It is my sad duty to inform you all that Clint has passed away after a long fight with emphysema.
Here's a short obituary I'll be sending to the press - if you know it all, as you will, please skip to the quotes!
CLIVE JOHN
Welsh band Man, leading lights in progressive rock between 1968 and 1976, are best recalled for guitarists Micky Jones and Deke Leonard. But it was keyboardist, occasional guitarist and vocalist Clive John who played the major role in transforming the Bystanders, Man’s pop-playing predecessors and Top 20 wannabes, into the more successful album-based outfit they became.
Hailing from a Pembrokeshire family but educated in Merthyr, Clive John had achieved some success with the Bystanders, formed in 1963 when his group the Crescendos merged with local rivals the Rebels. But as 1967 brought a sea-change in the wake of ‘Sgt Pepper’, he became aware of their limited musical horizons.
“We were doing Beach Boys, Four Seasons stuff and so on – doing it well and enjoying it, as it happens – but things just had to move. I was listening to Zappa and people, listening to different sorts of music, so I started shoving that to the rest of the boys, hoping they’d pick up on it. It was a gradual process. We’d started to write our own songs, grow our hair and so on. By the time Deke arrived, we’d had a good year or so to change. We then told our manager that we were no longer the Bystanders, and were going out as Man.”
Leaving Man for the first time in 1971 was due not so much Clive’s disillusionment with his colleagues but the rock’n’roll treadmill in general. He rejoined within a year “‘cos I missed it. ‘Cos I loved it, really.” Even switching from keyboards to guitar to accommodate Phil Ryan didn’t make any difference. But if the first time he left “was because I wanted to, the second time it was obvious to the boys that I was fed up; it came down to who was going to say so first! I was relieved to be off the road, because in that situation one place looks just like another. I mean, you could be in Timbuktu or Glasgow…”
After recording a solo album, ‘You Always Know Where You Stand With a Buzzard’ with the help of Andy Fairweather Low and other Welsh pals, he became a successful builder, but remained active on the Swansea scene with bands like his own Tremblin’ Knees, Contraband and the Blues Bunch. He was a regular guest when Man played home-town gigs, now short-haired and unrecognisable from the Jesus-maned figure of his heyday. A genuine musical visionary and all-round nice guy, he will be sadly missed.
George Jones, son of Micky: ‘If it wasn’t for him, Man would not have existed. He and my Dad were the Merthyr boys who said “We’ve got to get out of this place” and used music to do it. I’d like to think he’s found my Dad up there and they’re sitting down with acoustic guitars, a spliff and a bottle of Scotch writing more psychedelic madness.’
Deke Leonard: ‘He was vital, the face of Man. He wasn’t the greatest keyboard player but he sounded like he did on the record, which was crucial – his offerings were pungent, and when he left that was diluted. I remember we played our Number 3 hit ‘Erotica’ in France at a rich man’s party. None of us wanted to do the (female) moans and groans (on the record), it would have seemed too masturbatory. So Clint saved the day by climbing on his organ and fucking it – switching it on and off to get the sound required. I’ll always remember that.’
15/03/2022 -
Progfeast, with Caravan, Soft Machine, Colosseum, Man at Jäähalli (The Icehall) in Helsinki.
06/08/2022 -
The 18th Dream of Dr Sardonicus Festival, Man at The Cellar Bar in Cardigan.
