Mann & Mitten: Words & Music

Poems and lyrics by Geoff Mann

Music written, arranged, performed and produced by Clive Mitten

The reading of the poems by Pete Lawrence

The Poems with Pete Lawrence

1. London & London Revisited 7.30
2. A Saga for the Times we have Made 5.00
3. For Love & Modern Lovers 3.24
4. Land Fit for Heroes, Monday at Six 5.57
5. Jane 2.55
6. Being an Artist is Like … (Parts I & II) 6.09
7. Just to be Awkward 4.48
8. Psalm for Modern Man 5.43
9. Paradise Mislaid and Work in the Morning (Adam & Eve) 3.24
10. Patients 14.52

The Lyrics with Geoff Mann

11. Slow One (featuring Gareth Cole) 5.10
12. One of the Green Things 3.39
13. Piccadilly Square 3.53

Mann & Mitten: Words & Music was recorded between January 2025 and January 2026 at Clive’s home studio. Voice recording took place at Co Lab Studio, Walthamstow.

The CD will be accompanied by a 16-page booklet detailing how Clive put the album together and gives information on each track. Lovingly created by the maestro Spencer Rowbotham it not only includes all the poems and lyrics but also a number of previously unpublished photos.

As it is a limited edition all the CDs will be numbered to guarantee their exclusivity!

Approach to the Poems

Pete: “I recall hearing and reading some of this when we spent so much of our time together but mostly the words bring Geoff’s voice back. His motormouth eloquence, spontaneity and holy fool’s stance against the madmen dragging us to the brink. The humour, invective and honesty bubbling up, and, like back in the seventies, I just tried to keep up with it.”

Clive: “Writing music to accompany poems is somewhat unusual, as it requires a different soundworld to those I use normally. The idea is to add interest but not intrude. It is more ambient with lots of airy guitars, classical guitars and warped pianos. In terms of the music written, I immersed myself in the poems for months, writing ideas in my score book before I opened Logic Pro.”

Pete: “Clive’s music is sublime and masterful in creating the myriad spaces required to accommodate Geoff’s vision. It’s been a privilege to have a hand in this.”

Clive: “I could hear Geoff in my head throughout, until Pete arrived and I could hear Geoff in the room. He gave a remarkable performance. It is now 48 years since we three first met. I had just started at Reading and they had just left. The rest is history.”

This album is dedicated to Geoff and Jane Mann