| John Wesley Harding | |
|---|---|
Wesley Stace in Paris, c. 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 22 October 1965 Hastings, East Sussex, England United Kingdom |
| Genres | Blues, Blues rock, Soul, World music, R&B |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter, author |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels | Sire/Warner Bros. Records |
Wesley Stace (born 22 October 1965) is a folk/pop singer-songwriter and author who goes by the stage name John Wesley Harding. He has called his style of music folk noir and gangsta folk. Under his real name, he has written three novels.
He was born in Hastings, East Sussex, England.
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His given name, Wesley, comes from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, who preached one of his last sermons in the town where Harding was born.
His stage name is the same as the Bob Dylan 1967 album (and song) John Wesley Harding, for which Bob Dylan misspelled the outlaw John Wesley Hardin's name, adding a final 'g'.
His education included the boarding school St. Andrews School (Pangbourne, Berkshire); Milbourne Lodge (Claygate, Surrey); The King's School Canterbury; and university at Jesus College, Cambridge. He left Cambridge with a First in English Literature, but left before completing his Ph.D. in Social and Political Science. Since 1991, Harding has lived in the United States, most recently in Philadelphia. His sister,[1] Melanie Stace, is a performing artist.
Harding most often plays solo, or as a duo, but has also done concerts with various backing bands: The Good Liars, The Family Values, The Radical Gentlemen and band in NYC called The English UK. His work includes "I'm Wrong About Everything", which was included on the soundtrack for High Fidelity. He has also covered the Madonna song, "Like a Prayer". Harding has released 15 albums, including 2009's Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead which he recorded with The Minus 5. A new album, which he recorded with The Decemberists is due in 2011.
Harding was chosen by Bruce Springsteen as his first opening act in 20 years for his solo shows at the Berkeley Community Theatre in 1995.
In 2005, he published his first novel, Misfortune, under his real name, Wesley Stace. It was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award, and shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Misfortune was also chosen by Amazon.com as one of the Ten Best Novels of 2005, and was one of the Washington Post's Books of the Year. Misfortune, translated as L'infortunée, became a bestseller in France, and has also been translated into many languages including Hebrew, Chinese, and Japanese. The movie rights to "Misfortune" were sold in 2008. His 2005 album Songs of Misfortune comprises songs written for, or appearing in, that book.
His second novel, By George, was published in August 2007; it was one of the New York Public Library's "Books To Remember" of 2007, and Booklist Editor's Choice for books of the year. A third, Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer was published by Jonathan Cape in the UK in July 2010 and Picador, USA, Feb 2011.
Harding reviews for the Times Literary Supplement. Other writings include chapbooks for some of his albums, and essays for various music publications from Creem to Raygun. His essay, "Listerine: The Life and Opinions of Laurence Sterne," published in Post Road #5, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
His series of "Cabinet of Wonders" variety shows in spring 2009 in New York City at Le Poisson Rouge includes appearances by Rosanne Cash, Graham Parker, Josh Ritter, Rick Moody, Colson Whitehead, and Jonathan Ames. It's "a brilliant evening of laid-back fun" (Village Voice) and "one of the most whip-smart variety shows on the market" (Portland Tribune). Another series in the fall of 2009 at the same venue featured, among others: A.C. Newman, Rhett Miller, Steven Page, Eugene Mirman, David Gates, John Roderick, Jon Auer, Tanya Donelly, Martha Plimpton, Todd Barry, Steve Almond, and Stephen Elliott. The spring 2010 series featured, among others, Sarah Vowell, Sondre Lerche, Buffalo Tom, Janeane Garofalo, Robbie Fulks, Paul Muldoon. Some of the artists in the 2011 series, at the City Winery, were Andrew Bird, Tift Merritt, and David Wax Museum.
Harding is an artist-in-residence at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he curates the Words & Music Festival. On May 6, 2010, the Festival ended with "Jersey Rain: Robert Pinsky and Bruce Springsteen in conversation with John Wesley Harding" in the Dreyfuss Theater. The series also included a presentation by Harding and Paul Muldoon on their collaboration.
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Modern Rock | |||
| 1990 | "The Devil in Me" | 17 | Here Comes the Groom |
| 1991 | "The Person You Are" | 8 | The Name Above the Title |
| "The People's Drug" | 29 |
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