John Ellis (born 1 June 1952) is an English guitarist and songwriter.

Career

Ellis was a co-founder of the pub rock band Bazooka Joe in 1970 and a founding member of the punk rock band

The Vibrators The Vibrators are a British punk rock band that formed in 1976. Early career The Vibrators were founded by Ian ' Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice ...

. He formed The Vibrators in 1976 while still at art school studying illustration. The Vibrators released two albums with Ellis and toured extensively. Ellis left the Vibrators in 1978 to form the short-lived group Rapid Eye Movement, before embarking on a solo career in 1979, releasing a couple of

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, one of which, "Babies in Jars" (a live Rapid Eye Movement recording) reached #34 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

.Gimarc, George (2006) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970–1982'', Backbeat Books, , p. 259 In 1980, Ellis toured with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

on his "Tour of China 1984", and he appears on the album '' Peter Gabriel 4''. From 1982 onwards, he recorded a number of albums with

Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...

, and toured with Hammill (off and on) from 1981 until 1989. From 1981 until 1984, he was a member of the K Group with Peter Hammill. Hammill was "K" (on vocals, piano and guitar),

Nic Potter NIC may refer to: Banking and insurance companies * National Insurance Corporation, Uganda * NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya Politics, government and economics * National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice an ...

was "Mozart" (on bass guitar),

Guy Evans Guy Randolph Evans (born 17 June 1947) is an English drummer and a member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Career Whilst at the University of Warwick (1965–68), Evans played in the university band which was called The ...

was "Brain" (on drums), and Ellis was "Fury" (on backing vocals and guitar).Album notes by Peter Hammill for "The Margin +", expanded reissue of cd "The Margin" (2001). Fie! The Peter Hammill album '' The Margin'' is a registration of live-concerts by the K group. Between late 1990 and 2000, Ellis was a member of the band

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origina ...

, starting with the album '' Stranglers in the Night''. During that period he also created music for European Art exhibitions and several short films. Ellis left the Stranglers in 2000. He is an exponent of the

E-bow The EBow, short for electronic bow or energy bow, is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It is manufactured by Heet Sound Products, of Los Angeles, California. It was invented by Greg Heet i ...

guitar. Ellis has contributed to the recordings of

Judge Smith Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been kn ...

, a founding member of

Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...

. In 2005, Ellis formed a community organisation called 'The Luma Group', that delivers arts based training and workshops. In 2009, Ellis started his own record label, Chanoyu Records, in order to release his own music. The first release was ''Wabi Sabi 21©'', an album of electronic instrumentals inspired by the

Japanese Tea Ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is se ...

Discography

Solo

*''Microgroove'' (year unknown) *''In Rhodt (Gallery Music #1)'' (1989) *''Das Geheimnis Des Golem (Gallery Music #2)'' (1991) *''Destination Everywhere (Gallery Music #3)'' (1995) *''Our Internal Monologue (Gallery Music #4)'' (1995) *''Shock of Contact (Gallery Music #5)'' (1996) *''Acrylic'' (1997) *''Spic 'N' Span'' (1999) *''Map of Limbo'' (2008) (a free album available a
Clinical Archives
*''Wabi Sabi 21©'' (2009) *''Sly Guitar'' (2013)

As band member

With

: *''

Pure Mania ''Pure Mania'' is the debut album by the punk rock, punk band the Vibrators. It was released in 1977 on Epic Records and reached No. 49 in the UK Albums Chart. The song "Baby Baby (The Vibrators song), Baby Baby" was released as a single and pun ...

'' (1977) *''V2'' (1978) *''VGuilty'' (1983) *''Alaska 127'' (1984) *''Past, Present and Into the Future'' (2017) With The Vibrators & Chris Spedding: *''Mars Casino'' (2019) With

: *'' Stranglers in the Night'' (1992) *'' About Time'' (1995) *''

Written in Red ''Written in Red'' is the thirteenth studio album recorded by the Stranglers, released in January 1997 through the When! label. It was co-produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill. The media launch-party for ''Written in Red'' was held on 13 Dec ...

'' (1997) *'' Coup de Grace'' (1998)

Collaborations

With

: *'' Peter Gabriel 4'' (1982) With

: *'' Enter K'' (1982) *''

Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...

'' (1983) *'' The Love Songs'' (1984) *'' The Margin'' (live, 1985) *'' Out of Water'' (1990) (Ellis also painted the picture on the cover) *''

Fireships A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

'' (1992) *''

The Noise ''the Noise'' was a monthly newspaper serving the cities of Flagstaff, Prescott, Sedona, Cottonwood, Jerome, Clarkdale, and Winslow in northern Arizona. Founded in 1993 by four high school seniors whose rural hometown's budget cuts lead t ...

'' (1993) With

: *''Mountain Music'' (1983) *''New Europe-Rainbow Colours'' (1992) With

: *''

Curly's Airships ''Curly's Airships'' is a double CD by Judge Smith, released in October 2000. Smith regards the album as a new form of narrative rock music, which he calls "songstory". ''Curly's Airships'' tells about the R101 airship, crashing in France durin ...

'' (2000) *'' The Full English'' (2005) *''Live in Italy 2005'' (live, DVD, 2006) *''The Light of the World'' (two-song CD single, 2007, as The Tribal Elders) *''

Orfeas Orfeas ( el, Ορφέας), named after the mythical musician Orpheus, is a former municipality in the Evros regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Soufli, of whic ...

'' (2011) With Cult With No Name *''Above as Below'' (2012) *''Another Landing'' (2013)

References

External links

Chanoyu Records – official John Ellis website, includes biography and extensive discographyofficial John Ellis MySpace pageLuma GroupWabi-Sabi 21©John Ellis interviews for The Burning Up Times: Issue 2 'Second Coming' (re: stand-in for The Stranglers' Hugh Cornwell, Rainbow Theatre 1980) and Issue 4 'Ode To Joy' (re: Euroband member with The Stranglers' JJ Burnel as well as support band member of Rapid Eye Movement, Eurotour 1979) at www.strangled.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, John 1952 births Living people People from Kentish Town The Stranglers members English rock guitarists English songwriters English punk rock guitarists Musicians from London Bazooka Joe (band) members The Vibrators members