John’s Children

John's Children
Origin	Leatherhead, England
Genres	Psychedelic rock, freakbeat, protopunk
Years active	1966–1968 2006–2013
Labels	UK: Columbia (EMI), Track USA: White Whale Germany, Greece, Australia, Japan: Polydor Acid Jazz (Black & White album)
Associated acts	Jet, Radio Stars, T. Rex, The Who
Website	johnschildren.co.uk
Past members	Andy Ellison John Hewlett Trevor White Chris Townson Geoff McClelland Marc Bolan Chris Colville Martin Gordon (1990s) Boz Boorer (1990s)

John's Children were a 1960s pop art/mod rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with The Who in Germany in 1967 when they upstaged the headliners. Their 1967 single "Desdemona", a Bolan composition, was banned by the BBC because of the controversial lyric, "Lift up your skirt and fly." Their US record label delayed the release of their album, Orgasm for four years from its recording date due to objections from Daughters of the American Revolution.

John's Children were active for less than two years and were not very successful commercially, having released only six singles and one album, but they had a big influence on punk rock and are seen by some as the precursors of glam rock. In retrospect the band has been praised for the impact they had, and their singles have become amongst the most sought-after British 1960s rock collectables.

In 1965 in Great Bookham, near Leatherhead, England, drummer Chris Townson and singer Andy Ellison formed a band called the Clockwork Onions, which later became The Few, and then The Silence. The Silence consisted of Townson and Ellison, with Geoff McClelland on guitar and John Hewlett on bass guitar. While performing in France in mid-1966, Townson met The Yardbirds's manager Simon Napier-Bell and invited him to come and see The Silence. Napier-Bell described them as "positively the worst group I'd ever seen", but still agreed to manage them. He changed their name to John's Children, dressed them up in white stage outfits and encouraged them to be outrageous to attract the attention of the press. He named the band after its bass player because he played so badly and Napier-Bell wanted to be sure the band would not fire him. Townson described their live acts as "theatre," "anarchy" and "deconstruction." They fought each other on stage, used fake blood and feathers, and they trashed their instruments. In general the band "whip[ped] the audience into a frenzy." They also posed naked for the press, with flowers covering their private parts.

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