|
|
About John's songwriting
|
I've been writing songs for much, much longer than I've been writing books.
When I was younger I hoped I might be able to write songs for a living. I formed a band, and we performed my songs all over London, trying to get a record deal. I still love to write music, and always sing one or two of my own songs when I visit schools or do other events. On this page, you can hear a few of them. |
|
|
In 2018, There's a Pig Up My Nose was shortlisted for Oscar's Book Prize, and illustrator Laura Hughes and I were asked to do some events with the book as the focus.
|
|
|
|
A long time ago I used to write for An Awfully Big Blog Adventure, a co-operative blog for children's writers, and in 2011 we held what we believe was the world’s first online children’s literature festival.
It was great fun. Forty-seven different children's authors took part, posting every half hour, and for my contribution I wrote a song and cobbled a video together. All the books shown in the video were written by someone who took part in the festival, or who helped to develop or run the blog. An Awfully Big Blog Adventure is still running. It's largely aimed at adults who are interested in children's books, and it's well worth a read. |
Songwriting workshops
|
Here's a song I wrote with the Year 7 class at the Planete Montessori School in Marrakech - it was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed working with them. We performed it at the school's Celebration of Reading event at the end of my visit. This is a version I recorded by myself on my computer when I got home.
|
A few musical memories...
Here are some photos from my days with the band in London in the 1990s.
Here's a photo from a very special evening in the early days of the band, before we chose a name - I'm the one in the middle.
You may notice a much more famous name opposite mine on the blackboard... |
A few performance photos taken by my friend Maria Boyce.
Chris, the cello player from the band, went on to have a hugely successful musical career. He's appeared in films and has toured and recorded with lots of famous bands and artists - including the one named on the blackboard at the Mean Fiddler! |
I was once lucky enough to jam with the amazing Eddi Reader, lead singer of Fairground Attraction, wonderful solo performer and one of my very favourite singers. That afternoon remains one of my favourite musical memories.
|
|
And here's a song that the last incarnation of the band - Chris, Rich, Nick, Johnny & me - recorded together in a professional studio.
|