John has played the guitar since 1973 but it wasn’t until he bought a cittern in 2014 that he began to write songs in a serious way. His debut album Moorscape was released in April 2016.

Since then, he has released his Dry The Life EP (January 2017) focussing on the clear and present danger of world water shortage. More recently John released The Madness EP in January 2018. The Madness was inspired by a story about a Palestinian family whose lives were spent beneath the level of their window sills for fear that one of them might take a sniper’s bullet. The Madness has since visited too many cities around the world, including last year his home city of Manchester.

John’s backing band is The Folded Arms: Kieran Heaney on electric and occasional bass guitar, Rajendra Jadeja (Jad) on tabla, Emma Perry and Kate Ferris on vocals and harmonies, and Matt Steady on violin, Uilleann pipes, and occasional bass guitar. We are currently recording a double album of protest songs and songs to make people think. The Breeding Ground Of Vile will be released in June 2018, and will include singles ‘The Burning Gates Of Hell’ and ‘Fall’ and a further version of The Madness.