![]() ![]() ![]() According to Greg Russo, "Feeling So Good" was an "experiment with Mann and Hugg on lead vocals" where guitarist Tom McGuinness was mixed high and Klaus Voormann provided background vocals. The B-side "Feeling So Good" was written by Mann and drummer Mike Hugg, and once again followed the pattern of having self-composed B-sides contrasting to A-sides written by outside writers. Unusually for the UK at the time, the single was released in a picture sleeve, depicting a clown's makeup. In the United Kingdom, "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" would be released on 24 March 1967 through Fontana Records. However, Andy Thompson believes Mann's performance of the Mellotron on "Semi-Detached" is superior to the playing heard on "Ha! Ha! Said The Clown", though notes it is "still well worth hearing". James", Manfred Mann plays the Mellotron Mark II on the recording, the second of three of their single A-sides featuring the instrument. Drummer Mike Hugg instead states that the entire recording session lasted 22 hours, 12 of which were dedicated to the final master take of the song. Neil Innes has claimed that the recording of the song took eight hours, as Gerry Bron would constantly nag about it to him. The production was handled by Shel Talmy, who had collaborated with Manfred Mann on all their releases since the June 1966 recording of "Just Like a Woman". On 10 February 1967, the group recorded the song at Philips Studio in Stanhope House, Marble Arch, London. But Lillian Bron (then wife of manager Gerry Bron) kept going on and on and on, and in the end I thought, "well, perhaps it's better than it seems". I remember it very clearly, it was from Tony Hazzard and I didn't like the song at all and didn't want to do it. Manfred Mann himself, however, was not keen on recording it: Bron liked the song well enough to almost demand Manfred Mann to record the song. ![]() Following this, Hazzard became reluctant to play the fourth song he'd demoed, "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown", though at the insistence of Bron he did so. There, Hazzard played three demo recordings for Bron, who deemed them uncommercial. Peter Dunbavan states that Hazzard then entered the offices of Manfred Mann's manager Gerry Bron, who had signed him in 1966. In the May 1967 issue of Beat Instrumental, Tony Hazzard claims to have "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" in his head "out of the blue" but states that it took him weeks to finally record a demo of it. This led the group to look for new material from outside writers following the success of "Semi-Detached". However, both these tracks were written by outside writers, something which was standard for Manfred Mann. James" the group began to "reshape their sound and image" to incorporate a more " pop-sound" into their music. Following the success of their second single on Fontana, October 1966's Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. After their cover of Bob Dylan's " Just Like a Woman" reached the top ten, it established their "commercial credibility" according to Bruce Eder of AllMusic. After securing a line-up featuring vocalist Mike D'Abo and bassist Klaus Voormann they signed with Fontana Records in June of that year. However, riding on the charts with the number-one single " Pretty Flamingo", their commercial success was not declining. ![]() Throughout 1966, Manfred Mann had been through a bit of crisis, losing both their lead singer Paul Jones and numerous other line-up changes hampering their efforts. As it failed to chart in the United States, Mickie Most released a version by the Yardbirds there, becoming a minor hit for them. Despite these critical setbacks it became a huge commercial success, reaching number 4 in the UK and number one in several other European, African and Oceanian countries. James", and criticized its lightweight pop sound. Upon release by Fontana Records on 24 March 1967, the single received mixed reviews by critics, who deemed it inferior to their previous single " Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. It was the second of three singles Manfred Mann recorded to feature the Mellotron. Manfred Mann recorded their version of the single on 10 February 1967 at Philips Studio in Marble Arch, London, together with producer Shel Talmy. Following recording a demo, he approached manager Gerry Bron, who liked it enough to want one of his groups, Manfred Mann, to record it. Hazzard claims the song "came out of the blue" though he did not demo it for weeks. " Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" is a song written by Tony Hazzard, first recorded by British pop group Manfred Mann. ![]()
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