Jona Lewie (born John Lewis, 14 March 1947, in Southampton, Hampshire, England) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Career
Lewis started in the music business as a session pianist, before being asked to join the cult rock band, Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts, in the late 1960s. The group has been a popular live act for 40 years, their mainstream hit single being "Seaside Shuffle" (1972), released under the one-off nom de disque Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs, "Seaside Shuffle" was an unashamedly commercial disc, quite at odds with the Thunderbolts' usual style, and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.However, Lewie looked likely to remain a one-hit wonder until he was signed up by Stiff Records in 1977. Following appearances on the Stiff package tours, he finally scored a solo hit with the humorous synthpop number, "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" (1980) - (right) which made the British Top 20. Although his next single "Big Shot - Momentarily" failed to make any impact, by the end of the year he was back in the charts with what became his biggest (and, to date, last) UK hit, "Stop The Cavalry". He was, however, to reach No 2 on the Australian charts in 1981 with "Louise (We Get It Right)".Although now one of Britain's (and, incidentally, Germany's) most familiar Christmas single, "Stop The Cavalry" was not originally intended as a Christmas song – it was released in late November after the record company spotted the line referring to the festival: 'I wish I was at home, for Christmas' . Not only this but the specific style of the brass instruments and bells in the chorus are very noticeable as a "Christmas" style theme. The melody is loosely based on a theme from Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 by Hugo Alfvén, and its major musical elements copied directly from Mozart's Rondo in D Major, K382.The tune and style of "Stop The Cavalry" was later parodied for a series of catchy and humorous TV advert for John Smith's beer.In December 2005, Lewie was recruited by Channel 4 to record a new Christmas record with other old stars who had Christmas hits, on "Bring Back The Christmas Number One".The lyrics of Lewie's hit "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" were written by Keef Trouble.Jona continues to perform live as a solo artist and is currently recording a new album for release in 2008.
Albums
- Alias Jona Lewie (1975)
- On The Other Hand There's A Fist (1978)
- Gatecrasher (1980)
- Heart Skips Beat (1982)
- Optimistic (1993)
Singles
- "The Baby, She's On The Street" (1978)
- "Hallelujah Europa" (1978)
- "God Bless Whoever Made You" (1979)
- "You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties" (1980)
- "Big Shot-Momentarily" (1980)
- "Stop The Cavalry" (1980)
- "Louise (We Get It Right)" (1981)
- "Shaggy Raggy" (1981)
- "Re-Arranging The Deckchairs On The Titanic" (1981)
- "I Think I'll Get My Hair Cut" (1981)
- "Love Detonator" (1983)
Audio sample
References
- Rockin' Around Britain - Pete Frame - Omnibus Press - Bio Data
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
External links
1947 birthsEnglish male singersLiving peoplePeople from SouthamptonJona LewieJona Lewie
