Jo Callis
| Jo Callis | |
|---|---|
 Jo Callis 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John William Callis |
| Born |
2 May 1951 Rotherham, England |
| Genres |
Punk rock New Wave Post-punk Synthpop |
| Occupations | Instrumentalist |
| Instruments | Synthesizer, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Various |
| Associated acts | The Rezillos, Shake, Boots For Dancing, The Human League |
John William Callis, known as Jo Callis (born 2 May 1951) is an English musician and songwriter who played guitar with the Edinburgh based punk rock band, The Rezillos (under the name Luke Warm), and post-punk band Boots For Dancing before joining The Human League.[1]
Biography
Callis was educated at the Edinburgh College of Art. The band played many gigs in Edinburgh and Glasgow and wore space suits and other hi-tech costumes etc.A friend of the band Jamie was good friends with Faye Fife and Jo Callis and he booked them for some gigs.[citation needed] He was a member of The Knutsford Dominators before forming The Rezillos in 1976.[1] He wrote the Rezillos' 1978 hit "Top of the Pops". In late 1978, after the release of the band's only album, The Rezillos split in two, with Callis forming Shake along with Simon Templar (born Simon Bloomfield) and Angel Patterson.[1] Shake released two singles before splitting, with Callis later joining Boots for Dancing. Callis released a solo single, "Woah Yeah!", in 1981 on the pop:Aural label,[2] and also joined The Human League, playing both keyboards and lead guitar and making contributions as a backing vocalist.[1] Callis co-wrote many tracks and following his departure from the band in 1986, he has returned several times either to play keyboard, or to offer help with songwriting.
In 1985 he teamed up with Feargal Sharkey to write Sharkey's "Loving You" which reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart.
Discography
- Can't Stand the Rezillos (1978) Sire SRK6057
- Mission Accomplished… But the Beat Goes On (1979) Sire 6069
- Can't Stand the Rezillos: The (Almost) Complete Rezillos (1993) Sire 9 26942-2
- Shake
- Culture Shock (EP, 1979) Sire 4016
- Dare (1981) Virgin V2192
- Love And Dancing (1982) Virgin OVED6
- Hysteria (1984) Virgin V2315
- Romantic? (1990) Virgin V2624, CDV2624
- Octopus (1995) Virgin V2391, CDV2391
- Greatest Hits (1996) Virgin HLC1, HLCD1
- The Very Best of The Human League (2003) Virgin HLCDX2
See also
- List of guitarists
- List of musicians who play left handed
- Bands and musicians from Yorkshire and North East England
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 130-1, 240
- ↑ Gimarc, George (2005) Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970-1982, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-848-6, p. 502