John "Irish" Earle (6 October 1944 – 7 May 2008) was an Irish

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

, best known for his solo on

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

's live versions of "Dancing in the Moonlight", such as that on their live album ''

Live and Dangerous ''Live and Dangerous'' is a live double album by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in June 1978. It was recorded in London in 1976, and Philadelphia and Toronto in 1977, with further production in Paris. It was also the last Thin Lizzy ...

''. He also worked with

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

Gnidrolog Gnidrolog was a British progressive rock band. Gnidrolog at Allmusic/ref> History The band was founded in 1969 by twin brothers Colin and Stewart Goldring, who were joined by drummer Nigel Pegrum from Spice and Peter "Mars" Cowling on bass. Jo ...

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...

The Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...

and many others

Biography

Earle went to school at

Synge Street CBS Synge Street CBS (colloquially Synger) is a boys' non-fee-paying state school, under the auspices of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, located in the Dublin 8 area of Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1864 by Canon ...

, and started playing the

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

as a young boy, and later graduated to saxophone. After a short career as a commercial artist he started his professional music career in the mid-1960s, playing in showbands that were popular in Ireland at the time. In 1966 he moved to Libya to play in a covers band on Wheelus Air Force base for US Air Force personnel. Following this he moved to Germany to perform for US servicemen on other US bases, performing covers of popular chart hits. Around this time he was given the nickname "Irish" by fellow band members to identify him from two other Johns playing in the same band, this stuck with him throughout his career in the UK. Towards the end of the decade , he joined Krautrock band Nine Days Wonder, performing in clubs across Europe and recording his first album with them. In 1972, Earle left Germany and moved to England to further his career. After a spell with progressive rock band

, there was a lack of musical work so he took a job in a record packing house distributing albums, including Gnidrolog's. While attending various auditions and

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without exte ...

s, he met

by chance in the

Hope and Anchor, Islington Hope and Anchor is a pub on Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington which first opened its doors in 1880. During the mid-1970s it was one of the first pubs to embrace the emergent, but brief, phenomenon of pub rock. With the decline of ...

, which led to him becoming a member of his backing band

Kilburn and the High Roads Kilburn and the High Roads were a British pub rock band formed in London by Ian Dury in 1970. The band released one studio album in 1975, disbanding the same year. AllMusic credits the band with being "an undeniable influence on punk and new ...

. In 1977 he performed and solo'd on the song " England's Glory", written by Dury, performed by English music hall veteran

Max Wall Max Wall (12 March 1908 – 21 May 1990) was an English actor and comedian whose performing career covered music hall, films, television and theatre. Early years Wall was born Maxwell George Lorimer, son of the successful music hall entert ...

and produced by

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...

. He also worked at the newly reopened Rainbow Theatre as a member of the stage crew during 1977. Following an introduction to

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

supremo and fellow Dubliner Dave Robinson he progressed to playing in

Graham Parker and The Rumour The Rumour was an English rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour. However, The Rumour also ...

in the mid-1970s, playing on the albums ''

Heat Treatment Heat treating (or heat treatment) is a group of industrial, thermal and metalworking processes used to alter the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also ...

'' and ''

Stick to Me ''Stick to Me'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his first group, the Rumour. Background Parker, interviewed by Steve Hammer, recalled the making of the album: Critical reception ''Rolling Stone'' c ...

'' and it was through their connection as support band to

in 1976 that he was invited to play saxophone during Lizzy's main set. He later played on

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

's album ''

London Calling ''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records. The C ...

'', playing double-tracked

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

on the track "The Right Profile". Earle later moved back to Ireland, residing in

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

, Dublin. He frequently played with local blues and jazz musicians including Peter Moore, Ben Prevo, Ali & The Dts, The Hot Jazz Trio and Thin Lizzy tribute band Thin as Lizzy. He died on 7 May 2008 at the age of 63.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, John 1944 births 2008 deaths Musicians from Dublin (city) Rock saxophonists 20th-century Irish musicians 21st-century Irish musicians Irish saxophonists Irish blues musicians Irish jazz musicians 20th-century saxophonists People educated at Synge Street CBS