Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

John Otway

 
Artist: John Otway
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists
John Otway

Similar Artists:

Lew Lewis, Rachel Sweet, Nick Lowe, Jona Lewie, Ian Dury, Plummet Airlines, Tenpole Tudor

Followers:

King Creosote, Chris Knox, The Dead Milkmen, The Soft Boys

Formal Connection With:

Wild Willy Barrett
  • Active: '70s, '80s, '90s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Vocals, Guitar
  • Representative Albums: "John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett/Deep & Meaningless", "Greatest Hits", "Ultimate John Otway

Biography

Armed with only a modicum of musical ability, a self-deprecating sense of humour and no apparent fear of public humiliation, this Cockney bloke carved out a modest recording career. Anything to avoid returning to his former calling as a garbageman.He first attracted notice with his frenzied live shows, in which he showed no respect for his personal safety. He parlayed the buzz generated by fans of his stage act into a single called "Cor Baby That's Really Free." Eager to cash in on a punk phenomenon it didn't really understand, Polydor signed Otway to a deal which would result in five albums for the label. His wilfully amateur approach was actually an asset with the ascendancy of punk.He's caught the attention of some of Britain's biggest rock stars. Pete Townsend produced and played on John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, the 1977 debut. Steeleye Span drummer Nigel Pegrum also played. Paul McCartney once asked Otway to open on a tour by Wings, but he had to decline due to other commitments.Otway didn't rely on only his whacked-out stage shows or loony-tune recordings to earn a reputation as one of rock's true eccentrics. On one of his albums, three tunes had only the backing vocal track. If your copy lacked the headliner's voice, he would volunteer to come round to your place and belt out his part while you played it on your stereo. Desperate for a hit at another time in his career, he refused to admit anyone for dates on a national tour who didn't have a copy of his latest single. This worked for fans because the price of the single was less than the cost of a concert ticket.When his music career faltered, the resourceful Otway diversified before the term became popular. Co-writing a play called Verbal Diary, he created a role for himself playing a disorganized, likable twit. By playing himself to perfection, he found other work playing the same character in commercials on the telly. Branching out still farther, Otway wrote his autobiography during a slow time for both his music and acting endeavors. Cor Baby That's Really Me (Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure) crystallized his strategy of marketing himself as a lovable loser. Within weeks the book outsold almost all of his albums.Encouraged by a crowd of 2,500 at his 2,000th concert in London in 1993, Otway spent the next two years to record new songs. Premature Adulation was his first album in five years.As the millennium ground to a halt, Otway continued to get music and acting work where he could find it. ~ Mark Allan, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: John Otway
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
 This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2009)
(Find sources: John Otway – news, books, scholar)
John Otway

Otway (right) with Wild Willy Barrett in Toronto, 1981
Background information
Birth name John Otway
Born 2 October 1952 (1952-10-02) (age 57)
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England
Genres Pop, rock, punk
Instruments Guitar, theremin
Years active 1976–present
Labels Polydor Records
U-Vibe Records
Website Link

John Otway, (born 2 October 1952, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) is an English singer-songwriter, who built a large cult audience through unrelenting touring, a surreal sense of humour and a winning underdog persona.[1]

Contents

Biography

Arriving on the back of punk rock and a gymnastic performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test, his first single, the half-spoken love song "Really Free" reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] It would be his greatest success for some time. The song earned him a five album deal with Polydor Records, who viewed him as a punk rather than merely an eccentric.[1] His first album, recorded with Wild Willy Barrett, was produced by Pete Townshend but sold only fitfully.[1] The follow-up singles fared no better despite some imaginative promotion, which included an offer for Otway to come to a buyer's house and perform the single if their copy was one of the few from which the vocal had been omitted.[1] Otway's and Barrett's only other UK chart success came in July 1980 with "DK 50-80", a modest #45 hit.[2]

Turning solo, and despite poor record sales, his live audience remained loyal, due to Otway's manic energy and the very real possibility of physical injury during renditions of songs such as "Headbutts". When his music career faltered, the resourceful Otway diversified by co-authoring a play, Verbal Diary. He created a role for himself playing a disorganized, likable twit, and by playing himself to perfection, he found other work playing the same character in commercials on the television.[1]

