John Paul Joans
John Paul Joans | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Reginald John Davidge |
| Born | 5 May 1930 Twerton, Somerset, England |
| Died | 1 January 2011 (aged 80) Corston, Somerset |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, singer |
| Years active | 1955–1978 |
| Labels | RAK, Capital, Polydor |
Reginald John Davidge (9 December 1944 – 3 May 2013),[1] better known under his stage name John Paul Joans, was a British comedian active in the 1960s and 1970s, who had one top thirty single in the UK singles chart.
Biography[edit]
Born in Somerset, the 6'6" tall Davidge started performing in the mid-1950s under the name Reg Gray, and appeared in the 1958 film Tom Thumb.[2] His career struggled to the extent that he was imprisoned three times in the 1950s, once for fraud, once for stealing a pork pie worth 1s 2d (at which time he had no fixed abode), and once for trying to steal a record player in order to pay for the fare for a gig in Burnley. One probation officer said that he "did not think there was much likelihood of his getting regular work".[3][4]
In 1963[5] he adopted the stage name John Paul Joans and his break came when he won Best Club Act award in the Granada Television talent show Firstimers in 1967[6] and earned a contract with Harvey Lisberg, the manager of Herman's Hermits.
Musical career[edit]
In 1970, Lisberg put Joans together with Strawberry Studios in Stockport to write a Christmas song and Joans wrote a single - "The Man From Nazareth" - with Kevin Godley, Lol Creme, and Eric Stewart, who had already had a hit as Hotlegs and would be 75% of 10cc.[7] The song was a spoken word routine to the Hotlegs backing, in the vein of "Ringo" by Lorne Greene, and got to number 41 in the charts at the end of 1970, but a complaint from John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin (on the basis that the American release printed his name as J.P. Jones)[8] led to a reprinting of labels and the single lost momentum.
It did however re-enter the charts after a missing week and peaked at number 25,[9] helped by Joans performing on Top Of The Pops on 14 January 1971, while the song was out of the charts.[10]
Capitol Records signed up Joans and released two singles simply under the name John, but neither charted. A 1972 single in support of striking miners - by which time Joans was on the Polydor Records label - was only played twice on the British Broadcasting Corporation because of its political slant, resulting in Joans' manager - and wife - Maureen announcing that she was banning the BBC from playing it in future.[11]
Stand-up comedy[edit]
However Joans' main career was in stand-up comedy, with topical and often controversial routines,[12] and having a "gift for ad lib".[13] Bob Monkhouse said he was "brilliantly bitter and hilariously tasteless...with a considerable gift for persuading the audience to adopt his very funny view of life", and has been called the first alternative comedian in Britain.[14]
In 1975, Joans separated from his wife, who retained custody of their two children. Joans moved to London in 1976[15] and in 1977 gave up performing in order to work as a promoter for the Peace People in Belfast, organizing entertainment shows in Northern Ireland.[16]
However, in February 1977, Joans was critically injured after being run over by a Land Rover,[17][18] the effects of which altered his personality to the extent that, when visiting his ex-wife in Dewsbury after she had suffered an injury, he "snatched" his younger son[19] and refused to allow him to return to his mother for 11 weeks; he was given a 6-month suspended sentence.[20]
Joans retreated to private life and married his carer Sheila, finally receiving compensation for the car accident in 1985[21] and regaining his full speech capabilities in 1993. He briefly came out of retirement for charity shows in 1997.[22] Joans died in Somerset in 2011.
Discography[edit]
As John Paul Joans[edit]
- "The Man From Nazareth"/"Got To Get Together Now" (RAK RAK 107, 1970) - UK charts no. 25
As John[edit]
- "The Ten Lost Tribes Of Israel"/"Good Morning Old Man Time" (Capitol Records CL 15678, 1971)
- "Jody And The Kid"/"Colours" (Capitol CL 15701), 1971)
As John And City Lights[edit]
- "The Miners' Song"/"Colourful Man" (Polydor 2058 211, 1972)
As John Davidge[edit]
- "The Fear Of Love"/"Cold Road" (Polydor 2058 298, 1972)[23]
References[edit]
- ^ "Reginald John Davidge". Family Search. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "John Davidge". discogs. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "Singer goes to gaol". Kensington News: 7. 18 April 1958.
- ^ "Singer jailed for theft". Kensington Post: 3. 10 April 1959.
- ^ Absalom, Steve (10 November 1983). "Whatever happened to John Paul Joans?". The Stage: 4.
- ^ "Here come the new faces". Daily Mirror: 18. 7 November 1967.
- ^ Lisberg, Harvey. "John Paul Jones". I'm Into Something Good. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "J.P. Jones - Man From Nazareth". disogs. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "John Paul Joans songs". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "John Paul Joans - The Man From Nazareth (Top Pops 14.01.1971) (Upscaled) 1080p". youtube. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "Miners' Song Withdrawn From BBC". Billboard: 73. 11 March 1972.
- ^ "Tate's Gallery". The Stage: 22. 22 February 1968.
- ^ Kirby, Arthur (16 April 1970). "The Leicester Scene". The Stage: 4.
- ^ Absalom, Steve (10 November 1983). "Whatever happened to John Paul Joans?". The Stage: 4.
- ^ "Light entertainment". The Stage: 3. 1 April 1976.
- ^ "Top names for variety peace show". Belfast Telegraph: 3. 15 January 1977.
- ^ "Laughter is the best medicine". Western Daily Press: 18. 27 November 1997.
- ^ "Peace man critical". Belfast News-Letter: 2. 4 February 1977.
- ^ "Police search after man abducts son". Weekly Examiner: 1. 10 November 1977.
- ^ "Clubland artist in court". Huddersfield Daily Examiner: 3. 25 January 1978.
- ^ "John Paul Joans and Sheila". The Stage: 6. 14 November 1985.
- ^ "Laughter is the best medicine". Western Daily Press: 18. 27 November 1997.
- ^ "John Paul Joans - Discography". 45cat. Retrieved 2 February 2024.