John Beckett (born 1958) is an English musician, actor and record producer. He is best known for being a former guitarist of Adam and the Ants under the name Johnny Bivouac, during which time he recorded the track "Deutscher Girls" with the band, later a UK Top 15 hit single. As an actor, he is best known for the role of Strings in the police sitcom Operation Good Guys .
In June 1977, Beckett was guitarist in the band Desolation Angels when their drummer, David Barbarossa was recruited away from the group by a recently formed punk band, The Ants, who had supported them at a concert in Chelsea that month. Four months later, after the Ants sacked their guitarist Mark Ryan, Beckett was recruited as his replacement and took the stagename Johnny Bivouac. Bivoauc stayed with the band, shortly thereafter renamed Adam and the Ants, until May 1978, [1] recording the band's first Peel session on 23 January 1978 [2] and the following day recording Deutscher Girls for the soundtrack album of Derek Jarman's film Jubilee . [3] [1] Label E.G. Records released the track as a single A side in February 1982, to cash in on the later commercial success of the Ants' early 1980s incarnation. This reached 13 on the UK Singles Chart. [4]
After leaving the band, Bivouac was a member of Ryan's band Lustralarza and later Swim. In 1980 he was invited to join the new Ants as bass player, but declined, with the role eventually going to Kevin Mooney. He has continued to use the pseudonym Johnny Bivouac for any guitar credits since leaving the Ants. [5]
Later on, Bivouac set up his own studio facility to help develop his production and composition, while continuing to work live with various bands as a guitarist and, occasionally, keyboard player. He worked as a composer and producer on various corporate videos and advertising jingles before composing his first work for mainstream television Carlton's The Spooks of Bottle Bay . He has since worked on numerous film and TV projects as either composer, music producer, music supervisor and/or performer. [6]
Beckett has produced and remixed artists as diverse as Freddie Mercury, Denise van Outen and Rolf Harris. He also dabbled in hard-core techno with the project Vagen, following his scoring of a three-part series about the history of the Volkswagen Beetle. [6]
In the 1990s, Beckett became a partner in British independent film/TV company Fugitive Features (responsible for such films as The Krays , Death Machine and The Passion of Darkly Noon ), initially running their music publishing division, Fugitive Music Ltd. Soon he was involved in all areas of the company's activities including production, administration and music supervision. As of November 2010 he was a director of the Group. [6]
Beckett appeared as Strings in the BBC comedy series Operation Good Guys , where he portrayed a musically frustrated policeman. This led to further roles in the films Final Cut and Love, Honour and Obey . [6]
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Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant, is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten hits from 1980 to 1983, including three UK No. 1 singles. He has also worked as an actor, appearing in many films and television episodes.
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Pamela Rooke, was an English model and actress known for her work with Vivienne Westwood and the Sex boutique in the Kings Road area of London in the mid-1970s, and for attending many of the early Sex Pistols performances. Her style and dress sense—a bleached platinum-blonde bouffant hairdo with dark raccoon-like eye make-up—made her a highly visible icon of the London punk subculture. Along with Johnny Rotten, Soo Catwoman and Siouxsie Sioux, she is credited with creating the London punk look.
Lone Star was a Welsh rock and heavy metal music band formed in Cardiff in 1975. They released two albums on CBS Records before splitting up in 1978.
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Adam and the Ants were an English rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both of which were fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were called The Ants until November of that year. They later changed their style from punk rock to post-punk and new wave, and released one album. The final line-up of this version consisted of Dave Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman, and Leigh Gorman—all of whom left the band in January 1980 at the suggestion of manager Malcolm McLaren to form Bow Wow Wow.
"Deutscher Girls" is a song by Adam and the Ants. Included in the 1978 Derek Jarman film Jubilee, in which Adam Ant appears as "The Kid", it was not released as a single until 12 February 1982.
"Zerox" is an Adam and the Ants' stand-alone single written by Adam Ant. It was later included on the 1983 CBS reissue of the band's debut album Dirk Wears White Sox and as part of the bonus material on the 2004 Columbia Records Remaster. The line-up on this track include Dave Barbarossa on drums, Matthew Ashman on guitar & Andy Warren on bass guitar. The track has been included on the compilations Antics in the Forbidden Zone, Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant, The Very Best Of Adam And The Ants, Antbox, The Essential Adam Ant & Stand & Deliver: The Very Best of Adam & the Ants.
"Friends" b/w "Kick"/"Physical", also known as The B-Sides, is an extended play and the final single from Adam and the Ants. All three songs were written by Adam Ant, and were early fan favourites among 'Antpeople'. "Friends" and "Physical" were performed at a John Peel session on 10 July 1978. All three tracks had previously been recorded in 1978 for the Ants' first label Decca Records. "Kick" at RAK Studios in Chalbert Street, London, produced by Snips, "Friends" and "Physical" at Decca's own studio at Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, produced by Ant himself.
Stephen W. Parsons, also known as Steve Parsons, Stephen Parsons, Snips, Mr. Snips, SWP, is an English musician, composer, songwriter and record producer.