Paul Manzi (born 6 May 1963) is an English singer, best known as a member of

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

, Cats in Space and

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

, and for performing with the likes of Ian Paice, Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman.

Career

Early career

Manzi chose performing arts over his other love, tennis. Manzi got his first guitar at 15 and played guitar in a school band. He originally wanted to be a guitarist like

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

, but became a singer after his distinctive voice was discovered at age 23. Other early influences include

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

, Rush and

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. 2 years after he started singing he joined

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band Barchetta and gained valuable recording experience at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

and live experience at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End. It was the location of the first ...

. He did some vocal session work and also performed with various cover bands as well as with trios/duos and as a solo singer/guitarist. he performed on lead vocals on soundtracks for musicals Phantasmagoria and Space Family Robinson. Manzi joined Oliver Wakeman (son of

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...

, later of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

)'s band in 2004, he continues to perform with both the band, including guitarist Gordon Giltrap, and with Wakeman as a duo. Manzi joined supergroup Raw Glory in 2006 with members of

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

, Gillan and

Heavy Metal Kids Heavy Metal Kids are a British rock band. History Early years (1973–1985) Heavy Metal Kids were formed in 1972 by the merger of two previous bands: Heaven and Biggles. They took their name from a gang of street kids, featured in the nove ...

Arena

He joined

neo-prog Neo-progressive rock (commonly abbreviated neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock that developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the ge ...

band

in 2010, replacing Rob Sowden. He wrote and recorded three acclaimed albums with them before his departure in 2020. Drummer and band leader

Mick Pointer Michael Pointer (born 22 July 1956) is an English drummer. He is known for his work in the neo-prog bands Marillion and Arena. Career Pointer was the original drummer and a founding member of Marillion. He appeared on the band's debut EP '' Ma ...

praised Manzi's vocal ability saying "clearly Paul Manzi has a much better voice range than any of the others revious singers in the bandput together."

Sweet

He first joined

temporarily on the 2014 tour in Australia, playing guitar and keyboards, covering for Tony O'Hora, who was absent for personal reasons. He next performed with the band in 2019, again on keyboards and guitar with O'Hora taking on vocals/bass duties as he had in previous years. He joined Sweet full time as lead singer later that year after O'Hora and Peter Lincoln's departure, he also contributed bass until Lee Small joined.

Cats in Space

Manzi joined newly formed rock band Cats in Space in 2016, he recorded four albums with the group as well as touring with the group which included highlights including British Summertime at Hyde Park with

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

and support tours with

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

and

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

. In 2019 he left Cats in Space to join

full time.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manzi, Paul 1963 births English rock singers Arena (band) members Cats in Space members Living people