Gerard Johnson (musician)

Last updated

Gerard Johnson (musician)
Instrument keyboard

Gerard Mark Johnson (born 1963) is a British keyboard player. He is best known for his work with Saint Etienne, The Syn and Yes.

Contents

Early years

Johnson was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. He was educated at Presentation College, Reading, Berkshire, England. He was a member of the Progress Theatre Student Group (1976–1981) and studied as a Tonmeister at the University of Surrey, Guildford.

Career

Johnson originally trained and worked as a recording engineer at London's Music Works studio (1985–87) and then as Chief Engineer at Orinoco Studios (1987–91). During this time he recorded and mixed records by Enya, Ian McCulloch (of Echo & the Bunnymen), [1] The Sugarcubes [2] and the Pet Shop Boys.

In 1991, he became a freelance engineer/producer, working with Timo Blunk (of Palais Schaumburg), Freaky Realistic, [3] TV Smith (of The Adverts) and Denim. Through Denim he met Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne. Since Saint Etienne re-united in the mid 1990s, Johnson has worked with the band at various times as engineer, arranger, producer [4] and live keyboard player. [5]

In the 1990s, Johnson also worked with guitarist Peter Banks, with Johnson appearing on Banks' albums and Banks guesting on Johnson's project with Mark Bown, Funky Monkey. In 2004, Johnson joined Banks in The Syn, appearing on recordings later released on Original Syn. Johnson stayed with the band after Banks left and original bass player Chris Squire of Yes rejoined. He co-produced the band's 2005 album, Syndestructible, with Lemon Trees guitarist Paul Stacey. He has also toured with The Syn in a line-up including guitarist Shane Theriot and drummer Alan White (of Yes), but left the band in 2006.

He then worked on two projects with Chris Squire: Chris Squire's Swiss Choir , an album of Christmas music on which he was producer and choral arranger, [6] and as co-writer of songs for a planned Squire solo album. This project was not completed, but material from it went on to form part of the album A Life Within A Day album by Squire and former Genesis guitarist, Steve Hackett, working as Squackett. [7] One song from these sessions, "The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be", was used on Yes's 2011 album Fly from Here , co-written and performed by Johnson. Another idea from the sessions was used in "The Game" on Yes's next album, 2014's Heaven & Earth .

Johnson returned to Saint Etienne as orchestral arranger and conductor of their June 2007 live film soundtrack performance This is Tomorrow, [8] part of the celebrations which marked the re-opening of London's Royal Festival Hall after its closure for extensive refurbishment. [9] He toured extensively with Saint Etienne during 2009 and continues to work with the band.

He has since formed The Electric Opera [10] with long-term collaborator Mark Bown, and composed for and directed numerous shows at the South London Theatre. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yes (band)</span> English progressive rock band

Yes are an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by lead singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford. The band has undergone numerous lineup changes throughout their history, during which 20 musicians have been full-time members. Since February 2023, the band has consisted of guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes, bassist Billy Sherwood, singer Jon Davison, and drummer Jay Schellen. Yes have explored several musical styles over the years and are most notably regarded as progressive rock pioneers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Squire</span> English bassist of rock band Yes (1948–2015)

Christopher Russell Edward Squire was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having remained in the band until his death and appearing on every studio album released from 1969 to 2014. In 2017, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Banks</span> British guitarist

Peter William Brockbanks, known professionally as Peter Banks, was a British guitarist. He was the original guitarist in the rock bands Yes, Flash, and Empire; he was also a guitarist for The Syn. Banks has been described as "the architect of progressive music".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Sherwood</span> American singer and multi-instrumentalist

William Wyman Sherwood is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes as guitarist and keyboardist in 1994 and from 1997 to 2000 and as bassist since 2015, following the death of original bassist Chris Squire. He is also known for working with former and current Yes members on other projects.

<i>Keys to Ascension</i> 1996 live album / studio album by Yes

Keys to Ascension is the fourth live and fifteenth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released as a double album in October 1996 on Essential Records. In 1995, guitarist Trevor Rabin and keyboardist Tony Kaye left the group which marked the return of former members Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman, thus reuniting them with vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White, a line-up that had last performed in 1979. The group relocated to San Luis Obispo, California to make a new album and to promote their reunion with three shows at the Fremont Theater, in March 1996. Keys to Ascension features half of the live set from the 1996 shows and two new studio tracks which marked a return to Yes writing longform pieces.

<i>Time and a Word</i> 1970 studio album by Yes

Time and a Word is the second studio album by English rock band Yes, first released in the UK on 24 July 1970 and later in the US on 2 November 1970 by Atlantic Records. It was put together several months after the release of the band's 1969 eponymous debut, during which they continued to tour heavily and recorded Time and a Word between shows. Yes continued to follow their early musical direction of performing original material and cover versions of songs by pop, jazz, and folk artists. A small orchestra of brass and string session musicians was used on most of the album's songs.

