Johnny Warman
Encyclopedia
Johnny Warman is an English
singer-songwriter
best known for his 1981 album Walking Into Mirrors and the hit single "Screaming Jets".
. Within Warman's home there was always music in some shape or form although nobody played an instrument, his mother sang and his father was a terrible singer no matter how much he tried. Warman enjoyed his school years very much and when he first heard The Beatles
at the age of 11, he was transfixed by the sound so much so that he joined the school choir. He was picked to sing at the Royal Opera House
in 1964, where he sang alongside Maria Callas
and Tito Gobbi
. This event was pivotal in Warman's life, as whilst he was standing on the stage taking in all the sights, sounds and applause, he thought to himself, "This is what I want to do".
Warman was (and remains) a keen fan of both The Rolling Stones
and The Beatles
. He had no hesitation in choosing between being a Mod or a Rocker
once he had heard The Who
. After Jimi Hendrix
(considered a "Guitar Messiah" by Warman) had burst onto the British music scene in 1966 when Warman first heard "Hey Joe
" he realised all he wanted to be was a Rock Star. Whilst in school Warman wrote a song called, "Cosmic Butterflies" and joined a band called "Sounds Like Six," with Kevin Molyneux on lead guitar. During the late 1960s Warman frequented many live music performances including Jimi Hendrix thrice and other groups including The Move
, The Iveys and Pink Floyd
whilst using the Melody Maker
as his bible.
Scheme together and were brought together musically by a mutual friend named Yvonne. The group's first gig was at the Morpeth Castle, during which the only member of the audience walked out after the first song. Being managed by John Hunt and Barry Sullivan's Hunsul Enterprises very much a "Pub Rock" group, they performed at many London (as well as many other towns) venues including, The Hope And Anchor, The Brecknock, The Kensington, The Cock At Kilburn And The Lord Nelson, even being a support act for Humphrey Littleton in Fishguard
. The group focused their efforts on their live act and had a solid following built up over four years, including Mickie Most
who unsuccessfully tried to sign them to RAK Records three times. Chuck Berry also came to see the band. During the period in which Warman was in Bearded Lady he was often to be found frequenting the clubs of London where he was in contact with many other "scene" people including David Bowie
, who referred to Warman by name, which was a true accolade for an aspiring rock star.
Bearded Lady entered the National Folk And Rock Contest in 1974 and won the first heat only to come second to Curly (later to be Q-Tips
) in the finals. Bearded Lady finally managed to sign a record deal with Youngblood records (after a deal with Private Stock
also failed) which saw the release of a single "Rock Star"/"Country Lady" in 1975. The band took out on a tour of West Germany
(Zoom in Frankfurt and P.N. Club in Munich) to support a German release of the single on Bellaphon/Youngblood International which was as close as the group would ever get to a world tour. Warman worked a day job to support his wife and young family (Daughters Zowie born 1973 and Tammy) but still insisted the band commit to at least four nights of rehearsals a week. One day whilst Warman was waiting for the band to pick him up in their van the other band members had decided to sell all their equipment and the van and with that the group ceased to exist. The last performance by Bearded Lady was at the Marquee Club supported by The Jam
. After the collapse of Bearded Lady, Warman set out with demos in hand to get a solo deal. It was around this time that he started spelling his surname "Warman" rather than "Waughman", as both "Johnny" and "Warman" have six letters.
Mate!" was the reply as Warman walked out. Warman next approached Arista Records
with the same demo tape and they had the songs rerecorded at Decibel Studios with Warman on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mark Arthurworry on guitar, Paul Martinez
on bass and Jeff Rich on drums. When Warman returned to Arista with the rerecorded tracks they decided they were not interested in signing him but at the same time let him keep the tape he had recorded, which he would now have to pitch at other record companies. Warman contacted Barry Anthony at Ring O'Records and gave him the tapes, and in December 1977 he was called to meet Ringo Starr
's manager Hilary Gerrard and was told "Ringo really loves it" and was signed to Ring O'Records for £3,000 per year and £3,000 for the publishing rights. Warman was also given two cases of beer and a Christmas tree to take home for his family.
