For the last year I’ve been working with a very talented singer/songwriter called Jack McManus. He’s a top lad and has a knack for writing very catchy pop tunes. Think Elton John / Billy Joel / Ben Folds / New Radicals and you’re just about there.

After a lot of hard work (for both Jack and I, amongst others!) his debut single ‘Bang On The Piano’ is released today (yes, Sunday) and I’m asking you to give it a listen, and should you like it – maybe you could click here and purchase it from iTunes (UK) for a mere 79p? (Old Skoolers can get the CD here.)

Your custom will not only help Jack get his career off to a great start, but would also really help me out too!

Should you like what you hear, the album ‘Either Side Of Midnight’ it out a week on Monday and can be ordered here at Play.com for £7.99 (inc. delivery).

Let me know if you like the track – and please feel free to pass the message on to anyone else you think may be interested!

You can get more info and music at www.jackmcmanus.co.uk and www.myspace.com/jackmcmanus

This video was directed by my good friend Simon Willows, who has yet again done a great job. Keep your eyes peeled for the ‘making of’ video which will be online shorty and is also brilliant!

I’ve been working with Jack for a while now as he’s been preparing to release his debut album ‘Either Side of Midnight’ which is out on Polydor Records on May 5th and is preceded by debut single ‘Bang On The Piano’ on April 21st. Many people are comparing Jack to a young Billie Joel or Elton John and I can see why.

He’s got some great upbeat hook-laden pop tunes, the kind of songs that you can’t but help tap your foot to, sing-along to, and battle to get out of your head for days after you’ve heard them! When I first heard the un-mastered version of his album I found myself singing the songs round and round in my head for days afterwards – surely a good sign?

I caught Jack playing live in November when he was supporting Scouting For Girls and I think his live show will be equally as good as his recorded efforts once he begins touring properly.Check out the video above of Jack performing album track ‘Fine Time’ on his trusty piano, and download another album track ‘Not The Hardest Part’ from Jack’s website.

According to a recent QDOS report 9 out of 10 of the most digitally prolific personalities in the UK are musicians, and whilst you’d be forgiven for assuming someone such as Bono would be number one, you’d also be wrong! According to QDOS, the number one most digitally prolific person in the UK is non other than Imogen Heap!

(Tony Blair and Gordon Brown came in at numbers 12 and 25 respectively).

A QDOS score is comprised of four main components – popularity, impact, activity and individuality. Each component is scored separately and these are combined to form a total QDOS score. Popularity measures the number of people one engages with online and the size of their personal network, impact is based on the number of people who listen/read/view/comment when an individual blogs/posts online, activity comprises the total of one’s digital activity including shopping, blogging, banking, chatting etc, and individuality is how unique one is in the digital world based on their name, age and lifestyle.

So as Imogen’s webmaster and gate-keeper of all things online, I am patting myself on the back for a job well done! Although, I’m not the only person that deserves recognition here – there’s Imogen herself for always being up for trying something new, Mark Wood (Imogen’s manager) for letting us try things and always supporting us, and Tiffany ‘the axemaiden’ Le, our ‘myspace housekeeper’ who does a superb job managing Imogen’s MySpace profile and it’s 300,000+ friends.

Having spent the last 5 or 6 years working with Imogen and it’s great to see our efforts being recognised – I’m looking forward to retaining our ‘title’ in 2008!

Read the full article here.

Despite being on stage at the very early time of 8pm there was a really good turn out and the reception the band got was great. The last two shows they’ve played have without a doubt be their best so far and I’m pleased to report that Monday’s show continued that trend. Everything went swimmingly well – the sound was great (good work Gareth!), the boys played really well, they looked great and the whole thing came together perfectly.

BBC Radio One DJ Edith Bowman was in attendance, along with Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows, and there were a few industry types skulking at the back, so hopefully they were impressed!

Edith certainly enjoyed the gig and she gave the band a plug during her Radio One show the following day, calling them “a brilliant band…with really great pop songs” – not a bad bit of publicity for an unsigned band! Check out the audio clip below…

[See post to listen to audio]

[tags]The Deciphers, The Barfly, Camden, London, BBC, Radio One, Radio 1, Edith Bowman, Andy Burrows, Razorlight[/tags]