From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daniel Paul Johns
Born	April 22, 1979 Newcastle, Australia

Daniel Paul Johns (born April 22, 1979) is an Australian vocalist, composer, pianist and guitarist, best known for his work in the successful rock band Silverchair.

Growing up in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, he, Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou formed their band at the age of 11, originally named the Innocent Criminals.

The band's career began when they were just 14 years old, and signed to Murmur Records in 1994, after their demo "Tomorrow" won a competition by the SBS TV programme Nomad, and was then picked up by radio network Triple J. Their first album release was Frogstomp, in 1995.

In mid to late 1997, during the Freak Show tour, Johns began to show the physical signs of his internal struggle with fame and clinical depression. He appeared thinner and thinner, and on advice from his therapist, moved out of the family home into a unit to try to take a break and recover from the stress of touring. However, for the first half of 1998, he spent little time outside the house, and became more and more withdrawn with his imposed seclusion having the opposite effect as was intended.

Feeling a loss of control of his own life and constant fears of the outside world, he began playing mind games with himself, trying to see how little he could get by on. At his worse, he was down to around 50 kilos (110 pounds) and was eating only a piece of fruit or a cup of soup a day, simply to stop himself from blacking out. He would awake after an hour at the top of a flight of stairs and not know how he got there. He developed phobia's to certain typed of foods and their shapes.

Johns' doctor gave him a dire warning; he was already showing the symptoms of advanced anorexia and if he didn't start eating, he would die. He had not realised how bad the situation was, and was unable to see just how sick he was getting. By the third time he was told this, Johns had realised the reality of the situation and started to regain his desire to want to live.

When the bands next album, Neon Ballroom, was released in early 1999, it was obvious to the public and the press that Johns was still dangerously thin. After rumours that he was suffering from a drug addiction, Johns decided to clear the air and gave an interview with Rolling Stone Australia to finally explain the truth behind his health. He was praised for his honesty and thousands of young people were able to connect with his battle with self-esteem and their own body image issues. The magazine received the biggest response of its history. With Neon Ballroom came the acclaimed single 'Ana's Song' about Johns' battle and inner feelings struggling with the disease.

By 2002, Johns appeared to have recovered from his internal trauma and was ready for the release of what he regarded as his band's masterpiece, Diorama. However, just as the album was due for release Johns was struck down by a severe and rare case of reactive arthritis and spent most of 2002 unable to perform. It was feared that he may not be able to perform for years, and perhaps would never play again.

Still unable to play for extended periods, he performed again in October 2002 at the ARIA awards ceremony. The guitar line of "The Greatest View" had to be changed so Johns' hands would not lock up. His recovery proceeded apace, allowing Silverchair to perform an extended Australian, European and North American concert tour.

Johns announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend, actress, singer and model Natalie Imbruglia in late 2002, and they married on New Year's Eve 2003. Johns has also done the side projects The Dissociatives as well as "I Can't Believe It's Not Rock" with dance musician Paul Mac. Some people have made the mistake of accidentally assuming that these two projects are the same, but they are in fact totally different in style and sound.

In late 2005 Daniel Johns and Silverchair joined up again and put to rest rumors of a split by announcing the production of a new album titled "Young Modern". The new album is set to be released in 2007, complete with a tour.

[edit] Trivia

• Is a vegan and animal rights advocate.
• Was once anorexic due to paranoia

[edit] External Links

• Daniel Johns at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview at animal-lib.org.au
• [1]

Persondata
NAME	Johns, Daniel Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Australian musician
DATE OF BIRTH	April 22, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH	Newcastle, Australia
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH