Man Raze

Manraze
Man Raze performing live
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock
Years active	2004–2014
Labels	Surrealist Records VH1 Classic Records, Rocket Science Ventures
Associated acts	Girl, Def Leppard, Sex Pistols
Website	www.manraze.com
Members	Phil Collen Simon Laffy Paul Cook

Manraze are a 3-piece alternative rock band from London, England, featuring Phil Collen, Simon Laffy and Paul Cook.

Phil Collen made fans aware of the band for the first time during a 28 November 2004 interview with Braveworlds & Bloody Knuckles online magazine. Stating "I was over in England this summer and I met up with Simon Laffy, who used to be the bass player in my old band, Girl, and Paul Cook, who was the drummer in The Sex Pistols. We've got this new band called Man-Raze". In January 2005 Phil appeared on the Jonsey's Jukebox radio show with Def Leppard, hosted by Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. The demo version of "Skin Crawl" was broadcast during the show. This was the first time any Man Raze music had been made public.

ManRaze played a sold out show at the Spitz club near Old Spitalfields Market in London, England, on 27 September 2005. The band played to an intimate crowd of just 200 people including fans, friends and family and the media. Nine new songs were debuted and the band received rave reviews in the press. Man Raze then released their first single called "Skin Crawl" as a maxi-single CD on 31 October 2005 in the UK. The single was released on their own label, Surrealist Records. It featured four tracks including a remix of the single and an instrumental dub version of 'Runnin' Me Up'. The single reached number 9 on the UK Top 40 Rock singles chart.

Having played their first live show the band realised they were more of a straight ahead rock band and began to tone down their experimental side. Work continued on the debut album, titled "Surreal". Much of the album was re-worked and re-recorded at Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott's home studio in Dublin during April 2006.

In June 2007 the band re-launched their official website and added a new digital store. At this time they also released their second single. 'Turn It Up' which was part of a digital bundle that also featured album track 'Connected To You' plus a newly recorded version of 'You're So Wrong'. The promo video for 'Turn It Up' was also included, the band's very first video. Shot in black and white in a rehearsal studio.

The song "Turn It Up" was featured on ESPN (American Sports Channel) College Football coverage. The album was due for release in September 2007 and then delayed to January 2008, due to external commitments of band members.