Mike d'Abo

Michael David "Mike" d'Abo (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the former lead vocalist of Manfred Mann. Michael David d'Abo, the son of a London stockbroker, was educated at Harrow School and Selwyn College, Cambridge. He was born in March 1944, is 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), and has eyes "that honestly seem to change from blue to brown to green, depending on the light" (Pete Goodman, music journalist). D'Abo's original intention at Cambridge was to read theology and become a priest but, faced with "everything to learn" (not least Classical Greek and Hebrew), and a disconnect between the "strange, impractical philosophy" he was being taught and his idealism about "bringing comfort to people" and spreading "understanding in the world," he "became wholly disillusioned" (Rave, November 1966). He switched to economics, also unsuccessfully, and left Cambridge with "a first class jazz collection" but without completing his studies. His musical career began while...