John Miles (musician)

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John Miles (born John Ashford Miles, 23 April 1949 in Jarrow, Tyne & Wear, England) is an English vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player, best known for his 1976 Top 3 UK hit single, "Music".

[edit] Career

He was a member of the bands 'The Influence' ( which also included Paul Thompson, later drummer with Roxy Music and Vic Malcolm, later lead guitarist with Geordie) and 'The John Miles Set', before starting his solo career in 1971.

During the 1970s he issued eighteen singles and four albums, including Rebel (1976), Stranger In The City (1977), and Zaragon (1978). However, Miles had most success with singles; in addition to "Music", he also charted with "Highfly" (1975), "Remember Yesterday" (1976), and "Slow Down" (1977). Most of his songs were co-written with his bassist, Bob Marshall.

Miles has toured with Tina Turner, often filling in for Bryan Adams when the latter was unavailable to join her on tour for their duet. Miles is also a frequent guest vocalist on albums by the Alan Parsons Project.

In the 1980s he continued to record and tour. In 1983 a new radio station in the South of England, Radio Mercury, used parts from the song "Music" for their link jingles. The actual song itself also received extensive airplay on the station, leading one to speculate this was perhaps part of a deal for the usage in their jingles.^{[citation needed]}

Throughout the late 1980s and into the 1990s Miles was musical director to Tina Turner on her various tours, and played on several of her albums. He also played Hammond organ on Joe Cocker's album Night Calls (1992). Today he is still making music, which he famously refers to as his "first love".

In 2002 he issued the DVD "John Miles - Live In Concert".