Jona Lewie
| Jona Lewie | |
|---|---|
Lewie in 2010
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Lewis |
| Born |
14 March 1947 Southampton, England |
| Genres | Pop, rock, new wave, blues |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Labels | Stiff Records, Sonet Records, Union Square Music |
| Associated acts |
Keef Trouble Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts, Bob Hall, Wreckless Eric, Lene Lovich, Wilgar Campbell, Martin Stone, Jools Holland |
| Website | jonalewie |
Jona Lewie (born John Lewis, 14 March 1947 in Southampton, England) is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his 1980 UK hits "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" and "Stop the Cavalry".
Jona Lewie joined his first group, the Johnston City Jazz Band, while still at school in 1963, and by 1968 had become a blues and boogie singer and piano player. In 1969, as a singer/songwriter, he contributed compositions and recordings for the compilation album I Asked For Water She Gave Me ... Gasoline on the Liberty/UA label. Other compositions in 1969 were for the album These Blues is Meant to Be Barrel Housed on the Yazoo/Blue Goose label in New York, still as a solo artist known as John Lewis.
In 1969 he became acquainted with the blues band Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts, which was holding a residency at London's Studio 51 club, joining as a vocalist and piano player. Brett Marvin signed to the Robert Stigwood Agency in 1970, and Jona Lewie, as part of the band, appeared on television in Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands, and in 1971 performed in a concert with Son House and supported Eric Clapton's Derek and the Dominos on a UK tour. Lewie stayed with Brett Marvin until 1973, its mainstream hit single being "Seaside Shuffle", another Lewie composition, released under the one-off nom de disque Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs. The record did little on first release in 1971, but in 1972 a re-release reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, aided by a marketing and distribution agreement for the song between Terry Dactyl's record label, Sonet, and Jonathan King's UK label. A subsequent Lewie composed Terry Dactyl track "On a Saturday Night" reached 42 in the UK in 1973 and a cover version was a hit in Spain. "She Left; I Died" was the third and last Lewie composition he recorded for the Terry Dactyl catalogue just before leaving the band.
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