Jo Callis
| Jo Callis | |
|---|---|
Jo Callis 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John William Callis |
| Born |
2 May 1951 Rotherham, England |
| Genres | Punk rock, new wave, post-punk, synthpop |
| Occupation(s) | Instrumentalist |
| Instruments | Synthesizer, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Various |
| Associated acts | The Rezillos, Shake, Boots For Dancing, The Human League |
John William "Jo" Callis (born 2 May 1951) is an English musician and songwriter who played guitar with the Edinburgh based punk rock band, The Rezillos (under the name Luke Warm), and post-punk band Boots For Dancing before joining The Human League.
Callis was educated at the Edinburgh College of Art. The band played many gigs in Edinburgh and Glasgow, during which Callis wore space suits and other hi-tech costumes. He was a member of The Knutsford Dominators before forming The Rezillos in 1976. He wrote the Rezillos' 1978 hit "Top of the Pops". In late 1978, after the release of the band's only album, The Rezillos split in two, with Callis forming Shake along with Simon Templar (born Simon Bloomfield) and Angel Paterson. Shake released two singles before splitting, with Callis later joining Boots for Dancing.
Callis released a solo single, "Woah Yeah!", in 1981 on the pop:Aural label, and also joined The Human League, playing both keyboards and lead guitar and making contributions as a backing vocalist. Callis co-wrote many tracks and following his departure from the band in 1986, returned several times either to play keyboard or to offer help with songwriting. He co-wrote the band's 1990 hit Heart Like a Wheel together with former Rezillos band mate Eugene Reynolds. The track was produced by Martin Rushent.
In 1985 he teamed up with Feargal Sharkey to write Sharkey's "Loving You" which reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart.
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