John Wicks (singer)

John Wicks is a British record producer and songwriter, working with numerous artists in the United States and the United Kingdom. Wicks is best known as the lead singer-songwriter from the UK rock and power pop band The Records, who formed in London from the ashes of The Kursaal Flyers, during the 1977 punk rock movement.

As a British powerpop band, The Records recorded 3 albums for Virgin Records: "Shades In Bed" (1979), "Crashes" (1980), and "Music On Both Sides" (1982). Unlike many bands, The Records lasted through the punk era and into the new wave music scene, before going their separate ways in 1982. Wicks became a respected producer and songwriter in addition to his work as a solo artist.

Wicks recorded a series of professional demos in the early 1980s, including "The Way That Love Goes", "Prisoner of Love" and "Nowhere Left To Run". "The Way That Love Goes" was later covered by Dominique. Produced by Ahmet Ertegun, it was the B-side of her 1984 single on Atlantic Records, "Changes of Heart".

In 1988, British rock enthusiasts petitioned Virgin Records to release the music of The Records on CD. The fans had their wish when Caroline Records released a best-of collection entitled Smashes, Crashes and Near Misses that same year. In 1990, Line Records Germany remastered and released an album of rhythm and blues flavoured punk entitled A Sunny Afternoon in Waterloo.

In 1990, The Records temporarily reunited to record a version of "Darlin'" for a Brian Wilson tribute CD that was being put together for DeMilo Records in New York, the same year that the US release of Paying for the Summer of Love, a compilation of 1978 demos by the group, was released on CD, vinyl & cassette.

In 1994, John emigrated from the UK to the US and formed a new incarnation of the band, under the moniker "John Wicks and The Records", booking shows primarily in the US and Europe.

By the middle of 1995, John Wicks and The Records recorded Solace In Wonderland, a limited edition promo cassette of country-rock/folk tinged songs, reminiscent of Wilco, Whiskeytown and Ryan Adams.

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