Richard Manitoba
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Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (born Richard Blum in The Bronx, New York, January 29, 1954) is a Jewish American punk rock singer and radio personality, best known as the lead singer of both the New York City band The Dictators for 30 years and the reformed MC5 since early 2005.
Background
Manitoba started out his singing career as a roadie for The Dictators. He made his "official stage debut" with The Dictators at Popeye's Spinach Factory in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, in 1975. On their first major-label album, The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! (Epic Records, 1975), he was listed as the "Secret Weapon". This is because he sang some lead and some background, but was still considered a "mascot" of the band. He sang more lead on The Dictators' second offering, Manifest Destiny, a 1977 release on the Asylum label. On Bloodbrothers, the third and final Dictators studio recording from the 1970s (also on Asylum, 1978), Manitoba sang lead on almost all the tunes.
The Dictators disbanded in late 1978, but played reunion gigs occasionally until 1996, when they started to play again regularly. In 1989, Manitoba — along with Andy Shernoff (bass, songwriter), and JP "Thunderbolt" Patterson (drums), Daniel Rey (guitar)—released an album under the name Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, on MCA Records. Ross the Boss, the original lead guitarist for The Dictators, eventually replaced Rey.
On January 14th 1999 Handsome Dick opened his own bar in the East Village in Manhattan called Manitoba's.
Manitoba threatens lawsuit against Caribou
In 2004 Canadian electronic music artist Daniel Snaith was pressured by Manitoba to stop using the name "Manitoba" at the threat of lawsuit. Manitoba had used the surname Manitoba since the 1970s. Snaith commented, "It's like The Smiths suing John Smith or something". But Manitoba countered its more like Snaith using Manitoba when he "Manitoba" was already using Maintoba in the entertainment business. Uninterested in and unable to afford the contest, Snaith opted to rename his project.[1][2][3][4]
Activities 2000 to present
From 2005-2008 Manitoba sung lead at over thirty shows with a reformed version of the legendary Protopunk band MC5 (the original singer, Rob Tyner, died of a heart attack in 1991). Manitoba also has his own show, "The Handsome Dick Manitoba Radio Program" on Little Steven Van Zandt's Underground Garage channel, on Sirius XM Radio. He also talks about Kiss for a few minutes in the 2004 film Kiss Loves You.[5] .
Notes
- ^ "Caribou". Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ "Caribou Going Swimming In April". January 25, 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ Mayer, Andre (January 4, 2005). "Best of 2004: The Year in Canadian Pop". CBC.ca. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ Liss, Sarah (September 30, 2008). "Dan's the man". CBC.ca. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlNBkuA8NWs Dee Snider & Handsome Dick Manitoba (KISS Loves You Outtake)