The Mancinis (Non-Stop Mancini)

The Mancinis are:

Paul Smith: Lead Guitar, Vocals
Eugene Daly: Lead Vocals, Harmonica
Brian McGahey: Rhythm Guitar
Phil Lukes: Bass, Vocals, Drum Programming

We had a Roland 626 drum machine for rhythm and by early 1993 we'd given ourselves the name "Non-stop Mancini". After many hours of suggestions (other suggestions: Happy Accident; The People Things; Daddy Pop & more!) the name jumped off the back of a cheap issue of a Bonzo Dog Band album, an advertisement for a Henry Mancini LP.

Early jams included local boy Mark Hindley on bass but other commitments meant that I stepped in. Brian and Eugene had previously been part of synth-pop band, Plush Onion and Paul and I had previously been in Dutch Uncle. There were no Mancini songs at that time, so Paul and I pitched in a couple that we'd individually written to get us up and running.

At an early rehearsal, whilst rummaging through the drum machine, I found a strange beat I'd programmed which had no song attached to it. This formed the basis of our very first Non-Stop Mancini composition - A funny little ditty called "Get Real". That was what we wanted. Group compositions. A Mancini SOUND.

We played a few gigs, debuted at the Marble Arch pub on Rochdale Road Manchester (now a successful Micro Brewery). Then we got lucky and got ourselves a great drummer, Andy Trolan. Andy brought our sound alive and we wrote our best songs when he was there with us. We played at some of the best small venues in Manchester: Band On The Wall, The Roadhouse, PJ Bells (long gone!) as well as getting some prestigious gigs (At the Lowry Festival) and less prestigious (a little pub in Darwen, Lancashire - what a great night though!) before knocking it on the head, amicably, in 1996.

Most of all, The Mancinis were about having fun. We were never very ambitious. There was a lot of jamming, loads of laughs, many drinks and a few gigs (not much recording though!). And great friends.

For me it was a brilliant time, musically speaking. I learned to love playing the bass and stopped being a frustrated (and frustrating!) guitarist. I learned to enjoy being a backing vocalist, to chill out and not take it all so seriously. I had stacks of my own songs written, but we wanted to be creative as a group and we really built that up to something (a set) we were all proud of.

We eventually got together again, renamed "The Mancinis”, and got round to putting some of our good work down on tape (digitally speaking!). You can hear samples on the music page and the album "Non-Stop Mancini" is now available from this website.

Keep Smiling

Phil Lukes, Spring 2003