The Manish Boys

David Bowie’s second single release was under this name in 1965 (the first being Davie Jones with The King Bees in 1964) before he began recording as Davy Jones later that year.
The Manish Boys originally started in 1962 as Band Seven, in Maidstone, Kent. After several personnel changes, they ended up as a six-piece group, and changed their music from pop covers to R’n’B. This lead to a new name, inspired by Muddy Waters’ “Manish Boy”.

John Watson (bass,vocals), Johnny Flux (lead guitar), Bob Solly (organ), Mick White (drums), Woolf Byrne (baritone sax) and Paul Rodriguez (tenor sax) were joined by 17 year-old Davie Jones (vocals, tenor sax) in 1964.
Despite many recording sessions they had only one release (on Parlophone)- “I Pity The Fool” (featuring a guitar solo from session wizard Jimmy Page), backed by Jones’s first released composition “Take My Tip”, produced by Shell Talmy.
They played live on BBC 2’s “Gadzooks” amid much publicity in national press re length of Jones’s hair.
Appeared in most London clubs, e.g. Marquee, Scene, Eel Pie Island, etc, and toured on a package show with Gene Pitney, Kinks, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Marianne Faithfull.
Sadly, ran out of money in mid 1965 and everybody found new careers- Jones as DAVID BOWIE !!!