Man from Delmonte

Band members included Mike West (vocals and acoustic guitar), Sheila Seal (bass), Martin Vincent (guitar), and Howard Goody (drums).[1]

The band members had little in common with most Manchester bands. Goody was a graduate of Winchester School of Art. Vincent had been an art critic and painter. Sheila Seal, a Glaswegian, was a classically trained musician who had run an art gallery. And Mike West, who wrote the songs, was the Australian-born son of the successful author, Morris West.

The band played many gigs at the Boardwalk club, in Manchester, where they recorded their Big Noise live album in 1989. However, they attained just a little bit of commercial or critical success.

They took their name from a series of 1980s television advertisements for Del Monte fruit juices, featuring the "Man From Del Monte". In these, the man would visit villages to sample their fruit juices, to see if they were good enough to be included in his company's drinks. The tagline, shouted jubilantly by a villager on approval was, "The man from Del Monte, he say 'Yes!'"'.[2]

At one point they were managed by the journalist Jon Ronson.

After they split up in 1990, some members continued as Surfurbia.[2] West moved to New Orleans to pursue a solo career in the early 1990s. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, West and his family relocated to Lawrence, Kansas. He continues to tour internationally, and record albums with Katie Euliss as Truckstop Honeymoon. Vincent was involved in the development of Manchester's contemporary art scene, setting up exhibition and commissioning agency the Annual Programme, and the International 3 gallery, which took its name from two venues in Manchester that the Man from Delmonte had performed at. He continues to perform with his band, Die Kunst.

Chart placings shown are from the UK Indie Chart.[1]

• Mike West
• Man from Delmonte Fan Page
• Truckstop Honeymoon