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John McGeoch R.I.P's Interests
General
BUY OFFICIAL JOHN MCGEOCH MEMORABILIA:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZmagosh2007
My seller ID is magosh2007
Please spread the word also if you would like to offer me a buy it now price on anything listed please email me.
CHECK OUT MY FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=547488953
Music
MAGAZINE - SHOT BY BOTH SIDES
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THE ARMOURY SHOW - CASTLES IS SPAIN
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VISAGE - FADE TO GREY
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SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES - HAPPY HOUSE
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PIL - PUBLIC IMAGE
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Movies
SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES - ARABIAN NIGHTS
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THE ARMOURY SHOW - THE INNOCENTS ABROAD
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SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES - HALLOWEEN
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MAGAZINE
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Television
SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES - ISRAEL
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THE ARMOURY SHOW - THE GLORY OF LOVE
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Books
Heroes
YOUR STORIES
Was fortunate enough to meet him in 85' at Dudley polytechnic with the armoury show, John and Richard were behind us leaning on me and a friends shoulders shouting "wank*ers" at the stage with no one on it, then they pushed us aside and jumped on stage and played an encore!!
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I was at the front at Eric's, Liverpools legendary venue at an early Magazine gig. I was getting crushed and jump over the barrier onto the stage. I landed next to John's spare guitar on a stand. The bouncers tried to get to me from across from the other side of the stage to throw me out but John said "He's OK" and I spent the rest of the gig hunched agianst John's amp with an amazing view across the stage..................................................
The Scars played on the Banshees' first tour of Scotland with John, in Aberdeen, Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh, then two shows at the Music machine in Camden. Apart from being an inspirational guitarist, John was really nice to talk to, and really put us at ease. He was inspirational for me, in the sense that he helped to open up the idea of sound via the use of effects pedals etc. Before that I thought punk music should not use fx (!), and there was John picking a total different sound for each song. The arpeggios on Happy House have some relation to the Scars All About You, but my favourite on that tour was alway Christine - the 12-string guitar thrum was really brilliant.PAUL..........................................
The University of Manchester
Manchester, United Kingdom
Graduated: 1978
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Major: Art
Minor: History of Art
1975 to 1978
Greenock High School
GREENOCK, United Kingdom
Graduated: 1971
Student status: Alumni
Degree: None
Major: O Levels
About me:
My name is Emily Mcgeoch and this site is dedicated to my father and his Musical Career.
'The work of this line up is criminally underrated. John McGeoch and Allan Dias are vital elements of PiL as a whole. They were in the band for six years (that’s testimonial stuff) releasing some seriously good records along the way. When you look how long it's taken for early PiL to be appreciated, perhaps it will take the same length of time for this line up to get the recognition it deserves. Despite what the music press would have you believe the band were popular, they played countless tours throughout the world, the majority of the albums and singles went Top 40. They might have been releasing records that were possibly more rockier or poppier than the earlier PiL material, but there is no way you could call any of it simple rock or pop. It's not giving the records, or the people, the respect they deserve…'
Who I'd like to meet: Influencing leading guitarists such as the Edge from U2, John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, John McGeoch played in several post-punk bands of the late Seventies and early Eighties.
Born in Greenock, Renfrewshire, in 1955, John McGeoch moved to the Manchester area in his teens. In April 1977, he answered a small ad placed in a record shop by Howard Devoto who had just left Buzzcocks and was looking for musicians "to play slow music again". By the autumn, the new group Magazine comprised Devoto, McGeoch, Dave Formula, Barry Adamson and Martin Jackson (later replaced by John Doyle on drums). They made their live début at the Electric Circus in Manchester and their eerie appearance and moody sound caught the attention of Virgin Records. In January 1978, "Shot By Both Sides" made the Top Forty while Real Life, Magazine's seminal album début, made the charts and the group toured the UK for the first time. Magazine released a string of classic singles such as "Rhythm of Cruelty", "A Song From Under the Floorboards" and "Sweetheart Contract", all co-written by McGeoch. The albums Secondhand Daylight (1979) and The Correct Use of Soap (1980) were critically acclaimed and Magazine would go on to influence Simple Minds, Morrissey and Radiohead. However, McGeoch began drifting away from the group in 1980. "I was doing a lot of sessions like Generation X and the Skids. I felt footloose and fancy free!"
Indeed, he was in great demand, helping Generation X finish sessions for the album ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ and thus providing the blueprint for Billy Idol's solo career.
McGeoch also jammed with Formula and Adamson as well as the drummer Rusty Egan and Ultravox members Midge Ure and Billy Currie to provide the soundtrack behind Steve Strange as Visage. The Visage project paved the way for New Romantic acts such as Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet across Europe, with hits like "Fade to Grey", "Mind of a Toy" and the album Visage.
In 1980, McGeoch came to the attention of Siouxsie and the Banshees, a trio of the singer Siouxsie Sioux, bassist Steve Severin and drummer Budgie. He stayed with them for arguably their most creative and successful spell, encapsulating the singles "Happy House" and "Christine" and the albums Kaleidoscope (1980), Juju (1981) and A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982).
