Manj goes global

Kevin Unitt

01 May 2008

IN AN age of celebrity culture, becoming famous seems a genuine career path.
But is it all it's cracked up to be for everyday people thrust into the limelight?
Deputy editor Kevin Unitt charts the unlikely rise of a man he inadvertently helped become a local - and possibly even international - celebrity.

In the past I've interviewed Tony Blair, top football managers, former terrorist hostage Terry Waite, and someone from Coronation Street whose name escapes me, but for me this is the really big one - a story on a local legend.
Nearly 900 people would agree on the term 'legend'. That's how many have joined the online tribute group I set up last summer to a man called Manj, aka 'Rio's Man'.
It all started on my first visits to Rio's night club in Bedford Street many years ago. It was impossible not to notice the long-haired guy in the sharp suit who was always standing just off the downstairs dancefloor.
I became intrigued, but fellow clubbers knew little about him, only that he was always there.
Over a period of nearly 30 years - in which he has been attending the club - many hundreds of people have wondered the exact same thing, and now, thanks to the Internet, have been able to share their thoughts on the mystery man.
Slowly but surely the man in question, the man with dozens of different nicknames, learned of his new found fame at The Rio's Man Appreciation Society, as members with one link or another to Leamington flocked to it from around the world, from South Korea, Australia, Jamaica and even the United Arab Emirates.
As well as regularly being asked by club visitors for photographs, late last year a t-shirt baring his face fetched no less than £23 on ebay, after a bidding war. It seems he really has become a celebrity.
Rio's Man has become a phenomenon. The tribute group is a pure celebration with never a derogatory or malicious comment.
Talk of getting him an MBE for his services to Leamington nightlife, and putting tribute t-shirts on general sale, are some things now being discussed.
Rio's owner, Chris Donachie, is also a fan.
He told the Observer: "Ever since I came to Leamington in 1979 I've seen him about in the town.
"He's such a nice guy, he really wouldn't hurt a fly, and he loves the fact that a group has been set up for him.
"Manj is a fixture and fitting of Rio's now - he turns up early and is there at the end, watching the taxis pick people up.
"He's on name terms with all our staff - everyone knows him and he's never any trouble at all, certainly one of our most loyal customers."
I got in touch with Manj's workplace, but Rio's Man was not keen to reveal anything, so as not to lift the air of mystery for his fans.
A spokesman for the company where he works in Sydenham said: "I have spoken to Manj, however he is a little like the Stig from Top Gear - a man of mystery and few words.
"His motto is to 'keep them guessing' so the myth that is Rio's Man will be written into the annals of time.
"He does seem to have become something of a local clubbing celebrity - our hero!"

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