Zoot Money and PP Arnold join The Manfreds for Maximum Rhythm N' Blues night at Grand Opera House

Headlining – and backing the other artists on the bill – will be The Manfreds, boasting four members of the original Manfred Mann in guitarist Tom McGuinness, keyboard player Mike Hugg and both – yes both – lead singers,  Paul Jones and Mike D’Abo, who will take turns to deliver the band's many hits.

Their sound was steeped in rhythm'n'blues and jazz and this line-up has been going for three times as long as the original band, and they have just recorded a brand new album.

Adding her sultry and soulful vocals to the bill is PP Arnold, who had massive success with Angel Of The Morning and The First Cut Is The Deepest.

Completing the line-up will be Zoot Money, who, along with his Big Roll Band, has been a major player in the world of jazz and R'n'B since the early Sixties, hitting the charts in 1966 with Big Time Operator, when his band included Andy Summers, later a member of The Police.

Zoot, born George Bruno Money in Bournemouth, acquired his name from one of his jazz heroes. “I had a skiffle/rock band at the time, back in the Fifties and I went to see a concert at the Philharmonic Hall in Bournemouth,” he says.

Zoot Money

“I was taken with the whole thing, the four best acts I could hope to see, and one of them was a sax player called Zoot Simms and after seeing the show I started using saxophones in the band.

“My name came when the guy at the local paper who wrote up the What's On section said that if my name went in as Zoot Money it would stand out – and it did. Plus, in hip-hop language, ‘zoot’ means to be fashionable.”

Zoot’s music is heavily laced with jazz and R'nB influences. "I like listening to jazz as it gives me loads of ideas and I like the improvisational side of it, and I used to listen to a lot of imported R'n'B back in the day," he says.

"Actually, I used to borrow them from the lady at this shop and tape them so that I could learn them.”

While Zoot is a well-known and respected musician, he tends not to do big tours. “No, I haven’t done a tour as big as this for a few years,” he says. “I play a lot with The Animals and Friends when Micky Gallagher is unavailable and I have my own Big Roll Band, which tends to play around London. But I have toured with Alan Price and Georgie Fame quite a bit.”

PP Arnold

Music is not the only string to Zoot’s bow, because he also acts. “I’ve turned up in quite a few things, mainly in the Seventies, and I’ve met a lot of actors who I’ve enjoyed working with. Leonard Rossiter was one of the first," he says. "And I did a series called Get Back which had Ray Winstone and Kate Winslet in it.”

Zoot also arranged and played on the music for Tutti Frutti, which starred Robbie Coltrane.

He states that there have been may highlights in his career, but one tour stands out for him. “Yes, I was part of the 1983 world tour for the reunited Animals, where I was an additional keyboard player. It was great fun,” he says.

He mentions two musicians that he greatly admires. “I have a lot of admiration for Kevin Coyne, who was a bandmate of mine (and Andy Summers again) in the Seventies, and for Georgie Fame. Georgie is fantastic and I learn something from him everytime I see him,” he says.

For this tour, Zoot hopes to be heavily involved. “I’ll definitely be playing Big Time Operator and It Should Have been Me, which are my biggest songs from way back. The only modern thing I’ll do is a song called It Never Rains But It Pours, plus a duet with Pat Arnold,” he says.

“I also hope to be helping out with The Manfreds’ stuff as I don’t like to just sit in the dressing room. I’ve been friends with Paul (Jones), Tom (McGuinness) and Mike (Hugg) for years and I’ve worked with Paul and Tom in The Blues Band.

“It’s going to be very enjoyable."

Maximum Rhythm n’ Blues Tour, with The Manfreds and special guets PP Arnold and Zoot Money, plays Grand Opera House, York, on October 25, 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york

By Martin Hutchinson