John Otway (born 2 October 1952) is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter.
Biography
Early life
Otway was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. From the age of nine, he wanted to be a pop star.
1970s and 1980s
Although his first single, "Gypsy"/"Misty Mountain" was released in 1972, Otway gained wider recognition riding the wave of punk rock and his performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test. His sixth single, "Really Free", reached number 27 in the UK singles chart in 1977. It would be his greatest success for some time. The song earned him a five-album deal with Polydor Records, who viewed him as a punk rather than merely an eccentric. He also appeared as the musical guest in the final episode of the British sitcom The Young Ones, "Summer Holiday".
1990s and 2000s
In 1990, Otway wrote the autobiography Cor Baby, That's Really Me (subtitled Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure), and his touring continued to sustain him. In 2002, when asked what he wanted for his 50th birthday, he requested "a second hit". A concerted drive, including a poll (scrutinised by the Electoral Reform Society) to select the track, saw "Bunsen Burner" – with music sampled from the Trammps song "Disco Inferno" and lyrics devised to help his daughter with her chemistry homework – reach number nine in the UK singles chart on 6 October, The film was funded by fans becoming producers who were all individually credited in the movie credits. Following the success of the producers' premiere, 2013 saw Otway take the completed movie to the Cannes Film Festival. Otway and 100 of his fans (who donned Otway masks and dressed up in Otway's traditional black jeans and white shirt) travelled down the Promenade de la Croisette to the red carpet. The film also had its theatrical release at Glastonbury Festival in June 2013, before going on a national cinema tour in the summer.
He delivered occasional lectures on the theme, "Making Success Out of Failure", and the sequel to his autobiography, I Did It Otway (subtitled Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure) was published in May 2010. The book was designed by John Haxby, who also designed Otway's album sleeves over the past 15 years.
At Christmas 2014, Otway released the EP A John Otway Christma5.
During 2016, Otway set up an online Kickstarter campaign for 'A New Album of Otway Songs'. The campaign was successful, raising £38,916 from a total of 838 individual backers. The resulting album and DVD, Montserrat, was recorded at Olveston House, Montserrat, in September 2016 and released in March 2017, to those who had supported the Kickstarter campaign, followed by general release on 1 May 2017.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Otway started a series of Facebook live concerts on 28 March 2020. These receive around 10 thousand views per stream. He performed nine between March and May 2020.
On 2 April 2022, Otway played his 5,000th career gig, which was held at the O<sub>2</sub> Shepherd's Bush Empire as a milestone event, with a first set played with long time musical partner Wild Willy Barrett and a second set with the Otway Big Band.
In September 2022, Otway received an Honorary PhD in Music presented by Oxford Brookes University.
Discography
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Title
! With
|-
| 1977
| John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett
| Wild Willy Barrett
|-
| 1978
| Deep & Meaningless
| Wild Willy Barrett
|-
| 1979
| Where Did I Go Right?
|
|-
| 1980
| Way & Bar
| Wild Willy Barrett
|-
| 1982
| All Balls & No Willy
|
|-
| 1989
| The Wimp & The Wild
| Wild Willy Barrett
|-
| 1991
| Cheryl, a Rock Opera
| Attila the Stockbroker
|-
| 1992
| Under the Covers and Over the Top
|
|-
| 1993
| Live
| The Big Band
|-
| 1995
| Premature Adulation
|
|-
| 2004
| OT-AIR
|
|-
| 2006
| Bunsen Burner – The Album
|
|-
| 2011
| 40 Odd Years
| Wild Willy Barrett
|-
| 2014
| The Rest of Otway & Barrett
| Wild Willy Barrett
|-
| 2014
| An Otway Christma5
| The Big Band
|-
| 2017
| Montserrat
| The Big Band
|-
| 2019
| John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett (Live to Disc)
| Wild Willy Barrett
|}
Bibliography
See also
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
External links
- Otway's official website