Bridget St John (born Bridget Anne Hobbs; 4 October 1946 in East Molesey,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for the three albums she recorded between 1969 and 1972 for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

's Dandelion record label. Peel produced her debut album, ''Ask Me No Questions''. She also recorded a large number of

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

and

Peel session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

s and toured regularly on the British college and festival circuit. St John appeared at leading folk venues in the UK, along with other folk and pop luminaries of the time such as Nick Drake,

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

, and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, among others.Brumbaugh, Sam
"Bridget St John, Interview"
''

Chickfactor Gail O'Hara is an American editor, writer, photographer, recording label owner and filmmaker. She has worked at the ''Washington City Paper'', ''SPIN'', ''Time Out New York'', ''ELLEgirl'', ''EW'', Modern Painters, Kinfolk and other publications ...

'' No. 12, 1999. In 1974 she was voted fifth most popular female singer in that year's ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' readers poll.Richardson, Anna, unidentified article, ''Cumberland News'', 2007; reproduced within the of St John's previous website. Blessed with a "rich cello-like" vocal style, she is also an accomplished guitar player who credits John Martyn and Michael Chapman as her "musical brothers".Davies, Gill
"Celtic Connections Festival 2012-Bridget St John"
, BBC. Retrieved 29 May 2013.

Biography

Early life

St John grew up in a musical household where her mother and sisters were all accomplished pianists.Greenhorn, Meg
"Bridget St John – Interview"
''

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

'', 19 April 2009. She took piano lessons at her mother's behest, but she did not get along with her teacher and quit when she was 11. After studying the viola for two years and then the trumpet for two years, St John bought a guitar with £20 her grandmother gave her shortly before she finished high school. Her first performances were at

Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...

in 1964–5, and her very first "proper gig" was at a pub in

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

. In 1967, St John spent three months in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

as part of her French studies. During this period she met American singer-songwriter Robin Frederick.

Solo career, 1968–1974

When it was time to return to England, St John travelled back to London with Robin Frederick. It was through Frederick that St John met John Martyn when he was living in Richmond. He was instrumental in getting St John's music out to a larger audience. In 1968, a poet friend of theirs, Pete Roche, put St John in touch with

for his "Nightride" radio show. St John's first recording sessions for Peel were recorded by

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...

in 1968 on Stewart's ReVox. The four songs she recorded were released on ''John Peel Presents Top Gear'', Peel's 1969 compilation of

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

demos. The four songs were: "The River" (written by Martyn), "Song To Keep You Company" (written by St John), "Night In The City" (written by

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

), and "Lazarus" (traditional). Peel and Clive Selwood formed Dandelion initially to release St John's music. St John's 1969 debut album for Dandelion, ''Ask Me No Questions'', was produced by Peel and recorded in nine to ten hours.Adams, Owen
"Label of love: Dandelion Records"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 7 October 2009. "Curl Your Toes" and "Ask Me No Questions" featured Martyn on second guitar.

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

reviewing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called the album "music for wandering through meadows on overcast days". In 1970, St John recorded a vocal duet with

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely asso ...

on "The Oyster and the Flying Fish" for his '' Shooting at the Moon'' release. Her second album, '' Songs for the Gentle Man'', was produced by Ron Geesin and released in 1971. This album was a significant step up from her debut, and contained string arrangements mostly by Geesin himself, particularly striking on the opening track "A Day A Way" and "Seagull- Sunday." Her third album ''Thank You For...'', released in 1972, was even more ambitious and used more musicians with a folk-rock sound. The album was her last album for John Peel's Dandelion label, however, which folded due to its artists' lack of commercial success. St John's adventurous fourth album ''Jumblequeen'', released through Chrysalis Records in 1974, garnered critical praise in '' Spare Rib''.

Later years, 1975–present

St John emigrated to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

in 1976 and virtually disappeared from the public eye for over 20 years. She took part in the

Strawbs The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known for their hi ...

25th Anniversary festival held in 1993. St John released a 'come-back' album in 1996, ''Take The Fifth'' and appeared at a Nick Drake tribute concert in New York City in 1999. She toured Japan in 2006 with the minimalist French musician Colleen, and appeared with the Electric Strawbs in the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill (NYC) on 27 June 2007. Aside from work under her own name, St John has recorded with

Mike Oldfield Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a gu ...

on his albums ''

Ommadawn ''Ommadawn'' is the third studio album by English musician, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 7 November 1975 on Virgin Records. ''Ommadawn'' peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart, No. 74 in Canada, and No. 146 on ...

'' (1975) and '' Amarok'' (1990), and with

and Robin Frederick. In 2007 she reunited with Ayers to record "Baby Come Home" on his album '' The Unfairground''. In 2008 she married Gordon Edwards, who served as the bass player for the 1970s jazz-funk band

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

. St John has toured with Michael Chapman, and in 2016 she recorded with Chapman for his ''50'' release. She was described by John Peel as "the best lady singer-songwriter in the country". St John's song ''Back to Stay'' is the opening credits soundtrack of the 2017 Korean film '' The Cage'' by Iranian-German director Lior Shamriz, lip-synced by queer Korean

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

. St John recorded the song "Fly" for '' Mojo'' magazine's Nick Drake compilation album, ''Green Leaves: Nick Drake Covered'' (cover dated March 2018). St John supported Will Sheff (

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...

) on the song "Tommy McHugh" released in 2023.

Discography

Albums

*''Ask Me No Questions'' (Dandelion) 1969 *'' Songs for the Gentle Man'' (Dandelion) 1971 *''Thank You For...'' (Dandelion) 1972 [reissued in 1995 on See For Miles with eight bonus tracks, recorded live at Montreux, Switzerland, 28 April 1972. Released in 2005 on Cherry Red with 10 bonus tracks, eight of which are the live Montreux recordings] *''Jumblequeen'' (Chrysalis) 1974 [reissued in 1995 on BGO with four bonus tracks. Reissued in 2006 on Hux with three bonus tracks]

Compilation and live albums

*''John Peel Presents Top Gear'' (BBC) 1969 includes four tracks by Bridget St John *''Take the 5ifth'' (The Road Goes On Forever) 1996 *''BBC Radio 1968–1976'' (Hux) 2010 – 2 CDs *''Hello Again: A Collection Of Rare Tracks'' (P-Vine) 2010 *''A Pocketful of Starlight: Best Of Bridget St John'' (Cherry Red) 2013 *''Dandelion Albums & BBC Recordings'' (Cherry Red) 2015 – four CDs (first three albums plus BBC Recordings 1968–1972) *''Fly High: A Collection of Album Highlights, Singles and B-Sides, Demos, Live Recordings, Sessions and Interviews'' (Cherry Red) 2016 – Double CD *''From There/To Here: UK/US Recordings 1974–1982'' (Cherry Red) August 26, 2022 – 3 CDs: ''Jumblequeen'' (with bonus tracks), ''Take The 5ifth'' (with bonus tracks), ''New York Sessions'' (previously unreleased).

References

External links

*
Interview
Terrascope.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:St John, Bridget 1946 births Living people 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English guitarists 20th-century women guitarists 21st-century English women musicians 21st-century English guitarists 21st-century British women guitarists British women folk musicians British women folk singers Chrysalis Records artists Dandelion Records artists English folk singers English singer-songwriters English women singer-songwriters Musicians from Surrey English folk rock musicians