Along with Jeff Rich
and Paul Martinez, Warman recorded an album at Startling Studios at Tittenhurst Park
. Warman chose the producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven
because of his liking for the sound of The Jam. They immediately went about remixing the three track "demo" tape recorded at Decibel Studios at Morgan Studios which was released as a three track single on Ring O'Records 2017 112 in January 1978, which did not chart. Warman recorded the entirety of the album Hour Glass at Startling Studio and remixed at Roundhouse Studios planned initially for release as Ring O'Records 2339 202 in 1978. During his period at Ring O'Records not only did Warman meet every other Ring O'Record artists (except John Tavener) but he also featured in the music video for Dirk And Stig
's Ging Gang Gollie promotional music video. Unfortunately Ring O'Records went bankrupt and was unable to release the planned album, which was shelved for a year until released by RCA/Able in West Germany only in June 1979. Hour Glass received strong reviews but failed to make any chart impact. A single was released to accompany the Hour Glass album in West Germany, the new "Golden Lions" recorded at Townhouse backed with "Tomorrow's Babies" from the album, which also failed to chart.
Undaunted by the collapse of Ring O'Records and lack of chart success Warman continued to work on his own sound a formed the group 3 Minutes, with Jeff Rich on Drums and Paul Martinez on Bass. Warman states that the band's name came to him in a dream where he was told "you shall be called Three Minutes" although now Warman jokes that the band lasted about as long. 3 Minutes toured supporting The Vapors
for 24 dates and XTC
for 6 dates. The group disbanded after releasing a single in 1980 on Rocket Records
, XPRESS 40 "Automatic Kids"/"Future Fun" which to date was Warman's most widespread release seeing releases in Great Britain, France, West Germany, The Netherlands and Portugal. Although 3 Minutes has disbanded after only one single the door was now open at Rocket for more solo releases in 1981.
play the drums. Due to a schedule conflict Phil was unavailable and suggested Jerry Marotta
who at the time was in Peter Gabriel
's backing band. Dave Lawson was brought in to play keyboards. Recording was set to begin to Townhouse Studios' Studio Two "The Stone Room" on the 9th December 1980. Recording started in earnest on time, but with the news of the sudden death of John Lennon
in the air.
By the end of the first day of recording 4 backing tracks had been completed the first track being "Walking Into Mirrors". Over the next two weeks the album continued to develop, Tony Levin
invited the musicians to The Record Plant in New York
and Larry Fast
also became involved in the project before moving the recording once more to the House Of Music in West Orange, New Jersey
, during which time the Ampex
tape the recordings were made on started to decompose. Prior to leaving for America Warman had asked Peter Gabriel
if he would sing on the album to which he agreed, with the musicians moving to America and then returning to England they had forgotten that Peter had said he would contribute towards the album so were surprised one day when the phone rang informing them that Peter was on his way to the studio. Warman quickly had to choose which song he wanted Peter's vocals on and decided that he would sing on "Screaming Jets" a song Warman had written in 25 minutes after watching Apocalypse Now
. Warman had been changing the arrangements on "Screaming Jets" and his vocal track had his commands on it for changing keys, which when Peter heard it he asked if that was staying and that he would try something like that on his next album. Warman then decided to keep the vocal track with the commands in as the master vocal track, even though Warman had had a cold at the time of recording. Warman, Peter and Larry then worked together on how the track should feel and what noises Peter should make which ended with Peter chanting throughout the record. Peter had arranged prior to coming to the studio that he would take a fee of £250, which Warman has since said was the best £250 he's ever spent.
The lead single from the album was "Dance With Me" which was backed by the non-album "King Robot". The second single was "Screaming Jets" backed by the non-album "American Machines" which was also released before the album. "Screaming Jets" also saw the creation of Warman's first music video which was directed by Jeff Baines. Warman was promised an Australian tour if the single sold 7,000 copies in Australia. The single sold 76,000 copies and reached number 9 in the Australian charts though the tour never happened. Warman did however appear on an episode of "Countdown" with Molly Meldrum
which was filmed in London. The album was released in July 1981 in Great Britain, France, West Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand and sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. A second music video was also made for the title track of the album "Walking Into Mirrors" also directed by Jeff Baines. Later in 1981 "Martian Summer" was also released as a single although only in the Netherlands and the final single from the album was a remix of "Three Minutes" backed with the non-album Jon Glass.
