Born in Paddock Wood in Kent and brought up in Charlton, south east London during the 60s, Johnny’s early musical influences were the bands that influenced so many others, including the Beatles and the Kinks. While working as an apprentice toolmaker in the early 1970s, Johnny became friends with two guys heavily into 50s rock and roll. This led him towards the music of Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Johnny Burnette.
His friends introduced him to the Fishmongers Arms public house in Wood Green, London, where he first saw acts such as Shakin Stevens and the Sunsets. Once he’d seen “Shaky” in action, Johnny knew what he wanted to do – front a rock and roll band and write his own songs.
Johnny took a break from the rock ‘n’ roll circuit for a couple of years and formed Wild Things, an R & B band, in 1977. The band attracted enough attention to warrant some write-ups in the music journal NME. It had been an enjoyable musical change of direction, but Johnny was tempted back to rock and roll, returning to front Johnny and the Jailbirds for a few more years, again touring the European rock ‘n’ roll circuit. The band signed with Charly Records in 1979 and their album ‘Out on Bail’ sold well on the back of the tour, particularly in Scandinavia.
Johnny’s solo career began in 1998 and he built a strong following under the stage name of Johnny Red. Johnny’s change of musical direction on his latest album, ‘Talk to Me’, led to the change of stage name from Red to Rey. Although the album contains a couple of rockin’ tracks that Johnny’s existing fans will associate him with, it has taken the singer into new musical territory, with a selection of different styles that have pushed his singing talents to another level.
Songwriter Ronnie Harwood mentioned some songs he’d written and these influenced Johnny to explore a new musical direction. The album that emerged from this was recorded at Edsongs in north London, over a period of 13 months. It was originally planned to do just three tracks for a single, but it developed into a full album of 13 tracks. Johnny’s version of the million-selling hit ‘You Drive Me Crazy’, a huge hit for Shakin Stevens, is to be found in a new arrangement that successfully fuses a little caribbean style into this 80’s classic.