Johnny Borrell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Johnny Borrell | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Born | April 4, 1980 | |
| Origin |  London, England, United Kingdom |
|
| Genre(s) | Indie rock Post-punk revival |
|
| Occupation(s) | Musician | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar Vocals Bass |
|
| Associated acts |
Razorlight | |
| Notable instrument(s) | ||
| Gibson L6S | ||
Johnny Borrell (born April 4, 1980) is the frontman, guitarist and songwriter of English band Razorlight.
Contents |
[edit] Life and career
He grew up in and around the city of London, in Muswell Hill, where he currently resides, and attended Highgate School, a wealthy public school, with John Hassall, former bassist of The Libertines and frontman of Yeti and went on to form Razorlight with Carl Dalemo, Christian Smith Pancorvo and Björn Ågren. After a string of top twenty hits including "Golden Touch", their debut album Up All Night charted at number 3 in the UK, and stop-gap single "Somewhere Else" narrowly missed out on the number 1 spot. Their self-titled follow-up album was released July 17, 2006, and debuted at number 1 in the UK album chart, giving the band their first release to top the chart. Johnny and Razorlight scored their first UK number 1 with "America" on the 8th of October '06.
[edit] Reputation and controversy
Borrell is notorious for his arrogant attitude towards the press and is famous for his proclamations of his own abilities. However, like many other artists who come across negatively in NME interviews, Borrell and supporters have accused the magazine of misrepresentation and emphasising quotes out of context. Interviewers have recently alluded to tension between Borrell and the two Swedish members of the band, one of whom claims Borrell spends little time with them.
At the age of 17 Johnny spent every day injecting himself with heroin before ditching the needle in favour of pursuing his music goals. He alternated between "smack and coke" when he was 17 working in London, before he realized he needed to clean-up his act if has going to score to success as a rock frontman.
He says, "I smoked my first joint when I was 13 and I was taking a lot of acid, which I gave up by 16.
"I was 17 when I first tried heroin. That was a couple of years. I used to work in Camden Market and you'd make your money in the day, then get some smack and coke. The coke would run out but the smack wouldn't.
"It got to the point where it started taking over. Every day you're looking in the mirror, wondering why you're sticking a needle in your arm."
[edit] Borrell and The Libertines
Borrell is one of "The Dalston Set", a clique of indie notables connected to the early days of the London scene of the early 2000s, along with Dominic Masters of The Others, Pete Doherty, Carl Barât, John Hassall and the Queens of Noize. It has been reported that he was briefly a stand-in bassist for The Libertines before they were signed, but in recent interviews he has claimed that this is not true. In Pete Welsh's Kids in the Riot, it is alleged that Borrell was sacked as The Libertines' bassist for unreliable behaviour and not turning up to gigs, but in general there is little animosity between the two bands, and Borrell remains friends with Carl Barât. The Libertines' song "The Boy Looked At Johnny" is reputedly about Borrell, and Razorlight album track "Don't Go Back To Dalston" is reputedly directed at Pete Doherty, telling him to curtail his drug habit. Another Razorlight song talking about curtailing a drug habit is "Up All Night" which is largely misinterpreted as being a love song. However, it was recently reported that his former friend Pete Doherty headbutted him backstage at the Leeds Festival.
[edit] Borrell and The Kooks
In the May 17, 2006 issue of the NME, Borrell became embroiled in a spat with fellow NME favourites The Kooks, as a result of his remarks that "The Kooks sound like they're rolling over and begging Radio 1 to fuck them", implying that The Kooks had "sold out" to the commercial music industry by signing to Virgin Records and adjusting their sound to become more marketable. Ironically, Radio 1 had held a "Razorlight week" recently before that to coincide with and promote the bands second album.
Borrell also said that he believed Razorlight were better than the Arctic Monkeys.
[edit] Borrell and America
It is alleged that the number one single and most successful release to date "America" had its lyrics written entirely by drummer Andy Burrows but that they had to agree to a 'co-write' even though Borrell had no input. Management at first backed Burrows, pointing out that he had written the song and that it was sure to be a huge hit, however sources close to the band have intimated that Borrell's response was to refuse to record his vocals until his demands were met. Because of this it was the last song on the album to be recorded and delayed it's release date. Vocals were only performed when the drummer was forced to give in to the singer's demands that it be credited to both of them.
[edit] Trivia
- In Razorlight's 2004 release Up All Night, Borrell recorded the number of the company Vice into the track "Vice." The number has been quoted as 07761-010-233, though the authenticity of this number has been disputed. In the video for the track, Borrell is seen in a phone box with adverts for prostitutes on the walls, as can be seen across many London phoneboxes. The telephone number for every advert on the wall is also 07761-010-233.
- Borrell is a big fan of cricket and a member of Middlesex County Cricket Club. His career ambition is to average 35.00 in village cricket. [1]
- He has been linked to the glossy Uruguayan-born singer Fabiola Gatti; and, in true rock-star fashion, he got together with Lisa Moorish but only to record a version of the Pogues' Fairytale of New York.
- The song "The Frog Prince" by Keane is about him.
- Johnny Borrell has obtained a split reputation after his outgoing comments, and is obtaining a status similar in some ways to that of Pete Doherty
[edit] References
- Welsh, Pete (2005). Kids in the Riot: High and Low with the Libertines. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-716-X.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Borrell, Johnny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | British rock singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1980 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Muswell Hill, London, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
