ED MANNING Offical Site

A quiet and sleepy village, deep in the heart of rural Suffolk is where Ed has spent most of his life. You might argue that this peaceful country village, with it's winding roads and rich green hedgerows has been an influential and inspirational aspect of Ed's musical life.

Born in the autumn of 1987 Ed was always meant to make music. Starting off with piano lessons at a young age, it was immediately clear that things were never going to be quite so quiet in the Manning household from then on. Ed spent many hours in front of his Grandmother's piano in the family home indulging himself (and his family) in his taste for blues and rock 'n' roll music.

It was at the age of 13 however, that Ed's true calling was really found. He stumbled across and old Spanish Acoustic guitar belonging to his mother, dust, unused and out of tune. Already with a passion for music and a natural ear for rhythm Ed set about teaching himself the basics with what was soon to become his most faithful friend. With early influences such as Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler it was soon very apparent to those around him that Ed's talents and aspirations with the guitar went much further than just playing rhythm with a group of mates from school.

During these early years Ed spent most of his time gigging with various bands, playing rhythm on covers by the aforementioned Clapton, Dire Straits, Chuck Berry and Van Morrison to name but a few. But this was never going to be the end of the story for the young man from Suffolk.

Ed joined a new band as lead guitarist and singer and things really started to take off. Ed began to prove himself on stage as a skilful, technical guitar player and soon established a firm reputation for himself county-wide.

During his late teens Ed discovered one of his father's old LP's by the reputable Albert Lee -universally acknowledged by his peers as one of the finest guitar players of our time. Instantly falling for the infamous 'twang' of the country guitar and unmistakable tone Ed set about teaching himself Albert's unique finger style and picking technique. Albert was to become one of Ed's biggest influences yet as he quickly mastered Lee's most famous track 'Country Boy'. When observed performing live it's immediately clear to see how much on an influence Albert Lee's music as been on Ed.

Now performing mainly Country, Rock 'n' Roll and Blues and with a real passion for music by many other artists such as Vince Gill, Brent Mason, Brad Paisley, Ray Flacke and Jerry Donahue, Ed is a real must see for anybody who loves a live show.

With fully functional, professional recording equipment, all over with multitude of guitars Ed has started to write and record original tracks such as 'My Living Dream'. Playing lead, rhythm, bass, keyboards, banjo and singing on all of his recorded work Ed has shown that he is far more than just a rhythm guitarist.