John Bramwell

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John Bramwell
John Bramwell.jpg
John Bramwell performing with I Am Kloot at Chester Racecourse on 3 July 2011
Background information
Birth nameJohn Harold Arnold Bramwell
Also known asJohnny Dangerously
Born (1964-11-27) 27 November 1964 (age 59)
Hyde, Cheshire, England
Genres Rock, alternative rock, indie rock
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1988–present
Labels
  • Village Records
Website johnbramwell.com

John Harold Arnold Bramwell [1] (born 27 November 1964 [2] in Hyde, Cheshire) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the frontman for the former three-piece alternative rock band I Am Kloot.

Contents

Prior to forming I Am Kloot, Bramwell had previously issued solo material under the guise of "Johnny Dangerously". [3]

He is left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed.

Biography

Bramwell was born on 27 November 1964 in Hyde, Cheshire (now part of Tameside, Greater Manchester). He grew up in Gee Cross, Hyde. [4] In the early years, John was the front man of a four-piece band called "The Ignition" that toured in the early to late 1980s. Following that he became a solo performer and Granada Television presenter [3] under the name Johnny Dangerously, introducing a local Saturday morning magazine programme Express! [5] [6] alongside Sumy Kuraishe, with this youth TV show including one of the first TV appearances for KFM Radio personality Caroline Aherne in her Mrs. Merton role. [7] In this guise he also released You, Me and the Alarm Clock , named in The Guardian newspaper as one of "greatest albums you've never heard". [8] He also released a single with The deBuchias.

In the early 1990s, Bramwell formed The Mouth with friend and musician Bryan Glancy (the titular Seldom Seen Kid) that later included members of I Am Kloot – Andy Hargreaves and Peter Jobson. The Mouth first played live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, and on returning from America, Bramwell worked booking bands at Manchester venue Night & Day Café during the mid- to late-1990s.

In 1999, he formed I Am Kloot. The band released its first single "Titanic/To You" as a 7" double A-side single in 1999 and its first album Natural History in 2001 – both produced by Guy Garvey from Elbow.

Solo discography

As Johnny Dangerously, Bramwell released the mini-album You, Me and the Alarm Clock in 1989. [9] It was included in a crowd-sourced list in The Guardian newspaper as one of "the greatest albums you've never heard", [8] a track from which was re-released as a B-side to an I Am Kloot single "Over My Shoulder".

In 2013 Bramwell contributed leading vocals for song "Measurement of Moving On" on Felix White's (The Maccabees) solo EP release titled Cosmo.

On 25 January 2014, John Bramwell released Live at The Trades – a live album available only at live shows [10] . The recording consists of material recorded during Bramwell's concert at the Hebden Bridge Trades Club in June 2013. [10]

In November 2016, a limited edition of signed CD single "Times Arrow" was sold at Bramwell's solo live shows, with its profits directed to Macmillan Cancer Support. [11]

Bramwell pre-released his debut full-length debut solo album titled Leave Alone the Empty Spaces together with live album Live 2016 on 10 November 2017. [12]

On 27 September 2019 the single "I Am the Sky" with a video starring Ben Crompton and the Newcastle dance company Ballet Lorent was released. [13] [14] [15] The release was paired with a competition for fans. [13] [14] [15] [16]

The next album, called The Light Fantastic, was released on 23 February 2024. [17] It peaked at 39 in the UK album chart a week later. [18]

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"From Your Favourite Sky" is I Am Kloot's first single of 2004, released in March of that year. It was promoted by a video using filmed footage taken from their UK and European tour at the end of the previous year. X-Ray Magazine said of the song, that the 'Manchester trio' restore 'faith in songwriting', with 'Johnny Bramwell's fabulous voice ... the key to a lot of this magic,' his 'tongue-twisting around the easy-going "From Your Favourite Sky" ... is captivating and soothing'. Natasha Perry at Contact Music wrote: "There's a definite classical and flamenco tinge to it, bizarre given there's not a classical instrument in there. The lyrics are great... I guarantee you that I Am Kloot will find a way into your heart'.

References

  1. Cooper, Tim (13 April 2008). "The brotherhood of I Am Kloot". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 8 July 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  2. Director Details – Mr John Harold Arnold Bramwell Archived 11 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine . EU & UK Data Ltd
  3. 1 2 "Preview: I Am Kloot, Carling Academy Liverpool". The Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  4. Taylor, Paul (18 August 2010). "Interview: John Bramwell (I Am Kloot)". News – News and Reviews – Greater Manchester's CityLife. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
  5. "I Am Kloot: 'I hope we're going to reach people who have never heard us' | Music feature". TheGuardian.com . 3 July 2010.
  6. "Preview; JOHN BRAMWELLThe Kazimier. - Free Online Library".
  7. "I Am Kloot frontman Johnny Bramwell plays Crewe gig". FlintshireChronicle.co.uk. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  8. 1 2 "The greatest albums you've never heard". The Guardian . London. 3 November 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  9. "You, Me and the Alarm Clock (w/signed print)". John Bramwell Online Store. Townsend Records. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012.
  10. 1 2 "An Evening w/ John Bramwell". iamkloot.com (I Am Kloot). 24 January 2014. Archived from the original on 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  11. "John Bramwell". 20 November 2016. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016.
  12. "Leave Alone The Empty Spaces CD + Gatefold LP + Live 2016 CD (Signed)". Johnbramwell.tmstor.es.
  13. 1 2 "John Bramwell » I Am The Sky – Video and Competition". johnbramwell.com. 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Even the Stars: Track of the Day : John Bramwell - I Am The Sky". Even The Stars. 28 September 2019.
  15. 1 2 "I Am The Sky - John Bramwell - YouTube". John Bramwell's official YouTube channel. 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  16. "Win John Bramwell - long ben back". Sociali.io. 27 September 2019.
  17. "Brothers and sisters, my friends and I are here to bring you the light and the dark, but mainly the light. (…) My second album 'The Light Fantastic' will be released on Friday 23rd February, 2024. (…)". I Am Kloot's John Bramwell / Facebook.com. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  18. "THE LIGHT FANTASTIC". Official Charts. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.