The Three Johns

Jon Langford is one of those people who seems to have boundless energy, enthusiasm and creativity just running through them.

Tonight, the Welsh-born, Chicago resident was in town to play a gig as guitarist with one of his many bands, The Three Johns.

The band originally formed in Leeds in 1981 and have a sound not unlike that of their Leeds friends and contemporaries, Gang of Four. Their politics are also similarly leftist but always shot through with humour.

When not playing with The Three Johns, Jon is also a member of the Waco Brothers, The Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Men of Gwent and, dearest to my heart, the ever-wonderful Mekons.

Jon's also an accomplished artist. As is Three Johns vocalist John Hyatt, whose day job these days is as a Professor in Contemporary Art at Liverpool John Moores University’s School of Art and Design.

They, and bassist Phillip 'John' Brennan were on blistering form tonight and played some great new songs along with audience pleasers including 'Death of the European', 'Brainbox', 'Windolene',  'The Devil's Music' and 'English White Boy Engineer'. Here's a performance of the latter from back in the mid-80s www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbyIP4PW004 They performed it tonight with every bit as much energy and passion. And their intra-band banter between songs was very funny indeed.

I think Jon had earned the after-show pint he's toasting me with here, as he was also his own band's support act, performing as a duo with keyboard player Barkley McKay and playing a mixture of his own songs and covers by the likes of the Go-Betweens and Joe Strummer.

Cheers, Jon!

The extra pictures show a happy Professor Hyatt (just before he gave me a hug and a kiss - gosh!) and a blurry, thumbs-aloft, Brennan.

Thanks to Spokes for noticing that the gig was on. It was criminally under-advertised!