ORIGINAL Manfred Mann members Paul Jones, Mike Hugg and Tom McGuinness, are joined by Rob Townsend, Marcus Cliffe and Simon Currie as the exciting new line-up of The Manfreds at The Wycombe Swan on November 20. Freetime talks to Paul, who after the initial success of Manfred Mann, went solo in 1966 and pursued an acting career.

In 1979 he started a blues band later known as The Blues Band, which continues to this day. His weekly blues show on BBC Radio 2 is a must-listen on Monday evenings and he now regularly tours with The Manfreds.

What can people expect from the show?

"All the hits. There will be other things as well. Now and again we obviously like to do some changes- not just for us- but there are obviously a lot of people who have been to a lot of these before. But at the end of the day the majority of people want to hear Do Wah Diddy Diddy and Pretty Flamingo and Mighty Quinn and all the big ones like that. Those are inevitably what people expect and what they will get as well. Sometimes we put things in that weren't hits and live favourites back in the 60s and still are to this day."

Does it feel as good as when you first started?

"It does. Obviously things change when you have been doing it for a very long time. I mean how could it be the same back in the 60s? You couldn't hear yourself for the screaming. We don't get a lot of screaming now. Actually funnily enough once or twice we do go on and people give us a token scream."

What are some of your favourite memories from the 60s?

"People sometimes ask what did it feel like to have a number one record for the first time. The answer is I can't remember. My excuse is, well it was the 60s, mainly because the whole thing was a tornado of excitement in those days. It was just one more piece of excitement. What I do remember is the day the one of our records got into the charts. At that time we mainly played in the same four places every week. We had mainly two- the Marquee Club in London and various other places all in the south of England. We had made this record, 5-4-3-2-1. We had made it as we had been asked to for a tv company. The record company said it sounds great- we will put it out as a single. I used to go to our regular Monday night gig in the centre of London by bus. No-one knew who we were in those days. That morning the manager of the band excitedly rang each of us to say the single came into the charts. In those days it was the top 30. It had come in at number 29. I remember the thrill- we actually have a hit record. At that point we had been together for a year and a quarter and I thought we are on our way. I am going to be a star. I rang up the taxi company and got a taxi to my gig for the first time ever."

Did you want to be famous or did you do it for the music?

"I think a lot of young people- teenagers do have a desire to be 'somebody'- failing to realise that everyone is 'somebody'. There is this feeling where you are somebody if they write about you in the newspaper. I think it would be dishonest of me to deny there was some of that. The truth of the matter is I really wanted to perform as long as I could remember. I had been going to gigs and seeing people I had admired and playing music and thinking I just want to do it. I had been singing since I was very little."

Are you looking forward to Wycombe?

"Yes. We will turn up on time and be good. We have enjoyed it every time we have been there."

The Manfreds are at the Wycombe Swan on November 20 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £25 to £27 from 01494 512000 or go to www.wycombeswan.co.uk.