The Manic

The past decade has seen the birth and evolution of so many progressive rock bands that it can be more than a little challenging to keep track of them all. And let’s face it, at this stage in the game it isn’t easy to come up with a band name that hasn’t been taken already. But occasionally a name is able to strike a blend of originality and absurdity such that it also sticks in one’s head and stands out from the rest…

Recorded live at the Oakwood Centre on 5th of May 2018.

I Am The Manic Whale is a progressive rock band formed in Reading, United Kingdom, in 2015, consisting of Michael Whiteman (bass guitar and lead vocals, plus occasional keyboards and guitar), David Addis (guitars and backing vocals), Ben Hartley (drums and backing vocals), and John Murphy (keyboards and vocals). As the debut album from I Am The Manic Whale, "Everything Beautiful in Time" features songs "about finding the beauty in things that are often not considered beautiful and how this changes with the passage of time". From the accompanying documentation it appears that the material for the album has been written over a decade or more, although only recorded in the last year…

The second album by progressive rock band I Am The Manic Whale. 7 more tracks of glorious progressive rock written about a variety of interesting subjects from time-travelling aliens to lifeboat men to Strandbeests. I AM THE MANIC WHALE is a progressive rock band formed in Reading, United Kingdom, in 2015, consisting of Michael WHITEMAN (bass guitar and lead vocals, plus occasional keyboards and guitar), David ADDIS (guitars and backing vocals), Ben HARTLEY (drums and backing vocals), and John MURPHY (keyboards and vocals). The music of I AM THE MANIC WHALE is inspired by many of the great progressive artists, particularly GENESIS, THE FLOWER KINGS, BIG BIG TRAIN, SPOCK'S BEARD and Neal MORSE.

BBC - The not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years on (2016)
HDTV | 1280x720 | .MP4/AVC @ 3015 Kbps | 58mn 1s | 1.29 GiB
Audio: English AAC 160 kbps, 2 channels | Subs: English
Genre: Documentary

Ten years ago, in an award-winning series, Stephen Fry first spoke about living with manic depression and began a national conversation about mental health. A decade later, we return to the subject to understand where he and thousands of others diagnosed with bipolar (as it is now called) are now. As a society, do we need to do more for those with the illness? Is the treatment better? Has the stigma reduced? Stephen is now the president of Mind. Looking at the changes of the past decade, he finds optimism in the increased awareness of bipolar, especially amongst the young. The film gives a powerful insight into living with bipolar - past, present and, most significantly for the contributors in the film, future.