Guitarist Phil Collen states Manraze albums to be re-released

Guitarist Phil Collen states Manraze albums to be re-released

Def Leppard and Delta Deep guitarist Phil Collen was recently interviewed by A. Lee Graham of Classic Rock Revisited and complimented about Manraze and how the combination of the Police, reggae and punk worked well.

Collen replied: “Thank you. The [Manraze] albums will be re-released. They never really got a good shot, to be quite honest. We’re talking about a [new] song, too. [Sex Pistols drummer] Paul Cook this summer stayed over at my house and we recorded something for his New Professionals album. We recorded three songs. Manraze hasn’t split up. We’re just waiting for the right time to put something out. We’re thinking of a best-of of the two albums. The Police are my favorite band of all time.”

Manraze‘s “History” as per their website is as follows (with slight edits):

“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 multi-million 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.

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. Hysteria, their next album, topped Pyromania yielding 7 chart topping singles. Def Leppard, now at 100 million albums worldwide. went on to create and sell history making albums throughout the decade.

And Now…Manraze…The Music…

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.

August 2011, Manraze released their second album aptly titled ‘Punkfunkrootsrock’ (released on Rocket Science Ventures) paying homage to their many musical influences throughout the years. The album was unleashed amid a flood of expectations that it aptly rose to. A diabolically clever cover of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Fire’ is among the catchy & eclectic set of tunes that are instant classics which permeate the album. Twelve new tracks highlight Manraze’s re-emergence into 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, Nirvana, the Sex Pistols, Def Leppard, and many others who haveleft their indelible marks on musical history.”

Manraze performing Jimi Hendrix‘s “Fire”:

Manraze Performs Jimi Hendrix’s ‘FIRE’

First let us note that the Jimi Hendrix estate gives performance permission very sparingly. The classic release ‘Fire’ has been a staple of Manraze’s live sh…

Manraze‘s “I Surrender” lyric video:

MANRAZE – ‘I Surrender’ Lyric Video

‘I Surrender’ EP NOW AVAILABLE on iTunes here: http://bit.ly/1don2sNMANRAZE is Phil Collen, Paul Cook, Simon LaffyConnect with MANRAZE Official Site: http://…