Photo via Phil Manzanera - Facebook
Steve Palec and Phil Manzanera (May 2025)
Steve Palec interviews Phil Manzanera at Shank Hall (May 18, 2025)
It was billed as “An Evening of Words and Music” with Phil Manzanera, the legendary guitarist known for his work of over 50 years with the art rock band, Roxy Music. Yet, it was so much more than that given the up close and personal space of Shank Hall.
The night was a one-of-a-kind special event: Manzanera sitting down with Milwaukee radio host and author Steve Palec in a wide-ranging discussion from Manzanera’s childhood to the present moment. And his tongue in cheek humor kept the evening engaging and entertaining.
“I wanted to come on [stage] when it was 8:01,” he quipped, a reference to his landmark 1976 live recording, 801 Live. And it’s 8:01!”
Active as Ever
At 75, he is a active as ever, heaving released his memoir, Revolucion to Roxy, along with a companion CD. And while he—and Roxy—were revolutionary in their glam approach to music using dissonant chords and sonic textures, Manzanera literally grew up—and escaped—from revolution itself.
With a Columbian mother and an English father in the MI6, their life in Havana, Cuba was fascinating to hear in the retelling from his book. Living in the pre-Castro days of Batista, the young Phil literally saw bullets fly when the takeover occurred. His family traveled and lived around the world. But he pointed to. a striking image behind him of a guitar sitting in a corner—his mother’s guitar. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that guitar,” he explained.
Given her South American roots, she taught him to play. And Manzanera’s musical styles remain greatly influenced by Latin grooves and rhythm changes.
Gorgeous, Quiet Melody
That was clearly evident when he played the track, “Magdalena,” named for his mother (after the river in Columbia). Manzanera accompanied pre-recorded tacks and the gorgeous quiet melody soon picked up tempo and turned into a soaring rocker that took the quiet melody and spun it into the sonic sphere.
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After a break, the ever-playful musician asked the audience if they could name all the songs he then played back-to-back in an 11-minute “marathon”: he delighted with strains of Roxy with “More Than This” and “Amazona.” He actually “covered” himself with the Jay-Z/Kanye West mega hit, “No Church in the Wild,” which samples one of Manzanera’s own guitar riffs from the song, “K-Scope” (also in the “marathon” mash-up).
And he then brought it all full circle with the title track from his 1975 debut album, Diamond Head (his family also lived at one point in Hawaii). It was a fitting finish to a career that keeps on keeping on and on.
One of many stories Manzanera shared recounted his touring in support of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, a close friend and current neighbor. In remembering the story, they were doing a sound check before one of Gilmour’s solo shows. Gilmour remarked, “I need more Phil in my [sound] monitors,” adding, “you can never have enough Phil.”
And even after two hours of “words and music” with the innovative musician and producer, Gilmour was absolutely right: you can never have enough “Phil.” But Phil made it enough. That is, until next time
