard. He and his brother composed "

Mister, You're a Better Man Than I "You're a Better Man Than I", alternately listed as "Mr. You're a Better Man Than I" or "Better Man Than I", is a song first recorded by the English rock band the Yardbirds. It was written by brothers Mike and Brian Hugg, and became the opening tra ...

" which was recorded by the Yardbirds in 1965. Hugg also composed the majority of the songs for the 1968

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

film '' Up the Junction''. By this time Hugg was already branching out into film and television composition. After composing for ''Up The Junction'', he wrote incidental music to a BBC ''

Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction ...

'', and contributed to the score for the Jesús Franco film ''

Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called ''Legacy of Cain ...

'' in 1969, together with Manfred Mann. He co-wrote the theme music to the BBC TV comedy series ''

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'' is a British sitcom which was broadcast on BBC1 between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit ''The Likely Lads''. It was created and written, as was its predec ...

'' in 1972 (along with

Ian La Frenais Ian La Frenais (born 7 January 1937) is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including ''The Likely Lads'', ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', ''Porridg ...

, one of the scriptwriters for the series), followed by the score to the 1976 feature film. Between 1967 & 1968 Hugg helped write & produce songs for The Cherry Smash, a group that included his brother Bryan Sebastian, along with Mick Gill, John Curtis, Graham Hunt, and Mark Tuddenham. Their singles were: 1967 - Sing Songs of Love/Movie Star (on the Track label) 1968 - Goodtime Sunshine/Little Old Country Home Town (on the Decca label) 1968 - Fade Away Maureen/Green Plant (on the Decca label) When he and Manfred Mann formed the more progressive

Manfred Mann Chapter Three Manfred Mann Chapter Three were a British experimental jazz rock band founded by South African keyboard player Manfred Mann and long-time partner Mike Hugg, both former members of the group Manfred Mann. The line-up for its debut at Newcastl ...

, taking inspiration from

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

and free jazz and touring with a five-piece brass section, Hugg moved to electric piano and lead vocals. He took the latter role, by his own account, purely because no-one better was available. One of its themes was used as the soundtrack of a TV advertisement for cigars. Hugg released two solo albums, and one album with the band Hug'prognotfrog.blogspot.ca/2010/04/mike-hugg-hug-neon-dream-1975.html' retrieved Jan.25,2016 in the 1970s. Today, apart from his role as keyboard player with

the Manfreds The Manfreds is a British pop group, formed in 1991 as a reunion of former members of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann, however without their eponymous founder Manfred Mann. History The original members of Manfred Mann, minus keyboard player Ma ...

, a reformed version of the 1960s band (without Manfred Mann) who tour the UK and Europe regularly, Hugg is part of the jazz trio, PBD.

Discography

;Solo * 1972 ''Somewhere'' * 1973 ''Stress & Strain'' ;Manfred Mann Chapter Three * 1969 ''

'' * 1970 ''

Manfred Mann Chapter Three Volume Two ''Manfred Mann Chapter Three Volume Two'' is the second and final album released by Manfred Mann Chapter Three. It was released in 1970 on Vertigo. Mann's next album, and most of his future albums, would be released under the name Manfred Mann's ...

'' * 1971 ''Manfred Mann Chapter Three Volume Three'' (unreleased) ;Hug * 1975 ''Neon Dream''

References

External links

Mike Hugg on the Manfreds' official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hugg, Mike 1942 births British rhythm and blues boom musicians English rock drummers English rock keyboardists English songwriters Living people Manfred Mann members People educated at St John's College, Portsmouth People from Gosport The Manfreds members

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links