| Jas Mann | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jasbinder Singh Mann |
| Born | 24 April 1971 Dudley, West Midlands |
| Genres | alternative rock |
| Occupations | Musician Singer-songwriter Record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1986–present |
Jasbinder Singh "Jas" Mann (born 24 April 1971, Dudley, West Midlands) is a British song-writer, musician, singer and record producer.
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Mann is a Sikh of mixed Asian Indian and Native American Indian descent. His final years of state education were undertaken at Pendeford High School, where he developed a passion for music. He formed his first band at the age of 15 with friend Adam Toussaint called The Glove Puppets, and personally funded a 7" vinyl single, sold through local record shops in 1987.
The Sandkings, another Wolverhampton band with a strong following, were keen to sign Mann as their vocalist, and he joined them in 1988. The Sandkings, named after a 1981 collection of sci-fi short stories by George R. R. Martin (called Sandkings), released seven singles and an EP with Mann between 1988 and 1992 as well as an album. They were moderately successful, scoring three Top 10 hits in the UK indie single chart.
They were the opening act for Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses in the early 1990s, but Mann left the band in 1992 because of creative differences.[1]
In 1993, a three-track demo from Mann's next project Babylon Zoo earned him a contract from Phonogram Records. In 1996 Levi's used "Spaceman", their first single for a TV advert after hearing the song on a UK radio station. The single went straight to Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 21 January 1996. An album entitled The Boy With the X-Ray Eyes was produced at Mann's New Atlantis Productions music/artwork/video centre. It was released in 1996 and peaked at number 6 in the album chart, though it did not match the success of "Spaceman" which reached number 1 in 23 countries. Three years later, 1999, a follow up album was released entitled King Kong Groover. The album did not chart well, suffering from poor promotion from their record label, EMI, and from little press coverage. The New Musical Express called it a "slickly produced machiavellian plundering of pop classics" and a "clumsy effort to resurrect a career that was a fluke in the first place."[2]
In 1997, Mann (along with other UK celebrity figures) appeared on Brass Eye, a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries, which aired on Channel 4. He appeared in the "Drugs" episode, in a non-drug-related credit sequence roll. He stated that he had never "written a spherical song", and agreed with Morris' assertion that he might have a few more genes than normal people. He was introduced as "the man who was totally Babylon Zoo, The Chungwit, the biff-boff and the puff pastry hangman," and responded when asked if he was a genius, "I think I will become a genius."
Mann also wrote the theme music for Channel 4's Speedway Grand Prix programme, screened on Saturday mornings throughout the speedway season (2000/01).
Mann co-owned a record company, Hub Records, and released three songs under the name of Mariachi Static in 2003. In 2004, Mann staged a competition in which he asked fans to sum up their lives in one word, which he would then write into the song lyrics of his new album.[3] In 2005, he announced he would be issuing the new Babylon Zoo album, Cold Clockwork Doll, although this has yet to be released.
He started his first company called Immortal Features in 2006.[4] He is currently the CEO of Indomina Media Inc. and maintains a house in Wolverhampton.[5]