Man - Live At The Roundhouse DVD

Music Video Distributors has announced a March 18, 2008 release date for Live At The Roundhouse, the long-lost final concert film featuring Welsh prog-pop cult band Man. Recorded live at The Roundhouse in London – the scene of possibly the band's greatest moment, their appearance at the Greasy Truckers Party in 1972 with Brinsley Schwarz and Hawkwind – this 1976 concert film has rarely been viewed and should prove as somewhat of a revelation to prog-rock fans who have heard the name but remain unfamiliar with this criminally-underrated band.

Man was formed in late-1968 in the Wales region of the U.K. as the Bystanders, a vocal harmony group. The band evolved into a more prog-oriented outfit with extended on-stage jams and a sound that was a mix of pop melodies, prog overtones, psychedelic shading and space-rock jams, and changed its name to Man somewhere along the line. Described as a cross between Nektar and Quicksilver Messenger Service, Man's sound was fueled by the scorched-earth leads of guitarist Deke Leonard. Clive John, an early member of the band, would leave to pursue a solo career, his 1975 album You Always Know Where You Stand With A Buzzard a cult favorite among period record collectors. Leonard has also released a number of solo albums through the years.

After releasing nine studio and a live album to mixed commercial success (Man was HUGE in Germany and virtually unknown in the United States), Man decided to call it a day in 1976, filming the band's final performances at The Roundhouse, a former railway shed turned London cultural center. The band's line-up at the time included founding member and vocalist Mickey Jones, guitarist Deke Leonard, bassist John McKenzie, Phil Ryan on keyboards and drummer Terry Williams. Live At The Roundhouse offers up six songs, half from the band's 1976 album Maximum Darkness along with Man's earlier U.K. hits "C'mon" and "Let The Good Times Roll." The band would later re-unite in the '80s, performing and recording sporadically, with various line-ups, up to the present day.

RIYL: Caravan, Camel, Barclay-James Harvest, Gentle Giant

(Click on the DVD cover to buy Live At The Roundhouse from Amazon.com)