We are now back from our amazing visit to the Rites of Spring festival in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA and are preparing to knuckle down and finish the new album Charlestown, but before all that we thought we would share a message and some memories of our experience with you.

We'd really like to thank George Roldan and all the team at RoSfest, the backstage crew, drivers, roadies, technicians, noise boys, lampies, venue crew, bar staff, and the people who loaned us keyboards and other gear to help us perform our set at RoSfest. We mean it when we say without you lot it wouldn't have happened.

We'd also like to say a big thanks to all the other bands, and the people who bought the tickets and supported what is one of the best festivals on the prog calendar... without people buying tickets these things don't happen.

And finally - a massive Hi to Connie... who served us disproportionately large numbers of beers and entertained us with stories and anecdotes in the bar of the Eisenhower Hotel.

Thanks to all the band members - but the man of the festival is of course Tim Leadbeater, whose fine sense of balance and excellent composure allowed him to finish the gig even when his seating arrangements failed him, although an honourable mention must also also go to Chris "I don't know that one" Catling whose knowledge of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird is uncanny.

We're sure photos will be rolling onto the internet over the next few weeks and months, and if we find any photos, videos or reviews we will share them with you. We are also currently compiling a RoSfest blog video which we hope to release online on the Official Manning Youtube sometime in the near future. A few band photos have made it online on Kris's Picasa for you to see...

And now... back to Charlestown...

Manning are pleased to announce the completion of the line-up with our new keyboard player Tim Leadbeater. Tim is the final member in our line-up and you will be able to meet him at one of our performances for the Classic Rock Society in March and at RoSfest in Gettysburg, PA in May 2010. We are currently scheduling even more gigs for next year and you'll see the news here first.

We also have good news that the Manning album Number Ten has been nominated for the Fourth Edition of Progawards.

Finally, we can announce that our Classic Rock Society date is being re-scheduled and will most likely be on 20th March 2010 at The Wesley Centre, Maltby, Rotherham.

The new album by The Tangent, "Down and Out in Paris and London" is now released. Please visit the Tangent Website for details and ordering.

Guys' "A LIFE IN MUSIC" page, accessed via his Biography page has been updated.

You can now buy Songs from the Bilston House on itunes, Napster and Amazon MP3 downloads, priced at a rather modest £7.99 for UK itunes customers. Should you fancy a shiny boxed version, we still have those available although, we can now advise that we are running very low on Tall Stories for Small Children, One Small Step... and The Cure.

On a slightly sadder note, the keyboardist situation has forced us to postpone the XMAS 12th December gig at the Classic Rock Socety until the end of March 2010, however, we are pleased to announce that we are now in the process of shortlisting and should be able to announce very soon who the 8th member of Manning is!

Work on the new album is progressing very nicely; it's currently been given the provisional title of "Number 11", but we should have its name rounded up shortly and you'll see the news here first.
The centrepiece track of the new album is a 36 minute seafaring epic!!

Manning are pleased to announce that our new lead guitarist is Chris Catling.

After an amazing response to adverts posted both on this site and on the various musician's sites, and after some real tough auditions and an even tougher decision for the band, Chris was chosen as the replacement for Dave Million to take Manning to the next level.

Finally, we have a few updates around the site including an interview with Guy printed in the dutch magazine IOpages (sorry we haven't had it translated yet).

We have another new presspack online for your downloading pleasure - Songs from the Bilston House - as well as Lost in Play available for you to download.

Songs from the Bilston House will be available to download from itunes, Amazon and Napster on 5th November (Guy Fawkes Night in the UK).

It's good news today for all you ipod and iphone fans (as well as the many other MP3 players out there) as Tall Stories for Small Children gets it's release on itunes and Napster worldwide.

Available for £7.99 in the UK in the itunes store, and at comparable prices worldwide - now is the chance to update and complete your collection. The album is also available to play on demand or to purchase for you Napster users.

The remainder of the back catalogue will be released over the coming months with Songs From The Bilston House getting it's release on November 5th (Guy Fawkes Night in the UK).

The first of the new Press Packs is online now on the Number Ten microsite. You can now download as a PDF a full set of lyrics for the album.

We also have Ships online as an MP3 for you to listen to on the same page.

Following the departure of Dave Million and Phil Wilkes, Manning currently has vacancies for a keyboards player and a guitarist:

We are an 8 piece band formed around a Leeds based prodigiously talented singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist with an impressive record of releasing ten studio albums in ten years! The band produces an eclectic mix of music which broadly falls within the “progressive” genre, but in reality spans many different musical forms from beautiful ballads and folk-tinged songs through to awesome all-out rock workouts and true progressive epics – no two songs sound the same!

The band is currently experiencing a surge of interest and support, with nominations for Album of the Year by the Classic Rock Society (CRS) and a series of storming headline gigs in support of the latest and critically acclaimed new album.

Highlights of the band’s tenth anniversary year are a very successful appearance at the 2009 Cambridge Rock Festival and the planned recording of a live album later in the year. 2010 will see the band is making an appearance at the prestigious RoSfest festival in Gettysburg, PA..

