John Lees (Barclay James Harvest)

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John Lees (born 13 January 1947, in Oldham, Lancashire) is an English musician who founded the rock group Barclay James Harvest.

Educated at Robin Hill Secondary Modern and Breeze Hill School, Lees had no formal musical education, but took up playing the guitar when he was fourteen. Lees went on to study at Oldham School Of Art, where he met Stuart Woolly Wolstenholme in 1964. They played together in The Sorcerers, playing Eddie Cochran-style rock and roll, and in The Blues Keepers, before forming Barclay James Harvest in 1967. He also recorded a solo album, A Major Fancy, in 1972, but the release of this was tied up when the band changed record label. It was not released until 1977. Lees' musical influences include Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh and The Eagles.

Lees is now working as a Music Technician at Crompton House Church of England High School, inspiring the aspiring musicians of the school. He is currently involved with the production of the GCSE and A Level students` Music and Music Technology coursework.

John Lees' Barclay James Harvest played twelve concerts in the UK towards the end of 2006.

30/31/10/06 Milton Keynes
1/11/06 Newcastle
2/11/06 Edinburgh
3/11/06 Manchester
4/11/06 Leeds
5/11/06 London
7/11/06 Falmouth
8/11/06 Bristol
9/11/06 Norwich
10/11/06 Worthing
11/11/06 Colchester
12/11/06 Wolverhampton

[edit] Other Interests

Lees also enjoys reading, his favourite books being Graham Greene’s "A Burnt Out Case", science fiction novels (especially those of Ray Bradbury) and poetry. His hobbies include photography and amateur radio. He is also a property developer, which he has done for over 25 years.

[edit] Family

Lees currently lives in Saddleworth, a picturesque civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham with his wife, Olwen, and they have two children, Esther Jane (born 28 July 1980) and John Joseph (who shares his father’s birthday, being born on 13 January 1986), plus various pets including an African grey parrot called Fritz.