Johnny Borrell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Johnny Borrell | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Jonathan Edward Borrell | |
| Born | April 4, 1980 (age 26) | |
| Origin |  London, England |
|
| Genre(s) | Indie rock | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar Vocals Bass |
|
| Associated acts |
Razorlight | |
| Notable instrument(s) | ||
| Gibson L6S Custom and Deluxe | ||
Johnny Borrell (born Jonathan Edward Borrell, 4 April 1980, in Muswell Hill, London, England) is the 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, and attended first St. Anthony's school on Arkwright road, where Alex went to school, and then Highgate School, an expensive public school, with John Hassall, former bassist of The Libertines and frontman of Yeti. He currently resides in the Hampstead Heath area. He went on to form Razorlight with Carl Dalemo, Christian Smith Pancorvo (Later exchanged for Andy Burrows) 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" just 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.[1] 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.[2] 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. Borrell is said to be dating American actress Kirsten Dunst. The pair began a relationship in Early March 2007.
[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 gay 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 their music is 'shit' and the lead singer 'boring'. In an interview with the popular music magazine NME Borrell is quoted as saying "He models his style on me. And that record is the most horrible thing I've ever heard. It sounds like the band are literally rolling over, sticking their arse in the air and begging Radio 1 to fuck them. I heard their single on the radio the other day and it sounds like fucking Avril Lavigne! If he can live with himself after that production, and if he feels like he has to slag people off to keep up, then I'm sure his nights are long and those moments of doubt are really painful. So fuck The Kooks. Fuck 'em!" [3]" 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 band's second album.
Borrell also said that he believed Razorlight were better than the Arctic Monkeys.
[edit] Borrell and Keane
In late 2006, Tim Rice-Oxley, pianist and composer of the British band Keane, declared their song "The Frog Prince" to be a criticism of Borrell.[citation needed]
[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.
- He supports Chelsea Football Club.
- 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. [3]
- He has been romantically linked to Uruguayan-born singer Fabiola Gatti [4] and Kirsten Dunst [5].
[edit] References
- Welsh, Pete (2005). Kids in the Riot: High and Low with the Libertines. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-716-X.
[edit] External links
| Razorlight |
|---|
| Johnny Borrell | Björn Ågren | Carl Dalemo | Andy Burrows |
| Discography |
| Albums: Up All Night | Razorlight |
| Singles: "Rock ‘N’ Roll Lies" | "Rip It Up" | "Stumble and Fall" | "Golden Touch" | "Vice" | "Somewhere Else" "In the Morning" | "America" | "Before I Fall to Pieces" | "I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got" |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Borrell, Johnny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | English rock singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1980 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Muswell Hill, London, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
