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Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman is one of those artists who is responsible for millions of record sales. However, those sales are largely by the artists he has influenced over the years. Born in Massachusetts in 1951 he became obsessed with the Velvet Underground from a young age. It was therefore fortuitous that in 1972 John Cale produced some early demos of Roadrunner and Pablo Picasso . The release of these recordings was delayed for several years and they were finally released by Beserkley Records in 1975 by which time Richman had already moved on musically into a more melodic and mellow sound.
The impact of those early recordings should not be underestimated and when played by John Peel in 1975 alongside the likes of the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd their simplicity and directness sounded almost revolutionary.
Roadrunner was finally released in the UK in 1977 and became a top 20 hit as did the follow up Egyptian Reggae which was more a more contemporary recording. It became something of a novelty hit and that was the end of Richman's chart career.
He went to ground for several years finally coming back in 1983 with the album Jonathan Sings . Subsequent recordings have seen radical changes in styles including country and Spanish language albums. He has continued to undertake regular tours as well as appearing in films such as Something About Mary' and Kingpin '.
Consistent throughout his career has been an ability to remain a wide eyed child like innocent writing songs and in the process influence numerous artists such as the Violent Femmes, They Might Be Giants and Weezer. His songs have also been covered by David Bowie, Echo & the Bunnymen and Siouxsie & the Banshees.
Jonathan Richman will be playing 2 dates in Wales during his 2012 UK. Tickets are selling fast so we recommend that you book early.
http://youtu.be/XjFU98mEem4
UK Tour Dates 2012:
23 rd February - Hendre Hall, Bangor
25 th February - The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
26 th February - Kazimier, Liverpool
28 th February - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
29 th February - Bush Hall, London
1 st March - The Tabernacle, London
2 nd March - Union Chapel, London
Links:
http://jojofiles.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/pablopicassowasnevercalledanasshole
http://www.vaporrecords.com/
Selected Discography:
The Modern Lovers (1976)
Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers (1976)
Rock n Roll with the Modern Lovers (1977)
Jonathan Sings! (1983)
O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth (2010)
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