In 2017, artist and musician, Dean Manning, returned from his new home in Greece to visit family in Sydney. While on a morning walk in the rain, he noticed a green suitcase abandoned in a council clean-up. Full of newspaper clippings, photos and letters, it was a paper trail into the life of Mr David Blank, bon vivant, convicted criminal, heavy punter, hotel owner, theatre impresario, and rock'n'roll promoter. Investigating the contents became an obsession that kept Manning company through Covid lockdowns and being on tour. Women had written to Mr Blank from all over the world, and the photos were a testament to their beauty. He was a charismatic man much loved and much forgiven, and his story, brought to life by Manning from the fragments inside the suitcase, is a superbly idiosyncratic window onto mid-twentieth century Sydney; its glamour and hedonism, and the hard edges underpinning them. Dean?Manning is an award-winning Australian musician, visual artist and lmmaker. Founding member and songwriter of the pop groups?Leonardo's Bride?and?Holidays On Ice,?his songs have featured in TV shows such as Greys Anatomy and Veronica Mars. Mr Blank?is his first book.
