The Man from Delmonte are an English indie pop band from Manchester. Formed in 1986, the band is a four-piece and consists of Mike West (vocals and acoustic guitar), Sheila Seal (bass), Martin Vincent (guitar and harmonica), and Howard Goody (drums).

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!.

History

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; Seal, a Glaswegian, was a classically trained musician who had run an art gallery, and West, who wrote the songs, was the Australian-born son of the author Morris West.

The band played many gigs at the Boardwalk club, in Manchester, where they recorded their Big Noise live album in 1989.

At one point they were managed by Welsh journalist and filmmaker Jon Ronson.

After they split up in 1990, some members continued as Surfurbia,

Discography

<small>Chart placings shown are from the UK Indie Chart.

Albums

  • Catholic Boys on Mobilettes (Bop Cassettes, 1989) – compilation
  • Big Noise (Bop Cassettes, 1989)
  • Big Noise (Vinyl Japan, 2000) – reissue
  • The Good Things in Life (Vinyl Japan, 1999) – compilation
  • Better Things (2025)

References

  • Announcement of The Man from Del Monte reforming via Facebook post