<i>Yes</i> (Yes album) 1969 studio album by Yes

Yes is the debut studio album by English rock band Yes, first released in the UK on 25 July 1969 and later in the US on 15 October 1969 by Atlantic Records. After forming in the summer of 1968, the band toured extensively across the United Kingdom with sets comprising both original material and rearranged cover versions. They signed with Atlantic in March 1969, and entered Advision and Trident Studios in London to record their first album. Yes includes covers of "Every Little Thing" by the Beatles and "I See You" by the Byrds.

The Syn are an English band that were active from 1965 to 1967, and then reunited as a progressive rock band in 2004. The band was founded by Steve Nardelli, Chris Squire, Andrew Pryce Jackman, Martyn Adelman and John Painter. Chris Welch, in his book, Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes wrote, "The Syn were very similar to Yes in fact. It was very much a precursor of Yes."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Schellen</span> American drummer (born 1960)

Jay Schellen is an American drummer who is the current drummer of the English progressive rock band Yes, having toured with the band as an additional drummer since 2016 before becoming an official member in 2023, following the death of longtime drummer Alan White. Schellen has also worked with a number of other heavy rock and progressive rock bands, including with Hurricane, Asia, World Trade, Circa, and Unruly Child.

<i>The Ladder</i> (Yes album) 1999 studio album by Yes

The Ladder is the eighteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in September 1999 on Eagle Records. It is their only studio album recorded with six full time members and their last with keyboardist Igor Khoroshev.

Martyn J Adelman or Martin, also known as Max Adelman is a British photographer and former drummer.

Andrew Pryce Jackman was an English keyboardist, arranger and composer who worked with many leading figures in British popular music. His most successful project was as the arranger and conductor of the Classic Rock series of albums by the London Symphony Orchestra, the first of which reached No 3 in the charts in 1978.

Circa is a progressive rock supergroup founded by four musicians associated with Yes: former Yes members Alan White (drums), and Tony Kaye, current Yes members Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen (drums), and guitarist Jimmy Haun, who played on the Yes album Union.

Stephen Louis Nardelli founded the Syn in 1966 with Chris Squire, Martyn Adelman and others. In 1968, Nardelli left the band for a business career in the fashion and sports industries before reforming the band in 2003 with Adelman and Peter Banks. Banks left the reunited band, but Squire joined and the band recorded a new album, Syndestructible.

Paul Kelly is an English film director, musician, photographer and designer.

<i>Fly from Here</i> 2011 studio album by Yes

Fly from Here is the twentieth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes. It was released on 22 June 2011 by Frontiers Records, and is their only album featuring lead vocalist Benoît David and keyboardist Oliver Wakeman. Its ten-year gap from Magnification (2001) marks the longest between two Yes studio albums to date. Yes reformed in 2008 after a four-year hiatus with a line-up of David, Wakeman, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, and drummer Alan White. The band prepared material to record for Fly from Here during breaks in touring in 2010 and 2011, during which they enlisted former Yes frontman Trevor Horn as producer. After songs contributed by Wakeman were scrapped in favour of expanding the song "We Can Fly" into a 24-minute six-part "Fly from Here" suite, the band replaced him with former Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes as he co-wrote much of the new material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mabel Greer's Toyshop</span> British band

Mabel Greer's Toyshop are an English psychedelic and progressive rock band formed in London in 1966 by guitarist/vocalist Clive Bayley, drummer Robert Hagger, and bassist Paul Rutledge. The band has two distinct phases in its history; the first period is characterised by a combination of psychedelic, American blues, and classically-influenced arrangements with poetic lyrics. It lasted until June 1968, when Bayley and Hagger left and the remaining members formed Yes.

<i>Flash</i> (Flash album) 1972 studio album by Flash

Flash is the self-titled debut studio album by British band Flash, released in February 1972 by Sovereign Records.

<i>From a Page</i> Yes album

From a Page is a mini-album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 25 October 2019 by Yes Records. It contains four previously unreleased tracks originally recorded by the 2008–2011 line-up of the group and intended for release on an album, but ultimately weren't included on Fly from Here. During this time, the lineup included bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, singer Benoît David, and keyboardist Oliver Wakeman. Wakeman, who wrote most of the material on From a Page, was inspired to release it following Squire's death in 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "Candleland". Connollyco.com. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  2. ↑ "Artistdirect, Free Music Downloads, New Music Videos, International Online Music, Music CDS | ARTISTdirect". Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  3. ↑ Freaky Realistic. "Freaky Realistic". Freal.co.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  4. ↑ Paoletta, Michael (27 May 2000). "Saint Etienne chills out on Sup Pop set". Billboard . p. 38. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  5. ↑ "Good Humor – Saint Etienne | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Henry Potts. "Where are they now? – Chris Squire". Bondegezou.co.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "Classic Rock » Blog Archive » Jon Anderson still has a Yes future, says Chris Squire… The Police rake in the dosh… Blackmore gets wed…". Classicrockmagazine.com. 17 October 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  8. ↑ "This is Tomorrow". britfilms.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "This is Tomorrow Title Sequence / Saint Etienne". 4 February 2008. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2011– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "The Electric Opera". The Electric Opera. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Gerard Johnson – SLTWiki". Sltarchive.co.uk. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.