John Howard (singer-songwriter)
| John Howard | |
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John Howard in December 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Howard Michael Jones |
| Born |
9 April 1953 Bury, Lancashire, England |
| Genres | Glam, pop, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, pianist, recording artist |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | CBS, RPM, Cherry Red, Bad Pressings, Euro-Visions, Hanky Panky, Tapete, Kid in a Big World, AWAL, Occultation |
| Associated acts | Steve Levine, Anthony Reynolds, Darren Hayman, |
| Website | www |
John Howard (born Howard Michael Jones, 9 April 1953) is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and recording artist. With his February 1975 debut album Kid in a Big World (CBS Records), Howard emerged as a late voice of the glam-pop wave of the early 1970s. Across a musical career that has included two main periods of recording activity – 1974-84 and 2004–present – Howard has released 15 studio albums and 10 studio EPs.
John Howard was born Howard Michael Jones in Bury, a market town in North West England which historically is part of Lancashire and administratively is within Greater Manchester.
Having started playing the piano at the age of four years, Howard began classical training at seven. He attended St. Gabriel's Roman Catholic High School in Bury, and in 1969 enrolled at the Accrington College of Art.
Starting in March 1970 and continuing for the next three years, Howard – having adopted the professional moniker "Jon Howard" – played his own songs at universities and folk clubs, and at the Bolton Octagon Theatre.
At the Octagon, Howard often played support for the folk/progressive rock band Spirogyra. The band at the time was managed by Howard's contemporary, Max Hole, who later, as an A&R manager at WEA Records U.K. in the early 1980s, went on to sign Howard Jones, whose birth name – ironically – is John Howard Jones. Hole currently serves as chief operating officer of Universal Music Group International.
Shortly after moving to London in August 1973, Howard was playing at the Troubadour folk club, when he was spotted by "Hurricane" Smith's manager Stuart Reid, who was the head of pop at Chappell Music. Reid signed Howard to a management contract – changing "Jon" to "John," in the process – and Howard signed with CBS at the end of that year.
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