With Warman's success with the Walking Into Mirrors he took to the road including live and television performances in Sweden, West Germany, Belgium, France, Spain (Music Express), Portugal (Fiesta Fiesta), Great Britain, performing second on the bill to Ian Hunter
at the New Pop Festival in Rotterdam in 1982. Rocket encouraged Warman to start work on a second Rocket album which he took to at The Manor Studios in Oxford. Warman invited back Jerry Marrota and Tony Levin as well as inviting Chris Payne of Dramatis (who at that time were Gary Numan
's backing band) and Andy Clark
who had just returned from backing David Bowie on tour. Warman's concept for the From The Jungle To The New Horizons album was the process from Apeman to Spaceman. The album would be a more musically complicated production than the previous Walking Into Mirrors album. Kiki Dee
was invited to contribute backing vocals to (United) The State Of America and Looking Back (To See If Someone's Looking Back At Me). Although Kiki was only scheduled to work in the studio for one day she (as all the other musicians) enjoyed herself so much she stayed for three days. "Dream Dream Dream" was the lead and only single from the album being released on Rocket a month before the release on the album. Neither the single nor the album managed to make any impact in the charts and once again with the downsizing of Rocket Records Warman found himself without a record label even with all the successes of 1981/2 under his belt.
, who had been a fan of Warman's for 10 years. The single was released on RAK records in Great Britain only in October 1984 even though there was no formal contract on the release. Fortunately for Warman both sides of the single were picked up by other artists and released with success. "Beat Patrol" was covered by Starship
in 1987 and reached number 46 in the U.S. charts and the album that it featured on the No Protection album which reached number 12 in the U.S.. Ringo Starr
also recorded a version of "Beat Patrol" which has never been released. "Don't Call Me" was covered on Asia
's 1992 album Aqua.
During 1984 Warman also found himself in the music video for Alexei Sayle
's "'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?
" and a Hot Chocolate music video as well as playing football for the RAK Records team.
By 1985 Warman's attempts at composing music for other artists started to pay off as The Star Sisters
covered the Johnny Warman/Gary Osbourne composed song "Skin On Skin" (Originally planned for release by Melissa Manchester
). In 1986 not only were ever more artists covering Warman's compositions and co-compositions but once again he saw himself contracted to a record label releasing a single as a member of the band Future. The group released "War Of The Roses"/"Main Attraction" on 10 Records, The A Side being a "Song For Europe" which was performed on B.B.C. 1
on the 2nd April 1986 and received 76 points coming in eight out of eight entries.
1989 saw the last single release to date by Johnny Warman as he took part in the "Spirit Of The Forest
" charity single, He can be seen (briefly) standing next to David Gilmour
in the music video.
At the same time as working with Starr, Warman once again formed a band "4 Bills And A Ben" in 1991 with Jeff Rich (Who had been in 3 Minutes) also drummer for Status Quo at the time on drums along with John "Rhino" Edwards also of Status Quo on Bass, Steve Byrd on lead guitar, Andy Hamilton on Saxophone, Spike Edney
on Keyboards and Mark Rich on Guitar. The band mainly plays covers of 1960s and 1970s songs and most of their activity is for charity, Due to the commitment of all band members to other musical activities the band is only "occasional" although they continue to perform, all be it occasional.
Also whilst not only working with Starr and performing with 4 Bills And A Ben, Warman was also collaborating with Geoff Downes
and Asia
which saw four of Warman's co-compositions on Asia's album Aqua, six of Warman's co-compositions on Geoff's solo album Vox Humana and Warman singing the lead vocals on the track "Satellite Blues".
In 1993 the Johnny Warman/Nick Graham song "Our World" was entered into "A Song For Europe
" on 3 April, in which every song was sung by Sonia
. The song was placed second with 77,685 votes and Sonia released the song on her "Better The Devil You Know" album (Although the song was originally intended for release by Tracey Ackerman).
Warman returned to the studio again in 1996-97 to record 2 albums of Library music for De Wolfe
with band mates Andy Hamilton and Steve Byrd along with Brad Lang, Pete Thoms, Roger Beaujolais, Steve Hamilton, Neil Angilley, Dave Clayton
and Nigel Brown. One of each of the two Andy Hamilton/Johnny Warman co-compositions "Johnny The Jazz Freak" and "Grasslands" can be found on the first and second album respectively.
tribute in 2001.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
best known for his 1981 album Walking Into Mirrors and the hit single "Screaming Jets".
Early life
Warman was born in Bethnal Green, east London. He then moved to Hackney at the age of seven where he enjoyed a normal idyllic childhood, frequently climbing trees and scrumping over Victoria ParkVictoria Park, East London
Victoria Park is 86.18 hectares of open space that stretches out across part of the East End of London, England bordering parts of Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Bow, such as along Old Ford Road, London E3 and Victoria Park Road E9. The park is entirely within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets...
. Within Warman's home there was always music in some shape or form although nobody played an instrument, his mother sang and his father was a terrible singer no matter how much he tried. Warman enjoyed his school years very much and when he first heard The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
at the age of 11, he was transfixed by the sound so much so that he joined the school choir. He was picked to sing at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in 1964, where he sang alongside Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
and Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...
