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The History…
Take one of the world's most gifted lead rock guitarists,
combine him with the dynamic intensity of an iconic rock
drummer, add a soul stirring rhythmic bass player, mix in
the experience of selling over 80 million records,
achieving 2 diamond albums, breaking & defying musical
barriers that changed the course of rock music history &
its sound as we know it today, stir in a heap load of
spicy bad ass North, East, and West London rudeboy
attitude...And you've got MANRAZE, the electrifying London
based alternative dub-punk-rock band formed by Phil Collen,
legendary lead guitarist of the world renowned
multimillion selling English rock band DEF LEPPARD. This
thrashing three-piece also consists of punk forerunner
Paul Cook from the revolutionary SEX PISTOLS, and rhythmic
rocker Simon Laffy, bass player from Collen's former hit
making glam band, GIRL.
After
successfully establishing then further cementing their
reign as ‘musical ingénues of political rebellion’ during
the late seventies’ UK punk rock scene, the Sex Pistols
disbanded in 1978. Aside from being involved with numerous
projects & bands, Paul together with fellow Pistols’
guitarist Steve Jones went on to release a series of Sex
Pistols singles without John Lydon for use in Malcolm
McLaren's fictionalized satire of the Pistols story
'The Great Rock n Roll Swindle'. Throughout the 80’s &
90’s Paul continued to record and now continues to tour
most notably with Edwyn Collins.
Also in 1978
Simon’s brother Gerry Laffy founded Girl with lead singer
Phil Lewis. In 1979 both Simon and Phil joined Girl. The
glam rock band headlined gigs in their own right and
supported such rock luminairies as Kiss, ZZ Top, UFO, &
Ozzy Osbourne. Girl recorded three studio albums releasing
Sheer Greed in 1980 and Wasted Youth in
1983. Killing Time was posthumously released in
1998 with two live albums and an anthology following.
Phil Collen
joined Def Leppard in 1982 during the Pyromania
album recording sessions. Pyromania yielded the
hits ‘Photograph’, ‘Foolin’, & ‘Rock Of Ages’ among others
and was Def Leppard’s breakthrough album which turned the
band into international rock-n-roll superstars almost over
night. Pyromania sold in excess of 10 times
platinum and received a Diamond Award in the US and
Canada. Def Leppard went on to create and sell history
making albums throughout the decade.
And Now…
Fast forward to 2004 after the release of countless
singles and record breaking album sales found Paul Cook,
Simon Laffy, & Phil Collen joining forces to form MANRAZE,
a modern rudeboy mixture of punk, rock, & reggae. The band
released the limited edition EP 'Skin Crawl' in 2005 and
issued their debut album Surreal on June 3rd, 2008
via VH1 Classic Records. Surreal was released in the US
and the UK to rave critical reviews comparing the band to
the Police, the Foofighters, and the Clash.
The Album…
In 2011 Manraze releases their second album aptly titled ‘PUNKFUNKROOTSROCK’
(released on Rocket Science) paying homage to their many
musical influences throughout the years.
The Music…
Twelve fiery, new tracks highlight Manraze’s re-emergence
onto the rock/dub/soul music scene as 3 powerful musicians
who possess the energetic prowess, aggressive live genius,
and wide range diversity of prototype artists like Jimi
Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, U2, Lincoln Park, the Sex
Pistols, and many others who have left their indelible
marks on musical history. |
