John Waller's third CD, Tapestry, was launched on April 2nd 2009 at The Topic Folk Club in Bradford. It has several new songs, including "Grandad 2050" about global warming, "Xiao Shan", about those left behind in China's rush to development, and "Listopad in Mirogoj", about life and death in Yugoslavia. There are also several covers, including a Serbo-Croat adaptation of a well-known song, "Streets of Zagreb"; and a recording by Simon Alexander of John's "The Italian Chapel". John was born in York and has lived in Beirut, Bristol, Belgrade and now Bradford, where he has been based since 1971. He has played guitar, written songs and sung at folk clubs on and off since first visiting the Bristol Troubadour in the late 1960s. He spent much of the 1970s to 1990s involved with The Bradford Playhouse and Film Theatre (now The Priestley) but for several years he has been back in the folk world. He has regularly performed at the Topic in Bradford as well as MCing and booking acts for the club for several years. Musically, his long-standing influences are Al Stewart and The Incredible String Band, and more recently he has particularly liked Jez Lowe, Tom Bliss and Banoffi. In 2002 John underwent triple-bypass heart surgery, and in the recuperation period he both climbed Snowdon once more (first tackled at the age of 7) and started writing songs again after a gap of 30-plus years. Using material from both his songwriting eras recorded on a laptop, in 2002 he produced his first CD, Liberator. The title track is based on a short story by John's brother Nick (see here) and reflects on how easy it is for 60 years of your life to be snuffed out.. "Palestine" was written in 1969 but is as relevant now. "Yer Bike" is a look at what Norman Tebbit's call might mean for some unfortunate Everyman. Between 2003 and 2005 John wrote several more songs and produced his second CD, Molecules. It includes the title song, recorded live at a Bristol Troubadour reunion concert in 2004, a completed version of "Goldfish" from Liberator performed by Ryan McGovern, and John's first cover, a favourite of his: Al Stewart's "Samuel, Oh How You've Changed". The lyrics to all his recorded songs are here.
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Review of Liberator:
"The spontaneity of the recording is reflected in the vibrant performances, and the songs are given plenty of room to breathe ...[they] bring to mind none other than Al Stewart. Indeed, the title song would fit sungly onto Past Present and Future with no one noticing the joins...." Wayne Stote, Tyke's News |
Review of Molecules:
"Lovely fluid guitar underpins story after story, taking us from the heart of Slovenia to the depths of rural Norway via the mountains of Wales, a Norfolk canal an extraordinary Italian chapel in Orkney, and even back to Bradford... the songs stand proud with no clutter or trickery to get in the way. Unadorned and all the better for it." Wayne Stote, Tyke's News |
