![]() There was a whole different sound filling the pop charts. When I was about ten, in 1963, the British pop scene changed radically, with artists writing their own songs, as well as a new generation of songwriters emerging alongside with great, unusual styles and lyrics. John Howard, Fleetwood, Lancs, 1959, aged 6 But having a classical training definitely gave me an important grounding to how my playing emerged and developed, it increased my understanding of what you could do in a piece of music, how you could alter the mood of something, creating different visual images, and various emotions for the listener. I think that’s when I began loving harmonies too, how changing just one note in a chord could give it a whole different shape and sound, and you could move through a chord with tiny alterations.Īlthough I was classically trained and obviously could read music, it was the shapes of chords, the shapes my hands made when I played them, which fascinated me more than the dots on a piece of sheet music. I thought it sounded so strange and yet rather beautiful, just lowering the top E flat of the right hand chords to a D and you had this great sound. I remember the first time I played Eb major seventh, quite by accident, my hands simply played it as I was doodling on the piano. Interesting, unusual chord and chord structures always fascinated me. So I had quite a jazz influence from an early age, coupled with my classical training. I loved their chords, they were intriguing, and again would ask my dad to show me how to play them. Other pianists my dad listened to were Peter Nero and Roy Budd, who also had a great sound of their own, different techniques and to me fascinating. My dad remarked to my mum that I was playing with two hands naturally, and decided to send me for piano lessons, which I began when I was seven years old and continued until I was sixteen.ĭad had a record by Dave Brubeck, Take Five, and I really was intrigued by the odd time-signature – 5/4 – and wanted to know more about it, asking my dad to show me on the piano. I began trying to play the piano at about four or five years old. John Howard: My father was a pianist, he played in several jazz bands around the North of England when I was growing up, and I used to love hearing him routining songs for his band to play on the upright piano in our sitting-room. Where does your love for piano originate from? What would you say were some of the early influences and do you feel those influences changed as you gradually became better at it? John Howard at Denmark Street, 1974, first ‘Kid In A Big World’ session “Writing songs feels like teamwork with an unknown entity” It was a creative process whose influence can be clearly heard on these new compositions. ‘Cut The Wire’, originally released on Spain’s You Are The Cosmos label, was written and recorded by Howard at his Una Casita studio in Murcia after working on his first autobiography, Incidents Crowded With Life. ![]() Think Like A Key Music recently released his 2019 album on vinyl. ![]() In 2001, John Howard restarted his music career after retiring to Pembrokeshire with his partner Neil France.Ĭut The Wire (2023 Remaster) by John Howard However, despite some initial success, he left the label in 1976 and went on to record with producer Trevor Horn, but took a break from music in the 1980s to work in marketing and A&R at various record companies. In 1973, he was spotted by Stuart Reid, Head of Pop at Chappell Music, and signed to CBS Records, recording his debut album at Abbey Road and Apple Studios. John began playing the piano at the young age of four and first performed his own material in 1970. He was part of the glam-pop wave and has released over 16 studio albums and 11 EPs throughout his musical career. John Howard | Interview | “Kid In A Big World” John Howard is an English singer-songwriter and pianist who rose to fame in the 1970s with his debut album ‘Kid In A Big World’.
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