User:PeterGalanakis/sandbox

James Michael Jeremy Deacon (born 18 February 1997), professionally known as James Deacon, is a South African singer, guitarist and songwriter. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Deacon attended St Stithian's College before forming a short-lived grunge band called Last Chance Seattle with his brother Rich and best friend Daniel Pawson. In 2019, Deacon signed a record deal with Bad Future Records, and released his 1st EP, The Calling. He announced his 2nd EP, Renegade in October 2019.

Early Life

Deacon was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, the youngest of 4 children in a musical family. In 2008, He performed as the youngest soprano soloist for Karl Jenkins' mass, The Armed Man for 3 nights to a sold out city hall with former president Nelson Mandela in attendance on opening night. Deacon attended St Stithians College, where he received a full music scholarship.

Music Career

2013 - 2018: Career beginnings: Deacon began to write his own music and experiment with gigging at live music venues for the first time with his brother Charles, doing some acoustic gigs around Johannesburg. Together with best friend Daniel Pawson and brother Rich, Deacon formed and started playing in grunge band Last Chance Seattle. The band played various shows and hit its peak playing at Oppikoppi Music festival.

2018 - present: The Calling and beyond: In 2018, Deacon met Paul Gala of Bad Future Music and the pair started making music together. Deacon signed a recording Agreement with Bad Future Records, and released his debut EP, The Calling that included the singles "Not Givin' Up", which premiered on Clash (magazine), "Calling Home" and "Son Of Apollo".

Deacon released "HERO aka Rich" in November 2019 - the first single from his 2nd EP called "Renegade" which is out in 2020.