Raymond St. John is an English songwriter,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, electric/acoustic guitarist and bassist. He is a former member of the Latin soul band Pride, active from 1979 to 1982.

Sade Adu Helen Folasade Adu ( yo, Fọláṣadé Adú ; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade ( ), is a Nigerian-born British singer, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. One of the most successful British fe ...

was also a member of Pride in the early 1980s, and St. John is perhaps best known for co-writing her song "

Smooth Operator "Smooth Operator" is a song by English band Sade from their debut studio album, ''Diamond Life'' (1984). It was released as the album's third single in the United Kingdom as a 7-inch single with "Spirit" as its B-side, and as a 12-inch maxi ...

".Sade - "Smooth Operator"
Discogs.com After leaving Pride in 1982, St. John went into hiatus for the next five years, before eventually forming the band

Halo James Halo James were a British pop group active from 1988 to 1991. They are best known for their hit single, "Could Have Told You So", which reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in 1990. Career Formation Halo James formed in London. Named aft ...

with vocalist Christian James, and keyboard player Neil Palmer in 1988. Their second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

release "Could Have Told You So", reached No. 6 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in February 1990 and became a major success all over Europe, bringing the band to international audiences. Their sole album ''The Witness'' was also acclaimed by the music critics of that era, and sold over 100,000 copies in its first year of release, peaking at No. 18 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. However, soon after this, the band split up. Following the demise of Halo James, St. John remained active as a lyricist and producer for the remainder of the 1990s, going on to write numerous songs for other artists, including several hits in the US and throughout Europe, for performers such as Gabrielle and Snoop Dogg amongst others..

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English songwriters English record producers English pop guitarists English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists Acoustic guitarists British male songwriters {{UK-musician-stub