. This event was pivotal in Warman's life, as whilst he was standing on the stage taking in all the sights, sounds and applause, he thought to himself, "This is what I want to do".
Warman was (and remains) a keen fan of both The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. He had no hesitation in choosing between being a Mod or a Rocker
Rocker (subculture)
Rockers, leather boys or ton-up boys are a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. It was mainly centered around British cafe racer motorcycles and rock and roll music....
once he had heard The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
. After Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
(considered a "Guitar Messiah" by Warman) had burst onto the British music scene in 1966 when Warman first heard "Hey Joe
Hey Joe
"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
" he realised all he wanted to be was a Rock Star. Whilst in school Warman wrote a song called, "Cosmic Butterflies" and joined a band called "Sounds Like Six," with Kevin Molyneux on lead guitar. During the late 1960s Warman frequented many live music performances including Jimi Hendrix thrice and other groups including The Move
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
, The Iveys and Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
whilst using the Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
as his bible.
Rock career 1970-1976
In the early 1970s Warman joined the group Bearded Lady (originally named Elmo's Fire) as a vocalist/rhythm guitarist with fellow members Freddy Sheriff on guitar, Chris Peel on bass, Mickey Irvine (Later replaced by Paul 'The Mouse' Martin and then Clive 'Short Bar' Brooks and finally Bryson Graham) on drums and Kim Jury and Theresa O'Neil as backing singers. Warman and Sheriff had been in school and The Duke of Edinburgh's AwardThe Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....
Scheme together and were brought together musically by a mutual friend named Yvonne. The group's first gig was at the Morpeth Castle, during which the only member of the audience walked out after the first song. Being managed by John Hunt and Barry Sullivan's Hunsul Enterprises very much a "Pub Rock" group, they performed at many London (as well as many other towns) venues including, The Hope And Anchor, The Brecknock, The Kensington, The Cock At Kilburn And The Lord Nelson, even being a support act for Humphrey Littleton in Fishguard
Fishguard
Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....
. The group focused their efforts on their live act and had a solid following built up over four years, including Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
who unsuccessfully tried to sign them to RAK Records three times. Chuck Berry also came to see the band. During the period in which Warman was in Bearded Lady he was often to be found frequenting the clubs of London where he was in contact with many other "scene" people including David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, who referred to Warman by name, which was a true accolade for an aspiring rock star.
Bearded Lady entered the National Folk And Rock Contest in 1974 and won the first heat only to come second to Curly (later to be Q-Tips
Q-Tips (band)
Q-Tips were an English blue-eyed soul and rock band, first formed in 1979 from the remnants of the 1970s rock outfit Streetband. Saddled with the novelty song "Toast", a B-side made successful from incessant airplay by Capital Radio's’s Kenny Everett, and despite two albums, Streetband had failed...
) in the finals. Bearded Lady finally managed to sign a record deal with Youngblood records (after a deal with Private Stock
Private Stock Records
Private Stock Records was a record label which was started in 1974 by Larry Uttal after he was ousted from Bell Records. The label had hit records with singles by David Soul of Starsky and Hutch fame , Starbuck , Austin Roberts , Samantha Sang , Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band , and Frankie...
also failed) which saw the release of a single "Rock Star"/"Country Lady" in 1975. The band took out on a tour of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
(Zoom in Frankfurt and P.N. Club in Munich) to support a German release of the single on Bellaphon/Youngblood International which was as close as the group would ever get to a world tour. Warman worked a day job to support his wife and young family (Daughters Zowie born 1973 and Tammy) but still insisted the band commit to at least four nights of rehearsals a week. One day whilst Warman was waiting for the band to pick him up in their van the other band members had decided to sell all their equipment and the van and with that the group ceased to exist. The last performance by Bearded Lady was at the Marquee Club supported by The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
. After the collapse of Bearded Lady, Warman set out with demos in hand to get a solo deal. It was around this time that he started spelling his surname "Warman" rather than "Waughman", as both "Johnny" and "Warman" have six letters.