We are now looking for two versatile and accomplished musicians to take us to the next level in terms of musical professionalism. Able to play in a variety of styles, and integrate very quickly into an 8 piece line-up, you will be experienced in live work, as well as recording, have a good sense of humour, your own transport, equipment and a desire to continuously improve what you do.

Lead guitar: You must have the ability to adapt your playing style to the mood and nature of each song. Tuneful solos and sensitive lead passages are often required, as well as standard rock patterns and riffs. You will be equally at home playing acoustic as well as electric guitars.

Keyboards: You will have a natural pianistic style, as there are many open passages where the piano is exposed and required to accompany the lead vocals. Contrasting with that are large passages requiring tasteful orchestral beds, organ and piano solos as well as the more traditional “synth” solo. Sensitivity and timing are key and a natural musical awareness of what is required.

The nature of the band is semi-professional – everyone has a day job. However, the ambition and approach is completely professional. These are not positions for anyone wanting to earn money – the band is wholly dedicated to bringing the recordings to life and seeing where that takes us. If this sounds interesting to you – let us know.

Contact details for more information : krishudsonlee@googlemail.com

Guy Manning

"Following on from the milestone that was the bands triumphant appearance at the Cambridge Rock Festival, the band are to make some line up changes.

Getting the band to the point at which MANNING could sustain 2 separate shows (ELEKTRIK and AKOUSTIK) took a vast amount of dedication and effort on behalf of the players and I am eternally grateful that they did not disappoint myself or the fans (new and old).

Having said that, in the aftermath of the festival, we were able to objectively look at the point we were at and the known future activities (possible new Studio album, a live album, UK and worldwide dates). Each member of the band reviewed their own position and did some soul searching.

At this point, we can formally state that Phil Wilkes and David Million will not be continuing on as a part of the MANNING band line ups.

I wish to personally thank them for all the time and effort they have put into getting the band to where it is today. It would not have happened without you both.

All the best with your new projects and deserved time off!"

Phil Wilkes

“After 18 months with Manning, during which time the band has seen increasing support and success, I have reached the difficult decision to leave the band. I feel that the time is right for me to focus on completing a personal music project and pursue other interests that would conflict with the growing commitment required for Manning to achieve the next levels of its success. I am delighted to have been part of the band’s continuing story and proud of the contribution I have been able to make.”

David Million

"Being a part of the Manning band has been a great experience and it has been very satisfying to watch the band gain more respect for their recorded work, live shows and so be offered more prestigious gigs worldwide.

For my own part, work and family commitments are proving hard to give the band the level of involvement it needs, especially meeting the rehearsal and live show schedules.

Couple this with a desire to pursue my own material (which I have been working on in parallel), I therefore feel it is a good point in time to concentrate more on the 'home' front and leave the live band line-ups.

The future is not set in stone however and my involvement with Guy will continue in some capacity, I am sure.

I want to wish Guy and the band all the best with their next ventures, which will be brilliant I am sure!"

A few more website updates today - this time the Releases page has been updated to include details of all 10 available albums including track listing and members.

September is the start of a major release cycle for Manning as the back catalogue starts to appear on itunes, starting with Tall Stories for Small Children (have a listen to a couple of tracks now in the player on this page).

Number Ten is expected to be released on itunes, along with The Cure in December 2009.

Another website update today - improved graphical appearance, better functionality of the forums and blog and some other cosmetic improvements. Manning Music Player added to website... keep checking back as more songs get added.

We are pleased to announce that the Cambridge Rock Festival gig on Saturday 8th was a complete success!

We sold rather a lot of CD's (including reducing the remaining stock of the older deleted CD's quite dramatically), and made a lot of new friends.

For those of you who missed it, we played A Strange Place; The Dream; Antares; Ships; Holy Ireland (parts 3 and 4); Silent Man; The House on the Hill and to wrap things up (and to great requests) Lost in Play.

Photos et all will follow shortly, but in the meantime you can discuss this and all things Manning at our Forum.

RoSfest is pleased to announce Manning this eight piece band led by maestro Guy Manning will be playing the second slot on Saturday May 1st.

The band Manning has been around since 1999, formed around the prodigiously talented singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Guy Manning. Having previously been an associate of prog. legends Parallel or 90 Degrees and being a founder member of the internationally respected, The Tangent, Guy has an impressive record of releasing ten studio albums in ten years!

Manning produce an eclectic mix of music which broadly falls within the “progressive” genre, but in reality spans many different musical forms from beautiful ballads and folk-tinged songs through to awesome all-out rock workouts and true progressive epics – no two songs sound the same!

The band is currently experiencing a surge of interest and support, with the previous album “Songs From The Bilston House” having been nominated for Album of the Year by the Classic Rock Society (CRS) and a series of storming headline gigs in support of the latest and critically acclaimed album “Number Ten”.

Manning will be the pre-headline slot at the Cambridge Rock Festival on Saturday August 8th 2009 along with Solstice, Tinyfish, DeeExpus and many other bands.

Tickets are currently available from the CRF website and the band are expected to take to the stage at approximately 7:15pm on Stage 2 (the CRS Stage).

Meanwhile, our gig at The Wesley Centre was totally successful and we would like to thank all those who attended. We will be returning to The Wesley in December.