John was born in Blackpool, studied History & Landscape Archaeology at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, lived and worked in Bristol, Bath and Reading, and spent 35 years in south Manchester before moving to Berwick upon Tweed in the northernmost corner of England in January 2022. The seventh of nine children, John’s taste in music is probably older than his years, with his own music probably best categorised as ‘progressive folk’. His songs are politically and environmentally charged, occasionally direct to the point, but more often than not to provoke thought about core issues that affect our world:

“I don’t mind being branded as a protest singer. In fact, that’s quite a compliment, but like most songwriters – like most people – you shouldn’t judge the book by its cover!”

Protest singers are generally regarded as having leftist tendencies. So here’s a thing. John believes in family, a strong sense of community, and supporting anyone who is unable to lead a normal life, for whatever reason. He spent 35 years in international trade, 20 running his own consultancy. That exposed him to cultures across the world. So people can label him and his music however they want, but they’ll rarely be correct:

“I find it sad that in a world that’s so connected, people are still afraid of difference. We are all humans on the same planet”.

John is a ‘lyrics first’ songwriter. Most of the lyrics to his songs are written on the hoof in a short space of time, reacting to things that are happening around us and affecting our lives. While hundreds of sets of lyrics never see the light of day, it’s those that carry an importance beyond the moment that tend to metamorphose into songs.

His stubborn independence as a musician and as a human being has been shaped by life’s experience. In music, he has chosen not to suck up to the multinationals, and removed his music from all the major streaming platforms in 2018. In life, he’s railed against  injustices since he was a young teenager. 

“There are few things I hate in life, but fascism is a scourge and it needs rooting out from the core of our society. Just now, we’re all having to deal with far right wing politics dominating across the world. People have lost the fight, or they fear it. Music can play a huge part in changing things for the better”.

So that’s it, in a nutshell, other than to be thankful for the love of family, friendships, and skills that have provided John with the privilege of being able to create music. Collaborations come and collaborations go, but true friendships last forever.