Who was Manny Charlton? Nazareth founding guitarist dies at 80

Manny Charlton, a founding member of the Scottish hard-rock band Nazareth, has died at the age of 80. The guitarist’s grandson, Jamie Charlton, shared a photo on social media with the caption 'RIP Grandad.'

Manny Charlton was the lead guitarist of the band from 1968 to 1990. Prior to establishing Nazareth, Charlton played in a few bands, including Mark 5 and later Red Hawks. He joined The Shadettes soon after, which was later renamed as Nazareth in 1968.

The band rose to popularity when they started touring in 1971 as an opening act for Deep Purple. By 1973, the band had begun headlining their own shows. Charlton was also the band’s producer for many years succeeding Deep Purple’s Roger Glover. Their album Hair of The Dog attained platinum sales in the US and is the their most well-known album. Moreover, it features their biggest hit, Love Hurts.

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Brief overview of Manny Charlton's career

Manny Charlton was born in Andalusia in southern Spain. He relocated to Dunfermline, Scotland, in the 1940s. He co-founded Nazareth in 1968, and acted as the band’s producer in the mid 70s.

Charlton started working on producing Guns N' Roses’ debut, Appetite For Destruction, in the mid-80s. Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose wanted the guy who produced Nazareth's Hair of the Dog to produce what would become the band's breakthrough album.

Once Charlton got the request from Geffen Records, he went on to produce several performances which were recorded at Sound City (Los Angeles) in June 1986. At the end of the session, they had 25 tracks on tape, including Paradise City, Rocket Queen, Welcome To The Jungle, Nightrain, two versions of Move to the City, November Rain, Shadow of your Love (takes one and two), and Reckless Life.

However, Charlton felt pressured to return to Europe for his recording duties after the initial work. Guns N' Roses eventually hired Mike Clink to produce the album. Charlton’s demos were later included in the 2018 reissue of Appetite For Destruction.

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Manny Charlton's life after Nazareth

In 1990, Charlton left Nazareth after the release of the band’s 17th studio album, Snakes ‘n’ Ladders. The artist released Say The Word in 2004 with the Scottish label RIver Records. In 2005, he released Sharp, which features covers of famous songs like Tim Hardin's Hang On To A Dream and Bob Dylan's Shelter from the Storm. Charlton also released a follow-up to Sharp, titled Sharp Re-Loaded, that same year.

Manny Charlton joined the Swedish rock band 'From Behind' in early 2006, who released their debut album Game Over and went on a tour before disbanding in late 2007. He then released another solo album, Americana Deluxe, featuring more cover songs. In March 2013, the artist released Hellacious which was co-produced by GB Records. The recording featured Tim Bogert, Walfredo Reyes, Jr., Steven Adler, Vivian Campbell, and Robin DeLorenzo.

In 2014, Charlton’s solo albums Sharp and Sharp Re-Loaded were issued as a double CD. In 2018, Atom Records released Créme De La Créme, an album celebrating the best of Manny Charlton's solo career.