Mind Games 1977-1980
Warman first approached Ariola Hansa records with his demo tape of three songs, Head On Collision, London's Burning and Mind Games. After the tape had been played he was asked as to which language he was singing in "That's CockneyCockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
Mate!" was the reply as Warman walked out. Warman next approached Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
with the same demo tape and they had the songs rerecorded at Decibel Studios with Warman on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mark Arthurworry on guitar, Paul Martinez
Paul Martinez
Paul Martinez is a session bassist and songwriter, best known for his work for Robert Plant, Jackie Edwards, Dave Edmunds, George Harrison, Maggie Bell, Peter Gabriel, among others...
on bass and Jeff Rich on drums. When Warman returned to Arista with the rerecorded tracks they decided they were not interested in signing him but at the same time let him keep the tape he had recorded, which he would now have to pitch at other record companies. Warman contacted Barry Anthony at Ring O'Records and gave him the tapes, and in December 1977 he was called to meet Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
's manager Hilary Gerrard and was told "Ringo really loves it" and was signed to Ring O'Records for £3,000 per year and £3,000 for the publishing rights. Warman was also given two cases of beer and a Christmas tree to take home for his family.
Along with Jeff Rich
Jeff Rich
Jeff Rich also known as "Worzel" is an English rock drummer, best known as a former drummer for the English rock band, Status Quo...
and Paul Martinez, Warman recorded an album at Startling Studios at Tittenhurst Park
Tittenhurst Park
Tittenhurst Park was the home of John Lennon and Yoko Ono from the late summer of 1969 until August 1971, and then the home of Ringo Starr and family until the late-1980s. It is located on a 72-acre estate in London Road, Sunningdale, near Ascot, Berkshire SL5 0PN, England, close to the Surrey...
. Warman chose the producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven
Vic Coppersmith-Heaven
Vic Coppersmith-Heaven is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his production work with The Jam.-Career:...
because of his liking for the sound of The Jam. They immediately went about remixing the three track "demo" tape recorded at Decibel Studios at Morgan Studios which was released as a three track single on Ring O'Records 2017 112 in January 1978, which did not chart. Warman recorded the entirety of the album Hour Glass at Startling Studio and remixed at Roundhouse Studios planned initially for release as Ring O'Records 2339 202 in 1978. During his period at Ring O'Records not only did Warman meet every other Ring O'Record artists (except John Tavener) but he also featured in the music video for Dirk And Stig
The Rutles
The Rutles are a band that are known for their visual and aural pastiches and parodies of The Beatles. Originally created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes as a fictional band to be featured as part of various 1970s television programming, the group recorded, toured, and released two UK chart hits in...
's Ging Gang Gollie promotional music video. Unfortunately Ring O'Records went bankrupt and was unable to release the planned album, which was shelved for a year until released by RCA/Able in West Germany only in June 1979. Hour Glass received strong reviews but failed to make any chart impact. A single was released to accompany the Hour Glass album in West Germany, the new "Golden Lions" recorded at Townhouse backed with "Tomorrow's Babies" from the album, which also failed to chart.
Undaunted by the collapse of Ring O'Records and lack of chart success Warman continued to work on his own sound a formed the group 3 Minutes, with Jeff Rich on Drums and Paul Martinez on Bass. Warman states that the band's name came to him in a dream where he was told "you shall be called Three Minutes" although now Warman jokes that the band lasted about as long. 3 Minutes toured supporting The Vapors
The Vapors
The Vapors were a New Wave and power pop band from England, that existed between 1979 and 1981. They had a hit with the song "Turning Japanese" in 1980, which reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart, and #36 in the U.S...
for 24 dates and XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
for 6 dates. The group disbanded after releasing a single in 1980 on Rocket Records
Rocket Records
The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon and Steve Brown among others, in 1972. The name is from the hit, "Rocket Man"...
, XPRESS 40 "Automatic Kids"/"Future Fun" which to date was Warman's most widespread release seeing releases in Great Britain, France, West Germany, The Netherlands and Portugal. Although 3 Minutes has disbanded after only one single the door was now open at Rocket for more solo releases in 1981.
From The Jungle 1981-1983
1981 saw the most chart successful period in Johnny Warman's career with the all but universal release of his second solo album Walking Into Mirrors. The sound was heavily rooted in demos and performances by Warman's former band 3 Minutes although neither of the two former band members featured on the album. Warman attempted to hire the best possible array of musicians for his new album, originally suggesting that Phil CollinsPhil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
play the drums. Due to a schedule conflict Phil was unavailable and suggested Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
who at the time was in Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
's backing band. Dave Lawson was brought in to play keyboards. Recording was set to begin to Townhouse Studios' Studio Two "The Stone Room" on the 9th December 1980. Recording started in earnest on time, but with the news of the sudden death of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
in the air.
