Jon (Jonathan) Davie (born 1954) is a

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

player with British

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

bands including Gryphon and Home Service. He was also, using the name John Thomas, a member of The Banned, a British

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

/ new wave band in the late 1970s. Born in Hampton, Middlesex, on 6 September 1954, Davie's professional career began when he joined Gryphon at the end of 1975, and played on the last studio album recorded by the band – ''Treason''. He joined as

Graeme Taylor Graeme Taylor (born 2 February 1954 in Stockwell, South-West London) is a British guitarist. Taylor played lead guitar with 1970s medieval/rock band Gryphon, then played with The Albion Band from 1976 until 1987, and forming folk-rock group ...

and Malcolm Bennett left the group as part of a significant re-shuffle of personnel. Davie remained in touch with Taylor during the next three years or so and, following the split-up of Gryphon, was introduced to Taylor's fellow

Albion Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, is a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. An important grouping in the genre, i ...

alumnus Ric Sanders (now a long-established member of

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

) who wanted to form a new jazz-influenced band with a fellow ex-member of

Soft Machine Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...

John Etheridge John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948) is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known fo ...

. This led to the formation of

2nd Vision 2nd Vision was a British jazz-rock band notable for including guitarist John Etheridge and violinist Ric Sanders, both former members of Soft Machine. It released the album ''First Steps'', which has been re-released on Blueprint Records (Voicep ...

who recorded the album ''First Steps'' for Chrysalis records in 1980. Davie was touring Europe with Dave Bristow (keyboards) and Mickey Barker (drums) as part of a jazz trio employed by Yamaha to showcase their instruments when Taylor once again appeared on the scene and asked Davie if he would care to join Home Service. As a fan the Albion Band that included

John Tams John Tams (born 16 February 1949) is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician born in Holbrook, Derbyshire, Holbrook, Derbyshire, the son of a Public house, publican. He first worked as a reporter for the ''Ripley, Derbyshire ...

and Michael Gregory, the offer was eagerly accepted. This led to an extended period of live work, both touring and as a member of what became almost a 'house band' at the National Theatre in London, appearing in productions of ''Dispatches'', ''

The Mysteries ''The Mysteries'' is a cycle of three medieval English mystery plays first presented at London's National Theatre in 1977 which tell a story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Background It is based largely on the Wakefield cycle of p ...

'' and ''Don Quixote''. Davie has performed and recorded with a diverse range of other artists including

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

Ivan Graziani Ivan Graziani (6 October 1945 – 1 January 1997) was an Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist. Biography Graziani was born in Teramo, Abruzzo. His first band was The Serogan, which he formed in 1963 with Giuseppe Canala, Bruno Tartaglia, a ...

, Andy Cronshaw,

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. ...

Martin Simpson Martin Stewart Simpson (born 5 May 1953) is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. He builds a purposeful, often upbeat voi ...

Gordon Giltrap Gordon Giltrap, MBE (born 6 April 1948) is an English guitarist and composer. His music crosses several genres. He has been described as "one of the most revered guitarists of his generation", and has drawn praise from fellow musicians including ...

John Harle John Crofton Harle (born 20 September 1956) is an English saxophonist, composer, record producer, conductor and educator. He is an Ivor Novello Award winner, has been the recipient of two Royal Television Society awards and has contributed dir ...

Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker (born Desmond Adolphus Dacres; 16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Ho ...

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...

, John B. Spencer,

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...

, Mauricio Venegas (as a member of Quimantu) and

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. Current projects include recording a new Gryphon album, live work with the singer/composer/producer Sandy McLelland, completion of an album with Dave Lambert (

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 ...

), Taylor and the violinist Tom Leary under the band name 'Zeus', and work on recently recovered live recordings of The Home Service. Several festival appearances were planned for The Home Service during summer 2011 and Davie was said to be making a one-off appearance with Quimantu in

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

, Italy.

References

Living people 1954 births British rock bass guitarists Gryphon (band) members Home Service members 2nd Vision members {{UK-bass-guitarist-stub