As a very young child John was introduced to Scots songs by his Granny
(Skye Boat Song, Loch Lomond, Soor Mulk Cairt, Coulter's Candy, Dance to your Daddy etc).
John learned oboe and recorder at school. He was a member of
choirs at school where he was introduced to folk songs and classical works.
As a teenager in the early 1970's he was influenced by James Taylor,
Carole King, Simon and Garfunkel, Hamish Imlach, Sandy Denny, The McCalmans, Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor, Gaberlunzie,
Archie Fisher and a host of others.
At the age of sixteen John taught himself guitar on his father's 1930's
Antoria "f" hole archtop and mandolin on a similar aged ex-pawnshop instrument (Beltone).
As an 18/19 year old he did some floor spots at "The Forum" in East
Kilbride. Education and a move to England led to a pause in John's musical career.
In 1991 John joined Dunblane Folk Club which led to him joining The
Skelpit Lug ceilidh band as a flautist and Talisker as singer/guitarist and sometimes flute and whistle player.
The day job eventually caused John to leave both groups. In
the late 90's John formed a blues duo with his long time pal Nick Hanley. They then went on to form Sourmash Blues Band,
which John left in 1999 due to work commitments.
2000 saw the formation of Tarneybackle with Sandy Marshall and Lorna
Davidson. In addition, in 2004 John began a solo career, intially performing a mixture of blues, country and contemporary
folk. Whilst he still includes some of this material in his performances, John's first love is traditional Scots song
and this is the main content of what he has performed since 2005.
Tarneybackle has performed at Orkney Folk Festival, The Scottish Parliament,
St Andrews In The Square, Stirling Folk Club, Dalgety Bay Folk Club, The Wee Folk Club and many hotels and Inns across Scotland.
The band has broadcast live on Radio Scotland's "Reel Blend" and "Take The Floor" and has four CDs available.
John performs in inns and hotels across Scotland and entertains
in hospitals, day centres and care homes. He has experience of performing for corporate events.