By the end of the first day of recording 4 backing tracks had been completed the first track being "Walking Into Mirrors". Over the next two weeks the album continued to develop, Tony Levin
Tony Levin
Tony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
invited the musicians to The Record Plant in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Larry Fast
Larry Fast
Lawrence Roger 'Larry' Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer. He is best known for Synergy, his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums, and for his contribution to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, and Hall and Oates.- Biography :Fast grew up in...
also became involved in the project before moving the recording once more to the House Of Music in West Orange, New Jersey
West Orange, New Jersey
West Orange is a township in central Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 46,207...
, during which time the Ampex
Ampex
Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
tape the recordings were made on started to decompose. Prior to leaving for America Warman had asked Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
if he would sing on the album to which he agreed, with the musicians moving to America and then returning to England they had forgotten that Peter had said he would contribute towards the album so were surprised one day when the phone rang informing them that Peter was on his way to the studio. Warman quickly had to choose which song he wanted Peter's vocals on and decided that he would sing on "Screaming Jets" a song Warman had written in 25 minutes after watching Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
. Warman had been changing the arrangements on "Screaming Jets" and his vocal track had his commands on it for changing keys, which when Peter heard it he asked if that was staying and that he would try something like that on his next album. Warman then decided to keep the vocal track with the commands in as the master vocal track, even though Warman had had a cold at the time of recording. Warman, Peter and Larry then worked together on how the track should feel and what noises Peter should make which ended with Peter chanting throughout the record. Peter had arranged prior to coming to the studio that he would take a fee of £250, which Warman has since said was the best £250 he's ever spent.
The lead single from the album was "Dance With Me" which was backed by the non-album "King Robot". The second single was "Screaming Jets" backed by the non-album "American Machines" which was also released before the album. "Screaming Jets" also saw the creation of Warman's first music video which was directed by Jeff Baines. Warman was promised an Australian tour if the single sold 7,000 copies in Australia. The single sold 76,000 copies and reached number 9 in the Australian charts though the tour never happened. Warman did however appear on an episode of "Countdown" with Molly Meldrum
Ian Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, record producer , and musical entrepreneur...
which was filmed in London. The album was released in July 1981 in Great Britain, France, West Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand and sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. A second music video was also made for the title track of the album "Walking Into Mirrors" also directed by Jeff Baines. Later in 1981 "Martian Summer" was also released as a single although only in the Netherlands and the final single from the album was a remix of "Three Minutes" backed with the non-album Jon Glass.
With Warman's success with the Walking Into Mirrors he took to the road including live and television performances in Sweden, West Germany, Belgium, France, Spain (Music Express), Portugal (Fiesta Fiesta), Great Britain, performing second on the bill to Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (singer)
Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer of the English rock band Mott the Hoople from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and he again fronted them at the time of their 2009 reunion. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before Mott The Hoople, and...
at the New Pop Festival in Rotterdam in 1982. Rocket encouraged Warman to start work on a second Rocket album which he took to at The Manor Studios in Oxford. Warman invited back Jerry Marrota and Tony Levin as well as inviting Chris Payne of Dramatis (who at that time were Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
's backing band) and Andy Clark
Andy Clark (musician)
Andrew Clark is an English rock composer and performer who is best known for his work on keyboards and synthesizer in the 1970s, playing and recording alongside Mick Hutchinson, in Clark Hutchinson, alongside Jeff Beck with his involvement in Upp and on the album Wired, and alongside guitarist...
who had just returned from backing David Bowie on tour. Warman's concept for the From The Jungle To The New Horizons album was the process from Apeman to Spaceman. The album would be a more musically complicated production than the previous Walking Into Mirrors album. Kiki Dee
Kiki Dee
Kiki Dee is an English singer with a career spanning more than 40 years....
was invited to contribute backing vocals to (United) The State Of America and Looking Back (To See If Someone's Looking Back At Me). Although Kiki was only scheduled to work in the studio for one day she (as all the other musicians) enjoyed herself so much she stayed for three days. "Dream Dream Dream" was the lead and only single from the album being released on Rocket a month before the release on the album. Neither the single nor the album managed to make any impact in the charts and once again with the downsizing of Rocket Records Warman found himself without a record label even with all the successes of 1981/2 under his belt.
(Here Comes The) Future 1984-1990
With the ending of contract with Rocket Records Warman focused his attention more towards song writing with the intention that other artists would cover them. Warman recorded his final solo release "(Here Comes) The Beat Patrol"/"Don't Call Me" in 1984 under the guidance of Mickie MostMickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
, who had been a fan of Warman's for 10 years. The single was released on RAK records in Great Britain only in October 1984 even though there was no formal contract on the release. Fortunately for Warman both sides of the single were picked up by other artists and released with success. "Beat Patrol" was covered by Starship
Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s. The group is a spin-off from the iconic 1960s psychedelic/folk group Jefferson Airplane. The band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name...
in 1987 and reached number 46 in the U.S. charts and the album that it featured on the No Protection album which reached number 12 in the U.S.. Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
also recorded a version of "Beat Patrol" which has never been released. "Don't Call Me" was covered on Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
's 1992 album Aqua.