‘I was surprised to get the call,’ said McGeoch: ‘We met up in a pub in Notting Hill. They invited me along to their rehearsal studio and within two days, we'd routined "Happy House". They really liked that guitar line, that was the clincher. I was going through a picky phase, as opposed to strumming. They invited me to join. I was sad leaving Magazine but the Banshees were so interesting and it felt like a good move. We began to tour a lot. There were plenty of sell outs and everybody enjoyed what we were doing. By the time we recorded Juju, the dynamics had already been perfected on stage. We were a pretty damn heavy pop group and a successful one. We were having hits but there was still a feeling of us against the rest of the world.’
Siouxsie Sioux says: ‘John McGeoch was my favourite guitarist of all time. He was into sound in an almost abstract way. I loved the fact that I could say, "I want this to sound like a horse falling off a cliff", and he would know exactly what I meant. He was easily, without a shadow of a doubt, the most creative guitarist the Banshees ever had.’ He left the Banshees in October 1982.
John then formed the Armoury Show with vocalist Richard Jobson, bassist Russell Webb and drummer John Doyle. They issued the album Waiting for the Floods in 1985.
In 1986 he joined Public Image Ltd, the band fronted by the former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon. He played on three PIL studio albums (Happy?, 1987, 9, 1989, and That What Is Not, 1992) and toured on a regular basis with the band between 1986 and 1992.
McGeoch then moved to Sheffield in the Nineties, attempting to put together a group called Pacific with drummer John Keeble, and later with Glenn Gregory.
John then went into recording background music for television programmes.
In 1996, he was described as "the new wave Jimmy Page" by Mojo magazine and figured in their "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
John passed away in his sleep on March 5th 2004.
‘A distinctive player, greatly admired for his use of textures rather than his solos, but able to dream up dramatic riffs, chord changes and blistering fills.’
Although the human's feet only occupy a small part of the earth, it is by the space he does not occupy, that man can walk on the immense earth . Although human intelligence only reaches a parcel of the total truth, it is by what it does not reach, that man can understand what is the sky. Tchouang Tze
Hi, Thanks to exist and be alive ! XXX Peace and Love Lehmon
Thank you very much for accepting the very little person I'm. As a beginner guitarist in the late eighties I came back to the best new wave I listened when I only was a teenager, Siouxsie And the Banshees, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, Virgin Prunes, Cocteau Twins, etc. Siouxsie and the Banshees Spellbound'riff is a guitar manipulation that could make guitarists really mad searching for it, you did it John, your dad did it Emily, quick and melodious, we sometimes speak of phantom notes because they're short, quickly played, discrete but belong to the melody. John was a master in arpeggio.
Normally I'd just drop some picture of a half naked girl here and say thanks. But this is one instance where I have to speak my mind.
First off I think your Dad was one of THE influential guitarists of the modern rock era. And let's just leave it at that.
Second, I think that p.o.s. Edge should give you half of every penny he's earned since he has stolen virtually everything he's ever played from your Dad.
And third, if you ever meet that turd, I hope you kick him in the balls so hard, hc can't stand up straight for the rest of his life.
Here is our new live DVD, with a song John co-wrote for Magazine: "The Light Pours Out Of Me". Hope you will like it. We loved playing it to the audience, thinking of him and a band that had an essential impact on us.
Hi... your dad won't be forgotten - his contribution to some of the best music the world has heard will endure as long as we all have ears to listen. Although I might need a hearing aid in about ten to fifteen years. He lives on... forever.
Hi Emily, thanks for the add! Your Dad is sadly missed! He was my favorite all time guitarist having the most wonderful imagination and sense of melody and (unlike so many guitarists) he always knew when to shut up. Also, unlike so many others, he never gave in to the temptation to hack out the 'Old Riff', he always managed to find something fresh and uniquely 'his' to play. He has been (and continues to be) a major inspiration to me. Lots of love to you and your family Karen x
John is the king ... f**k me - I have spent years trying to get those same sweet sounds ... a true musical genius ... the Siouxsie stuff from that era is iconic *swoon*!! .. Simonx
I went to see Siouxsie in Manchester on Friday night, she dedicated one of the songs to John, I thought that was rather touching, he did contribute so much to that great Banshees sound
Your father was a real legend and still is... My favourite albums by Siouxsie & The Banshees are Kaleidoscope, Juju and a Kiss in the Dreamhouse... Would it just be a coincidence ? May he rest in peace...
thanks for the add Emily. Your dad is a legend, I remember him giving me a cig at a party in Torquay once, bless him. Glad you have a profile in your dads memory. Never forgotten by me. XXX
Thanks for adding us! We knew John while playing as supporting act to Magazine a long time ago, before signing on Factory and working with Martin Hannett. He and the other members of the band were very kind to us. Those memories are forever. And when we decided to play again, we included as an encore on stage a cover of "The Light Pours Out Of Me". A "live" DVD will be realeased soon on LTM records, including this sincere homage.
Your page is great. Thanks for making it, for John and for all of us missing him.
hi today fm here in ireland are doing a greatest guitarist of all time slot on one of their shows...no mention so far of the greatest, mr mcgeoch! email tom dunne dj at Tom@todayfm.com to ask for recognition of johns work help rectify this deplorable situation.. andi
Hi Emily just wanted to say that your father is my favourite guitar player ever... infact he (and Barry Adamson) were the guys who inspired me to pick up an instrument in the first place... I saw him play with Magazine, The Banshees & Armoury Show... wished the documentary had been a bit more in depth - they forgot to mention his sax playing and the amazing octave feedback technique during solos... and as for "The Thin Air" - absolute classic track
