Fred Mandel

Frederick Lawrence Mandel is a Canadian session musician, keyboard player and guitarist.

Career Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Mandel started playing the piano at four and picked up the guitar aged eight. Growing up in an Orthodox Jewish household, he found his parents less than encouraging of his musical endeavors. Nevertheless, in 1964, at the age of 11, with his family having moved to Toronto, he became immersed in the local music scene.

Mandel made his first appearance on record courtesy of Domenic Troiano (whose band he was in at the time). Troiano was invited to record on Alice Cooper's first solo record and got Mandel to play keyboards on the record. This led to Alice Cooper inviting Mandel to join his live band. Mandel did this for four years (1977–1980) progressing from keyboards to lead guitar and finally ending up working as the musical director. whom Mandel states as being "...to this day, one of the most bad-ass rock and roll piano players around!"

In 2013, Mandel worked with thrash band Anthrax on the track "Smokin'", originally by Boston, ultimately released on Anthrax's album Anthems, an EP principally featuring covers from some of the band's favorite acts of the 1970s, along with two versions of "Crawl", a song from their previous studio album.

In 2024, Mandel released his first solo album, Part-Time Rebel.

Selected discography

Musician: The Domenic Troiano Band: Burnin' at the Stake (1977) Alice Cooper: The Alice Cooper Show (1977, live album) Alice Cooper: From the Inside (1978) Pink Floyd: The Wall (1979) Alice Cooper: Flush the Fashion (1980) Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Project (1983) Queen: The Works (1984) Freddie Mercury: Mr. Bad Guy (1985) Elton John: Ice on Fire (1985) Elton John: Leather Jackets (1986) Elton John: Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1987) Bernie Taupin: Tribe (1987) Elton John: Reg Strikes Back (1988) Elton John: Sleeping with the Past (1989) Supertramp: Some Things Never Change (1997) Queen: Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (2004; DVD bonus material) Philip Sayce: Peace Machine (2009) Anthrax: Anthems (2013)

Solo: Fred Mandel: Part-Time Rebel (2024)

Film: Roadie (1980)