During 1984 Warman also found himself in the music video for Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
's "'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?
'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?
"Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?" is a song written by the comedian Alexei Sayle, originally released as a single in the UK in 1982. The single eventually achieved UK Top Twenty success in 1984, following a reissue....
" and a Hot Chocolate music video as well as playing football for the RAK Records team.
By 1985 Warman's attempts at composing music for other artists started to pay off as The Star Sisters
Star Sisters
The Star Sisters were a female Dance/Pop trio from The Netherlands that were very popular during the 1980s, most notably as the ladies who performed the chorus as members of Jaap Eggermont's studio act Stars on 45 and in a spinoff in which they performed as The Andrews Sisters in a medley that...
covered the Johnny Warman/Gary Osbourne composed song "Skin On Skin" (Originally planned for release by Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
). In 1986 not only were ever more artists covering Warman's compositions and co-compositions but once again he saw himself contracted to a record label releasing a single as a member of the band Future. The group released "War Of The Roses"/"Main Attraction" on 10 Records, The A Side being a "Song For Europe" which was performed on B.B.C. 1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on the 2nd April 1986 and received 76 points coming in eight out of eight entries.
1989 saw the last single release to date by Johnny Warman as he took part in the "Spirit Of The Forest
Spirit of the Forest
Spirit of the Forest is a folk metal album by Finnish band Korpiklaani. It was released in 2003 through Napalm Records.-Track listing:# "Wooden Pints" - 3:42# "Before the Morning Sun" - 4:25# "God of Wind" - 3:14# "With Trees" - 8:06...
" charity single, He can be seen (briefly) standing next to David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
in the music video.
Time Takes Time 1991-1999
Warman had had a long standing friendship with Ringo Starr which went back to 1977 at Ring O'Records and when Starr started working on his first studio album in nine years Warman was asked to contribute towards the album in a song writing capacity. Warman and Starr traveled to Monaco to focus on song writing which produced "Don't Go Where The Road Don't Go", "Everyone Wins", "After All These Years" and "Runaways". Three of the songs were used on the album and the fourth saw light on the b-side of a single. Warman supported Starr's second all-starr band at two of their performances in London. Both Starr and Warman performed "Don't Go Where The Road Don't Go" as part of their sets, a song Starr continues to perform live.At the same time as working with Starr, Warman once again formed a band "4 Bills And A Ben" in 1991 with Jeff Rich (Who had been in 3 Minutes) also drummer for Status Quo at the time on drums along with John "Rhino" Edwards also of Status Quo on Bass, Steve Byrd on lead guitar, Andy Hamilton on Saxophone, Spike Edney
Spike Edney
Philip 'Spike' Edney is a British musician who, since early 1970s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably, Queen, where his participation, starting in 1984, has been so extensive that some writers have described him as the "fifth member of Queen". In the earlier phase of his career,...
on Keyboards and Mark Rich on Guitar. The band mainly plays covers of 1960s and 1970s songs and most of their activity is for charity, Due to the commitment of all band members to other musical activities the band is only "occasional" although they continue to perform, all be it occasional.
Also whilst not only working with Starr and performing with 4 Bills And A Ben, Warman was also collaborating with Geoff Downes
Geoff Downes
Geoffrey "Geoff" Downes is an English rock keyboard player, songwriter, best known as the keyboardist for the bands The Buggles, Yes and Asia, of which he is the only consistent member. When he was a keyboardist for The Buggles, he played multiple keyboards to achieve a New Wave technopop sound...
and Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
which saw four of Warman's co-compositions on Asia's album Aqua, six of Warman's co-compositions on Geoff's solo album Vox Humana and Warman singing the lead vocals on the track "Satellite Blues".
In 1993 the Johnny Warman/Nick Graham song "Our World" was entered into "A Song For Europe
A Song for Europe
A Song for Europe may refer to:*A Song for Europe, former name of British pre-selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest, now known as Eurovision: Your Country Needs You...
" on 3 April, in which every song was sung by Sonia
Sonia Evans
Sonia , is an English pop singer from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, who was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Music career:...
