Martin Ace is the bass player and vocalist who has done more than almost anyone else to keep the Welsh rock band Man on the road. Man formed in the Swansea area of South Wales in the late 1960s, emerging from the fusion of a mid-60s harmony-pop outfit, The Bystanders, with another local band, The Dream, before signing to Pye Records and evolving into one of the era's most freewheeling progressive rock acts.
Ace joined Man in 1969 and left in 1972 to join fellow Man alumnus Deke Leonard's band Iceberg, before returning to Man for a tour in the spring of 1975. When the band reformed in the early 1980s, Ace rejoined for good, becoming its bassist, singer and de facto driving force ever since — a role he has now held, on and off, for over five decades.
Man's reputation rests on sprawling, improvisational live performances and hazy, jam-heavy studio records that built a loyal cult following in Britain and, briefly, connected the band to the psychedelic scene of San Francisco. Under Martin Ace's stewardship the band has continued to tour and record, keeping alive a genuinely Welsh strand of the classic rock story that began in Swansea.
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Has anchored the Welsh cult rock band Man on bass and vocals across five separate decades.
Martin Ace
Bass player and vocalist, Man
Bass player and vocalist for Man, the rock band that formed in the Swansea area of South Wales in the late 1960s.
Martin Ace's long association with Man spans its earliest incarnation through several breakups, reunions and line-up changes; he has been the band's constant driving force since its 1983 reformation, keeping the Swansea-rooted group touring and recording into recent years.
Career Highlights
Joined Man in 1969, becoming the band's long-serving bassist and vocalist
Played in Deke Leonard's Iceberg (1972–1975) before rejoining Man
Rejoined Man permanently at the band's 1983 reformation, leading it since
ℹ️ Exact date of birth not established; consistently identified in the press as a Welsh musician associated with the Swansea area from the band's earliest days.
Bass player and vocalist for Man, the rock band that formed in the Swansea area of South Wales in the late 1960s.