Norman Fisher-Jones

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Norman Fisher-Jones (also known primarily as Noko, which he will be referred to henceforth) is a multi-instrumentalist musician who was born in Liverpool (UK). His first works dealt primarily with the support of other bands as a guitarist, whereas later on he partook as a set member within various bands. In chronological order and summary, these most notable were:

The Umbrella
Luxuria
Apollo 440 and Stealth Sonic Soul (current)
Fast (band)
Maximum Roach
James Maker and Noko 440 (also known as Frankenstein)

The name Noko was adopted after his move to London and was presumbly chosen as it sounded rather more 'rock'n'roll' than his hyphenated given name. Although sounding Japanese, it has no meaning in the language. The Japanese word nokogiri (a saw) may have caught Noko's eye at a later date, as the logo of Luxuria includes a circular saw.

[edit] Biography

His first appearance as a fixed member of a band was in 1985, with the band The Umbrella, consistent of Noko (guitar and vocals), Simon Hoare (drums), Mark Sanderson (bass) and James Gardner. The band released a total of three songs before folding, which were released on an EP called Make Hell (For The Beautiful People).

Thenceforth he was seen in Pete Shelley's The Pete Shelley Group for a couple of months, until the association with the ex-Buzzcocks member got Noko the attention of Howard Devoto. There are many myths ranking around how exactly the first meeting took place, ranging from absurdly comical to realistic, most of which were distributed freely in interviews by the two themselves, but regardless which of these holds truth, the two came together to form the band Luxuria in 1986.

When Luxuria folded in 1990, Noko formed a new band together with his friends Trevor Gray and Howard Gray whom he knew from school, as well as with James Gardner (again) to form Apollo 440 and the record label Stealth Sonic Recordings (later distributed by Sony Music).

Since then, this band has continued to exist, but has not been Noko's sole form of artistry. 2004 saw him in a two-man band with James Maker which was at first called Frankenstein, but was later renamed to James Maker and Noko 440. The band released only one EP via Attack (I'm Unbearable / Born That Way) and the two musicians parted early 2005.

[edit] Other appearances

It is hard to track exactly where Noko has been involved in since Luxuria. He sports various nicknames and has, in the past, created entire fictional bands, for example the E-Z Drum & Bass Orchestra, of which a fake band member photography is circulating the internet, and where he primarily identifies with the apparently Uruguayan Frederick Pasquan. It should be stressed that neither the band nor Frederick ever existed, but that tracks have been released using that name.

Norman performed with English rock band The Cure in 1984 in some TV appearances and shows.

Perhaps also of notice is that Noko played bass in 1991 on the Total Abandon EP by Heart Throbs, a group from Reading who folded in 1993. In the same year he played abstract guitar on the song Ventriloquists and Dolls from Momus's album Hippopotamomus.

Additionally, his exact relation with Johnny Potatohead is not known, but it is widely assumed that this is another of his chosen pseudonyms, as no further evidence exists and he certainly was involved in the recording and production of the works released as JP.