Chris Manners
Song-maker, singer and guitarist
Chris Manners is a Yorkshire-based singer, song-maker and guitarist who’s been honing his craft for over forty years. His work’s deeply rooted in the English folk tradition.
Find Chris on bandcamp using the button below.
New album – Bar the Doors and Bang the Shutters Down
Bar the doors and bang the shutters down, the long-promised fourth album, was released into the wild on September 1st 2024, full of sharp observation and word play combined with a take-no-prisoners delivery.
Subjects include being ice-bound with Franklin in the Arctic; gazing enviously at super yachts in Portofino harbour; being overrun by Spaniards on shore leave; or trembling in the kitchen with the lights off and the blinds drawn. It celebrates the simplest of joys: tall trees, wild garlic, and taking off your suit trousers for the very last time, with a nod to the perils and pratfalls of working from home.
No navels were scrutinised in the making of this record.
“Cracking song, characterful vocals, lovely guitar playing. What more do you need when it’s done as well as that? — Mark Radcliffe, The Folk Show, Radio 2
“In the tradition of 20th century folk club masters like John Tams and Bill Caddick” — Ian A Anderson, Podwireless
“It’s witty, it’s clever, it’s funny” — Tim Walker, Tim Walker’s Folk, BBC Radio Lincolnshire
“Clever lyrics with catchy tunes — genius . . . each and every song is amazing” — Folk Roundabout
Latest From the Blog…
Word Watching #2: Leaning on a lamppost
Bare mention’s enough to set us off, strumming an air banjolele, screwed-up face and a bad imitation of the great man’s Wigan accent: ‘I’m leaning on a lamp-post . . .’ Except, it actually begins: I'm leaning on a lamp, I know I look just like a tramp, Or you may...
Word watching #1: Blue Velvet
A classic of the Great American Songbook, written by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris in 1950, a hit for Tony Bennett the following year. Covered by many - here by Bobby Vinton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icfq_foa5Mo So I bet you can sing it off the top of your...
Crown of Horn – Martin Carthy: Forgotten Favourites #18
Let’s bend the rules a bit. Of course Crown of Horn is a favourite, but it’s a long way from being forgotten. It’s the record that kick-started my lifelong devotion to folk music and British finger-style guitar. Come with me, back to the musical dead zone of 1976 and...