. The song was placed second with 77,685 votes and Sonia released the song on her "Better The Devil You Know" album (Although the song was originally intended for release by Tracey Ackerman).
Warman returned to the studio again in 1996-97 to record 2 albums of Library music for De Wolfe
De Wolfe Music
De Wolfe Music is the originator of what has become known as production music as it was established in 1909 and began its recorded library in 1927 with the advent of 'Talkies'. The library consists of over 80,000 tracks, all pre-cleared for licensing and synchronisation...
with band mates Andy Hamilton and Steve Byrd along with Brad Lang, Pete Thoms, Roger Beaujolais, Steve Hamilton, Neil Angilley, Dave Clayton
Dave Clayton
Dave Clayton is a British keyboard player and record producer. He has recorded or played with, among others, Simply Red, ABC, Depeche Mode and Paul McCartney. He also has production credits with Kraftwerk and The Human League....
and Nigel Brown. One of each of the two Andy Hamilton/Johnny Warman co-compositions "Johnny The Jazz Freak" and "Grasslands" can be found on the first and second album respectively.
The Mods and Tomorrow's Babies 2000-
The Mods, who played at the Steve MarriottSteve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
tribute in 2001.
Singles
Date |
Artist |
Label |
Cat. # |
Tracks |
| 11/1975 | Bearded Lady | Youngblood Bellaphon |
YB 1076 BF 18389 |
Rock Star/Country Lady |
| 1/1978 | Johnny Warman | Ring O'Records | 2017 112 | Head On Collision/London's Burning/Mind Games |
| 1979 | Johnny Warman | RCA/Able | PB 5658 | Golden Lions/Tomorrow's Babies |
| 5/9/1980 | 3 Minutes | Rocket | XPRES 40 6000 487 |
Automatic Kids/Future Fun |
| 3/4/1981 | Johnny Warman | Rocket | XPRES 51 6000 654 |
Dance With Me/King Robot |
| 5/6/1981 | Johnny Warman | Rocket | XPRES 56 6000 688 |
Screaming Jets/American Machines |
| 1981 | Johnny Warman | Rocket | 6000 732 | Martian Summer/Three Minutes |
| 13/11/1981 | Johnny Warman | Rocket | XPRES 57 | Three Minutes/Jon Glass |
| 5/11/1982 | Johnny Warman | Rocket | XPRES 89 6000 904 |
Dream Dream Dream/Satellite |
| 5/10/1984 | Johnny Warman | RAK | RAK 376 | (Here Comes) The Beat Patrol/Don't Call Me |
| 4/1986 | Future | 10 Records | Ten 119 | War Of The Roses/Main Attraction |
| 1989 | Spirit Of The Forest | Virgin Polydor |
VS1191 863 830-1 |
Spirit Of The Forest/Spirit Of The Forest |
L.P.s
Date |
Artist |
Label |
Cat. # |
Name |
| 6/1979 | Johnny Warman | RCA/Able | PL 30052 | Hour Glass |
| 7/1981 | Johnny Warman | Rocket Phillips |
TRAIN 17 6302 132 |
Walking Into Mirrors |
| 12/1982 | Johnny Warman | Rocket | 6302 214 | From The Jungle To The New Horizons |
| 22/4/2002 | Simply Vinyl | SVLP 378 | Mustn't Grumble: The Steve Marriott Memorial Concert 2001 |
CDs
Date |
Artist |
Label |
Cat. # |
Name |
| 22/4/2002 | Sanctuary | SANCD 112 | Mustn't Grumble: The Steve Marriott Memorial Concert 2001 | |
| 7/10/2002 | Johnny Warman | Angel Air | SJPCD 127 | Walking Into Mirrors |
| 12/1/2004 | Bearded Lady | Angel Air | SJPCD 153 | The Rise And Fall |
| 14/6/2004 | Johnny Warman | Angel Air | SJPCD 170 | From The Jungle To The New Horizons |
| 11/4/2005 | Johnny Warman | Angel Air | SJPCD 183 | Hour Glass |
Library Music
Date |
Label |
Cat. # |
Name |
| 1996 | De Wolfe | DWCD 0207 | Jazz Phase Two - Acid Jazz |
| 1997 | De Wolfe | DWCD 0225 | Summer Vibrations |
| 2001 | Chappell | CHAP 274 | Wacky And Tacky |
External links
- The Mods - Mods gig guide and news site
- http://web.comhem.se/gargantyrhome/Index.html - Info on Johnny Warman
- http://www.epmusic.biz - Licensing Johnny Warman and Bearded Lady masters