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ABOUT
JOHN FORD:
Vulcans, Velvet Opera & Strawbs
Early
projects include The Five Proud Walkers, where John got his start. Then on to Jaymes Fenda & the Vulcans landed John Ford, his first
Major Label signing with Parlophone/EMI and pop hit 'Mistletoe Love,'
also becoming known as a teenage heart throb at age 16!
John Ford joined Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera to
complete the lineup, signing to the Repertoire label. Somewhat
psychedelic, sometimes confused with Pink Floyd when they opened for
Pink Floyd, Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera created a cult following with 'Flames,'
'Mary Jane' and other absurd claims of "brain washing the audience with strobe lights…" in the press. In later years, EGLO
became known as the Velvet Opera.
Strawbs & Strawbs
John Ford's unusual percussive style of bass
playing caught Strawbs leader Dave Cousin's eye during a performance at Dave's folk club in Hounslow and John joined the
Strawbs in May 1970. John Ford's influence with the Strawbs,
primarily known as a Folk Rock group, shifted into a new direction in the
Prog-Art Rock Scene. John penned perennial favourites, 'Heavy
Disguise' and 'Part of the Union,' which became
the Strawbs' biggest Chart Hit at 2, included on the album,
Bursting At The Seams. POTU, spent 59
weeks on the album charts, rising to Top of the Pops fame, also released as a Single, working with
Producer, Tony Visconti (Bowie / T-Rex) on A&M. As well, John Ford received Double Platinum, Platinum, and three Gold records, along with an Ivor Novello Award for his songwriting efforts.
Hudson-Ford
A few years later, John Ford and Richard Hudson left the
Strawbs and formed Hudson Ford. Releasing yet two more Top 10 Hits - 'Pick Up
The Pieces' at 8,
along with 'Burn Baby Burn'
and 'Floating In The Wind' also on A&M.
Nickelodeon, Free Spirit, When Worlds Collide,
Repertoire and Daylight. To note - the US version of Nickelodeon has
'Burn Baby Burn' in place of 'Solitude' which appears on the UK version, in
addition to many Singles with International versions.
The Monks vs. High Society
In 1979, found
John Ford hitting the Charts again. This time with The Monks, a punk
project of sorts Hudson, Ford and Terry Cassidy combined together
with Clive Pierce on drums, Hud was then playing bass, leaving
John free to play guitar) to produce 1979 album Bad Habits. The
Monks, soon picked up by EMI and along
came surprise hits, 'Nice Legs Shame About The Face' and
the album, Suspended Animation. In
contrast, John Ford also developed an alter ego in 1980s band, High Society with
classic 30s style melodies, releasing a self-titled album in 1984. Returning to
the pseudo-punk format of The Monks for a follow up album released in
Canada only, Suspended Animation with the addition of Brian Willoughby
on guitar and Chris Parren boards. Drugs In My Pocket'
and 'Johnny B. Rotten' were also creating a sensation!
Strawbs
Reunited
John teamed up
again with The Strawbs 30 Year Reunion Tour in 1998, performing as bass
guitarist and vocalist, after a hiatus since the late 80s with the Strawbs,
following Johns move to the US, then again for the 2001 Strawbs
UK
Spring Tour.
July 2004,
the STRAWBS SUMMER UK ELECTRIC TOUR in England, featured John on bass and
vocals with the original UK electric lineup from the 70s, Highpoints of the
tour included The 30th Trowbridge Pump Festival with the Strawbs,
doing both the Electric and Acoustic line-ups, headlining for two nights to over
6,000 fans. The STRAWBS UK ELECTRIC TOUR performed to sold-out shows at
venues ranging from richly, restored performing arts theatres like Huntingdon
Hall and trendy hot spots, such as The Under World in
London
and others throughout the UK, with much success.
March
2006,
John Ford was featured on the STRAWBS SPRING UK ELECTRIC TOUR now out on CD/DVD,
UK
DVD "Lay Down With The Strawbs," by Secret Films - who were kind enough to provide a clip of 'Part of the Union' lead by John Ford
Aside from the dozens of
recordings John's been on, some of his live performances can also be viewed on DVD
with Strawbs Live In
Tokyo
'75 & GRAVE NEW WORLD - The Movie,
The Complete Strawbs - Live at Chiswick House and other Top of the
Pops and Old Grey Whistle Test shows, some of which are on YouTube.
John Ford
Flies Solo.
By 1986, John Ford relocated to the US and started working on his solo project writing new
tunes and playing gigs in the New York City venues such as The Bottom Line.
1998 Love Is A Highway, John's first solo CD was released with more to follow as
listed below.
In 1999, John joined Ritchie Blackmore's
Blackmore's Night band and appeared on Under A Violet Moon, their second
international CD and featured John on vocals for the beautiful 'Wind in the
Willows' - a rearrangement of one of John's tracks 'Bread and Fishes'
and played some shows. Back on his own, in January
2004, John Ford opened to a packed house for Dave Mason at Long Island concert
venue The Downtown on Long Island and has since played numerous venues in the
Northeast states. John Ford has ten solo albums of his own work (two in post- production) released on © Whole Shot Records and licensing agreement with Sony ATV, in addition to his long list of album credits for other band projects and as a session player, as well as complilations.
John Ford Discography:
1998 -
Love Is A Highway
1999 –
Blackmore's Night – Under A Violet Moon
CD –
John Ford appears on
'Wind In The Willows' with Ritchie Blackmore
and Candace Night.
2000 -
Heading For A High
2002 -
Natural High
2005 -
Backtracking
- all John Ford originals, redux of his classic hits from Strawbs,
Hudson Ford and the Monks with JF
performing virtually all the vocals, instrumentation and producing the albums
and two Live bonus tracks.
2005 - New
World - Maxi-Single EP - Six Songs w/ acoustic version of 'Part of the Union'
2005 -
What Ever Happened to Christmas - a collection of Holiday songs, this album features an array of Christmas Classics with some newly released original (future) classics penned by John Ford.
2006 - A Christmas
Trilogy - features two NEW John Ford originals
2008 - Big Hit In India - Single and Album - All new - all original! font>
2010 – RESURRECTED - The Best of and Then Some– NEW
songs from John Ford with Special Guest Ian Lloyd on vocals and a chronological collection of
John Ford Solo recordings, spanning the past decade, plus Bonus track – "Talkin Trash," a Green song (Album
now in final post-production)
UPCOMING:
JOHN FORD: LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE
(post-production for Fall/Winter 2010 release )
COMPILATIONS: John Ford - "Carpet Crawlers" -
Fox Lies Down - A Tribute To Genesis - Compilation (1998 Purple Pyramid/Cleopatra Records)
ROCK 4 XMAS ALL STARS Compilation - including John Ford's rockin version of White Christmas, along with tracks from Quiet Riot's Paul Shortino, Cheap Trick, Larry Hoppen (Orleans), Eddie Money & Ronnie Spector & an upcoming 2008 ROCK 4 XMAS CD & more!
John Ford's website:
Also be sure to checkout John's other band projects - Hudson Ford and The Monks MySpaces for music - pix - videos!
Hudson Ford:
www.myspace.com/hudsonford
The Monks:
www.myspace.com/themonksuk
the Strawbs:
www.myspace.com/strawbsmusic
Jaymes Fenda and the Vulcans:
www.myspace.com/jaymesfenda
The Strawbs website: http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk
SPECIAL THANKS to Dick Greener, The Strawbs Webmaster & Archivist.
John Ford wants you to see his Webmistress :)
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