His 1990 autobiography, Cor Baby, That's Really Me (subtitled Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure) was a study in self-deprecation, and his touring continued to sustain him.[1] Within weeks the book outsold almost all of his albums. In 1992 Otway appeared at GuilFest. In 1993 he was able to draw 2,500 fans to a gig in London[1] and, in 1998, 4,000 celebrated his birthday with him at the Royal Albert Hall, coinciding with the release of Premature Adulation, his first album of new material for over ten years.[1]

By then, Otway had realised he could use his fanbase, who were in on the joke, to engage in minor publicity stunts. A well-orchestrated grassroots campaign saw his "Beware of the Flowers Cause I'm Sure They're Going to Get You Yeah" voted the seventh greatest lyric of all time in a BBC poll. In 2002, when asked what he wanted for his 50th birthday, he requested "a second hit". A concerted drive, including a poll (scrutinised by the Electoral Reform Society) to select the track, saw "Bunsen Burner" — with music sampled from the Trammps song "Disco Inferno" and lyrics devised to help his daughter with her chemistry homework — reach number nine in the UK Singles Chart on 6 October,[2] and earned Otway an appearance on Top Of The Pops, BBC Television's flagship popular music programme. To encourage fans to buy more than one copy each of the single, he released three different versions. The flip-side of "Bunsen Burner — The Hit Mix" was a cover of "The House of the Rising Sun" recorded at Abbey Road Studios and featuring 900 of his fans on backing vocals, each of whom was credited by name on the single's sleeve. Thanks to this second hit he has now been able to release his Greatest Hits album. Commenting on the fact that the title of this album is now in the plural, Otway said that he was very proud of it, having "finally got it (the 's') on the right side of Hit".

Otway currently tours as a solo act; as a duo with Richard Holgarth (also of Eddie and the Hot Rods); and often with his Big Band which includes Murray Torkildsen, Seymour, Adam Batterbee and guest keyboard player Barry Upton. Throughout 2005 and 2006 Otway teamed up with The Hamsters and Wilko Johnson as part of The Mad, the Bad & the Dangerous tour. A DVD of the tour was released in 2007.

He also delivers occasional (humorous) lectures on the theme, "Making success out of failure".

A world tour was planned in October 2006. Otway, his band and 300 fans were to embark on a world tour with gigs in Las Vegas, Sydney, Shanghai and Dubai. However, due to insufficient numbers (150 signed up) the tour was cancelled.

Otway rejoined Wild Willy Barrett for a UK tour from August to October 2009.[3]

Otway now has a motorcycle club of dedicated fans called Beware of the Flowers MCC.[4] Members are all Otway fans that also ride bikes.
John Otway And Wild Willy Barrett - Really Free excerpt
An excerpt from "Really Free"
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Discography

  • John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett - John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett (1977) - album
  • Deep & Meaningless - John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett (1978) - album
  • Where Did I Go Right - John Otway (1979) - album
  • Way & Bar - John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett (1980) - album
  • Gone with the Bin - The Best of Otway and Barrett (1981) - compilation
  • All Balls and No Willy - John Otway (1982) - album
  • Bags of Fun with Buster - Johnny Japes and His Jesticles (1987) - single released by Viz comic featuring Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory of XTC
  • The Wimp and the Wild - John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett (1989) - album
  • Cor Baby, That's Really Me! - John Otway (some tracks w/Wild Willy Barett) (1990) - compilation album to accompany Otway's autobiography of the same name
  • Cheryl, a Rock Opera - John Otway & Attila the Stockbroker (1991) - album
  • Under the Covers and Over the Top - John Otway (1992) - album
  • Premature Adulation - John Otway (1995) - album
  • OT-AIR - John Otway (2004) - album
  • Bunsen Burner - The Album - John Otway (2006) - album
  • Scraps - John Otway (2006) - triple album
  • The Ultimate and the Pen-Ultimate - John Otway (2007) - album
  • The Mad, the Bad & the Dangerous - with The Hamsters and Wilko Johnson (2007) - DVD

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Biography by Mark Allan". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=JOHN|OTWAY&sql=11:g9fqxq85ldde~T1. Retrieved 20 October 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 412. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  3. ^ Otway-Barrett Tour, retrieved 28 August 2009
  4. ^ Bewareoftheflowers.co.uk

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "John Otway".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More