John was born on the 8th of April 1948 close to the Liverpool docks. Catholicism shaped his early life, until mum won the battle that is. So he attended Church of England school in West Derby and aged 8 years successfully auditioned for Liverpool Anglican Cathedral Choir where he sang until his voice broke at 14.

John didn’t stop music there. With friends from the choir he helped create ‘The Crofters’ – a folk trio – which toured the Lancashire folk scene for many years. On a Mersey landing craft they shared the mike with many guests ‘before they were famous’ such as Jasper Carrot, Billie Connolly and Madie Prior. About this time, a groupie called Judy appeared. A wedding in The Lady Chapel, Liverpool Cathedral followed.

From school John had learnt the asphalt business at ‘Limmer & Trinidad’. He took these skills to St Helens Council Highways Department, augmenting them with ONC and HNC at night class. Then to Wakefield in 1982, a promotion with the W. Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council.

After many trials and tribulations, John and Judy adopted their son Michael in 1977, collected in London – they nearly finished him off when the car caught fire on the way home! Daughter Victoria arrived in 1979.

John hadn’t sung seriously for over a deade, and then one day in a pub he heard The New Mill Choir CD, asked Idris who they were, could he join …………?

The nagging of Judy then commenced, ‘Lets move to The Holme Valley’. In 2003 they became Scholes residents and can’t imagine why they didn’t move sooner.

Apart from singing, his big interest is making a little house in France into a home from home – oh, and the wine drinking of course, and promising to learn French, and seeing friends from Perth to Wales to Bedfordshire, and DIY (Judy says he’s good), and reading and listening Springsteen, Bach, Vivaldi, The Beatles………..