Aubrey Mann, one of the founding members of the once famous Mischievous Guys Band, has not been heard from for some time. But the seasoned singer, fondly referred to by his fans as the ‘Love Man’, is making a comeback with an album slated to be release by mid next year.
Aubrey comes from a family of music lovers. His father, Clem Thomas, was a drummer and singer, while his mother Sheila Mansfield-Grenardo, was described as a top-level soprano. She was a member of the Woodside Choir and was later the recipient of a national award, the Golden Arrow of Achievement.
It was on November 28, 1951, that Clem and Sheila celebrated the birth of identical twin sons. However, the festive mood changed two days later when Aubrey’s brother passed on. Seven years later the singer’s parents decided to go their separate ways and Aubrey and his mother returned to live at David Street, Kitty where the family had lived previously.
Born Aubrey Thomas, in 1967 his name was changed to his mother’s maiden name, Mansfield, after they were invited by relatives to spend four months in the United States. Aubrey shared that the experience was nothing short of wonderful as he was also able to visit Montreal, Canada and saw EXPO. The teen also stopped in Martinique to spend two weeks with his father before returning to Guyana.
Upon his return in September of the same year, he was enrolled at the Indian Educational Trust College where he spent four months before transferring to Tutorial High School.
Because both his parents shared a love for music, nothing escaped Aubrey and as a child he sang at both home and in church. By the time he was 17, he was singing professionally with a band out of Agricola called Cosmonauts. Performing with the Cosmonauts got Aubrey noticed and soon after he received an offer to sing with Curtis & The MGs.
This group was chosen to open a show for a famous group coming to Guyana. Emcee of the show, the late Pancho Carew, told Aubrey that his surname was too long and he would therefore introduce him as ‘Mann’ which today remains the name he goes by. A year and several months after joining Curtis and the MGs Aubrey and three members decided that they wanted to form their own band. That was the beginning of the Mischievous Guys. But after a few gigs, Aubrey was invited to join the number one group in Guyana at the time, Combo 7, and he did exactly that. This lasted for about 18 months, by which time Aubrey Mann had become a household name.
Around the same time, Aubrey began selling insurance with Colonial Life Insurance Company and travelled to Barbados in 1974 for a huge convention. On the final day there was a big party for the delegates and Aubrey got up and sang with the band that was playing. That was all it took. Aubrey stayed on in Barbados and joined a popular group named Lunar 7. Three months later they signed a record deal with WIRL Records and immediately Aubrey and the group had a number one hit in the Caribbean with the song “I Can’t Make It Alone”. Aubrey then got invited to perform at Barbados’s 8th Independence celebration in the United States, an experience he cherishes.
In 1976, Aubrey returned to Canada, this time along with Derry Etkins, a great Guyanese keyboard player. Together the duo performed with a show group named Changes, and the rest as they say is history. Aubrey and Derry both got offers to join a brand new show group called “Ashiba” and for the next three years they toured Canada and the Bahamas.
In 1979, Aubrey decided that it was time to work for himself and he left the group and recorded his first album ‘Feeling Good’. Three months after its release, Aubrey was notified that his song “Stealing Love On The Side” from the album was the number one requested song in New York and was awarded the SEMP Award. Aubrey then went on to win the title “Top Male Singer In Canada” in 1981 and 1982. After this, he extensively toured the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Japan and Europe.
Today, Aubrey’s hats in the music industry include singer, songwriter, producer, recording artist and arranger.
Aubrey remains overseas where he spends his time working on his music and sharing whatever free time he has with his family.
