John Wright Band: November 30th 2007
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From The John Wright Band’s Website:
Over the last ten years, John Wright is a name that has become synonymous with the best in the interpretation of contemporary folk song in the UK. During this time, John has carved a career and reputation attracting a fan-base throughout Europe and beyond.
Celebrating a decade as a professional musician, John has just released his eleventh CD, Time To Learn, a 4-track single, with heart-stopping songs penned by writers from Lancashire to America! Time To Learn, is the third CD to be released by John on his own label Twirtle Music. However, it was John’s album ’Dangerous Times’ΜΆ launched in the spring of 2002 that was to herald a new direction in a life which had already become accustomed to dramatic change.
m a high profile spotlight as a member of the Household Cavalry, to the solitary existence of a hill shepherd, John emerged to take centre-stage as a professional singer in the early ’90s. John’s introduction to music began as the youngest of four brothers all choristers at their local church in East Didsbury. As the Sixties scene took off in Manchester, so did John’s enthusiasm, and he played with several local rock bands before moving to London to join the army. But even the pomp and ceremony of the Life Guards couldn’t keep John quiet, and he spent many hours bolstering his army pay as a tuxedo-clad crooner in the piano bars of the West End.
John became interested in folk music whilst still in the army and this increased as he left to make his life as a shepherd, at first in Northumberland on the English Borders and later as he moved over to the Scottish side. For more than 20 years John was immersed in the Border Hills, singing only occasionally at local functions. In 1990 however, he was persuaded to record a cassette of acapella singing -- "Border Crossings" funded from the sale of his shepherding pony "Bandit"! The cassette brought John a few festival invitations and thence to the attention of Paul and Linda Adams at Fellside Records. Fellside gave John the opportunity to record his first album in 1993 "Ride the Rolling Sky". Two of the accompanying musicians on the CD were Kenny Speirs and Wattie Robson , who together with John became the John Wright Band. The ’game’, as they say, was ON!
Three Fellside albums were produced before the band moved to Greentrax Records, Scotland, to record two further CDs. John also recorded his solo album --"A Few Short Lines" -- which featured players from his "Friends" tours of Holland. During this time the Band was in demand for concerts, festivals and at folk clubs throughout the UK, Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. John also gained a fan-base in the USA when he completed a tour of the east coast with singer/song-writer Maurice Dickson.
In 2001 the original band line-up changed and John now tours with a pool of fine musicians from the British acoustic music scene -- working with a five-piece band to single guitar accompaniment.
The John Wright Band’s Website can be found at www.johnwrightband.com