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John Helmer (born 1956) is a musician and part-time writer best known for contributing lyrics for Marillion.
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John Helmer (born 1956) is a musician and part-time writer best known for contributing lyrics for Marillion.
From 1977 to 1981, "Johnny" Helmer was a guitarist and vocalist in the Brighton-based ska punk band The Piranhas, best known for their 1980 top ten hit "Tom Hark". Helmer formed The Piranhas with 'Boring' Bob Grover while attending Sussex University, where he obtained a degree in English Literature. After The Piranhas split in 1981, Helmer formed a "cabaret busking group" called Pookiesnackenburger with Nick Dwyer, formerly with Nicky and the Dots. They had a Spinal Tap-like series on Channel Four TV and also appeared in a Heineken commercial. Pookiesnackenburger finally evolved into the dance troupe Stomp. [1] Helmer and Grover reformed the band in 2010 as The Piranhas 3D, with a new rhythm section.
After the departure of Fish (1988), whose complex lyrics had been a signature feature of Marillion's music, the band was uncertain whether any successor would be able to write lyrics on a similar level. EMI put them in touch with Helmer at this point. They eventually found Steve Hogarth, who already had experience in writing lyrics for his previous project How We Live. Still, Helmer went on to contribute to Marillion albums over the next decade. He also wrote most lyrics for Carnival of Souls, a 1996 album by Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery's side project The Wishing Tree. After a gap of over ten years, Marillion's 2012 album Sounds That Can't Be Made featured a Helmer lyric on Pour My Love.
In 1999, Helmer published a novel titled Mother Tongue.
As of 1999, Helmer held a day job as a marketing manager for a Brighton-based internet company. [2]
Helmer worked[ when? ] on material with Bob Grover, Owen Kellett (bass) and Steve Burnaby Davies (drums) from Brighton band 'Dates'.[ citation needed ]
The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. It consisted of four Canadians and one American: Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, and Levon Helm. The Band combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz, country, and R&B, influencing subsequent musicians such as the Eagles, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, the Flaming Lips, and Wilco.
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the most commercially successful neo-progressive rock band of the 1980s.
Derek William Dick, better known by his stage name Fish, is a Scottish singer-songwriter and occasional actor.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Ron Blair, Stan Lynch (drums), and Benmont Tench (keyboards). In 1981, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, stayed with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist—mostly on rhythm guitar and second keyboards. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. The band had a long string of hit singles including "Breakdown", "American Girl", "Refugee", "The Waiting", "Learning to Fly", and "Mary Jane's Last Dance", among many others, that stretched over several decades of work.
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Steve Hogarth also known as "h", is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Since 1989 he has been the lead singer of the British rock band Marillion, for which he also performs additional keyboards and guitar. Hogarth was formerly a keyboard player and co-lead vocalist with the Europeans and vocalist with How We Live. AllMusic has described Hogarth as having a "unique, expressive voice" with "flexible range and beautiful phrasing".
Seasons End is the fifth studio album by British rock band Marillion, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature current lead singer Steve Hogarth, following the departure of former vocalist Fish in late 1988. It reached number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.
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Rupert Neville Hine was an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He produced albums for artists including Rush, Kevin Ayers, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Saga, the Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Stevie Nicks, Chris de Burgh, Suzanne Vega, Underworld, Duncan Sheik, Formula and Eleanor McEvoy. He also recorded eleven albums, including those billed under his own name, the pseudo-band name Thinkman, and as a member of the band Quantum Jump.
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The Wishing Tree is a music project by Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery and vocalist Hannah Stobart. Their debut album, Carnival of Souls, was released in 1996 and a second album, Ostara, was released 23 March 2009.
Carnival of Souls is the title of the first album by The Wishing Tree, a project by Marillion's guitarist Steve Rothery and singer Hannah Stobart. It was originally released in 1996 on Steve Rothery's short-lived label Dorian Music and was re-released in 2001 on Marillion's label Racket Records. The new version includes some bonus material, two live videos and two demos of previously unreleased songs.
"Tom Hark" is an instrumental kwela song written by Rupert Bopape (1925–2012), a South African musician, singer, and songwriter. The song was arranged for penny whistle and first recorded by Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes—a South African band led by pennywhistler "Big Voice Jack" Lerole—and released in 1958. It entered the UK charts at number 30 on 25 April 1958; on 24 May it reached number 2, and held that position for four weeks. In all, the song was in the UK charts for about 14 weeks.
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