Manfred Mann cancels Israel show: Too dangerous

Citing security fears, veteran rock ban Manfred Mann canceled its Israel concert, planned for Tel Aviv next Tuesday.

Announcing the cancellation in a letter to the Tel Aviv show’s promoter, the band cited “ongoing problems in Israel,” including “people being shot and beaten to death in the streets,” Israel Radio reported on Wednesday.

Curiously, the band had posted on its Facebook page in November that it had canceled its January 19 Tel Aviv gig, but no official announcement to that effect was made at the time.

The veteran rockers, now playing under the moniker Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, had been scheduled to comprise founding keyboardist Mann, longtime guitarist Mick Rodgers, and fellow members Robert Hart (Vocals), Steve Kinch (Bass) and Jimmy Copley (Drums).

Mann was born Manfred Sepse Lubowitz to Jewish parents in South Africa. He left for London when he was 20 because of his opposition to South Africa’s apartheid regime, and was a blues-rock pioneer whose 1960s hits included “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” “Pretty Flamingo” and “Mighty Quinn.”

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, founded in 1971, had major hits with “Davy’s on the Road Again,” and a version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light.”