Roger Manning

The former Jellyfish man returns with an EP – but maybe not wearing his old psychedelic wardrobe.

Roger Joseph Manning was glamping before long before that pastime got a name. “As a child, my parents took us into the outdoors regularly – we had a very nice tent, a camper van, a good stove,” says Manning, a former member of beloved early 90s power-poppers

Jellyfish. “But I didn’t hear the phrase until about a year ago.”

Manning has borrowed the word for Glamping, a new four-track EP released via Pledgemusic that mines a seam of timeless classic melodicism that nods to bands including ELO and Cheap Trick. “I’m a fan of old British glam rock,” he says with a laugh, “so I love the fact it’s got the word ‘glam’ in there.”

The EP is your first solo release in ten years. Why so long?

If I had my way it wouldn’t have taken so long. I worked very hard on my solo records, and while they were well received in Japan and other places, a solo career wasn’t really viable. There were a few personal issues to work through too

– I ended a very long-term relationship. But making this EP was therapeutic.

Are they all brand new songs?

Some songs are new, some are ideas that go all the way back to my college days. I come with an idea, get excited by it, then let it simmer to see if it comes back to haunt me. If I can’t get it out of my head, that’s when I know it’s right.

Are you sitting on more songs?

My intention was to complete twelve songs for an album. But in between all the other things I’ve got going on, like touring with Beck’s band, it was taking forever. A friend of mine said: “Look, man, you’re killing yourself. Just finish four songs, put them out there.” And he was right. It was just so daunting finishing twelve songs when I wasn’t getting up and doing that full time every day.

You’re selling some of your old psychedelic stage clothes as part of the Pledge campaign. Which piece is the hardest to let go of?

Probably the suit with the parasol and cape that I wore on the cover of the first Jellyfish album, Bellybutton. I couldn’t believe it when I found that thing in a second -hand shop many, many years ago – it was an original piece from the 1960s, in pristine condition. It’s hard to let go of fond memories and chunks of the past. I guess it’s an exercise in personal evolution.

“Jellyfish seems more valuable than ever – there’s an audience now.”

Jellyfish didn’t sell a huge number of records, but their music music has endured. Why do you think that is? Our whole intention was to continue the tradition of classic rock/pop songwriting. I think people just responded to the fact we created these songs that were simple on the surface but had very intricate, thought-out arrangements and production. Jellyfish seems more valuable now than ever – there’s an audience worldwide, starving to be in their cars, singing along and tapping their wheels to that kind of music.

Will Jellyfish ever reunite?

No. Andy [Sturmer, co-founder] and I are not in contact. He’s very busy doing what he’s doing, as am I. I have a project going with Tim Smith and Eric Dover, who were in the second incarnation of Jellyfish, and those songs are in that tradition – sixties/ seventies melodic pop sounds. But that’s the closest anyone’s ever going to get to a Jellyfish reunion at this point. DE