Jonathan Mark Thomas Noyce (born 15 July 1971) is an English musician. He is primarily 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. Noyce is known for being a member of British rock group Jethro Tull for 12 years, and also for his collaborations with guitarist

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...

, film composer

Daniel Pemberton Daniel Pemberton (born 3 November 1977) is an English composer and songwriter. Primarily working in film, television, and video games, he is best known for composing the scores for the film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' and its sequel ...

, the band

Archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

and French artist

Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...

. In 2018 he was awarded an ARAM by the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

Early life and education

Jonathan Noyce was born in

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. He grew up in the cathedral close of

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Chad in Lichfield, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Lichfield, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lichfield and the principal church of the diocese ...

where his father, Peter, was

choirmaster A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

and assistant

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

. Mother Jane was a

town planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...

. His first instrument was

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, later also

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

which became a stepping stone to the

. In his teens Jonathan studied formally, principally

classical percussion Orchestral percussion refers to the various percussion instruments used in an orchestral setting. It may also refer to the act of playing such instruments in an orchestral style. Many music schools and conservatories offer training for musicians ...

, which included classical

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

and

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...

, also classical

contrabass Contrabass (from ) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchestral string family ...

. His first paid gig with the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

was at the age of 18. He is a graduate of the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

Early career

Jonathan Noyce started working professionally whilst studying at the

in London. During this time he began to make a name as a studio musician, primarily with DJ Dave Lee, consequently enjoying his first commercial success with the British pop group

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

, for whom he supplied bass in the studio in 1993. In 1993, Jonathan's path crossed with that of former Jethro Tull band member

Dee Palmer Dee Palmer (formerly David Palmer; born 2 July 1937) is an English composer, arranger, and keyboardist best known for having been a member of the progressive rock group Jethro Tull from 1976 to 1980 (although she had worked with the band as an ...

whilst working on an orchestral version of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

, which was recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

with an orchestra from the

. As a direct result Jonathan was recruited to play on Jethro Tull guitarist

Martin Barre Martin Lancelot Barre (; born 17 November 1946) is an English guitarist best known for his longtime role as lead guitarist of British rock band Jethro Tull, with whom he recorded and toured from 1968 until the band's initial dissolution in 201 ...

's 1995 album The Meeting. Jethro Tull frontman

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician best known for being the chief vocalist, Flute, flautist, and acoustic guitarist of the British rock band Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist who also p ...

subsequently asked Noyce to join him on his

Divinities Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

world tour later that year. Noyce joined Jethro Tull in August 1995 following the departure of

Dave Pegg Dave Pegg (born 2 November 1947) is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk ...

Ongoing career

Outside of Jethro Tull, Noyce had a long establishment with guitarist

, joining him on the ''

Old New Ballads Blues ''Old, New, Ballads, Blues'' is the fifteenth solo album by Northern Irish blues guitarist and singer Gary Moore. Track listing Personnel * Gary Moore - guitars, vocals * Don Airey - keyboards * Jonathan Noyce - bass * Darrin Mooney Dar ...

'' album, One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott, a DVD/CD recording of the concert to commemorate the life of

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...

which featured members of

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

, and the release of Moore's final recorded show Live at Montreux 2010. In 2010 Noyce re-united with Gary Moore for his Summer of Rock shows throughout Europe. This band also included drummer and friend

Darrin Mooney Darrin Shane Mooney (born 26 April 1967) is an English musician and session drummer, best known for his work with Primal Scream and Gary Moore. Mooney started playing at the age of 12 at school. Mooney attended Raynes Park High School. Throughou ...

and, following a 21-year hiatus, keyboard and guitar player Neil Carter. This Celtic-Rock project came to an end with the sudden death of Moore on 6 February 2011. In 2007 Noyce joined the UK band

. On 1st and 2nd May 2009 Noyce played at two sold-out concerts at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, UK where Rick Wakeman performed the music from his progressive rock concept album 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII'. The two shows were recorded; a 2-CD copy of which were available for attendees to purchase at the end of each performance. Wakeman said that the general release CD and subsequent video were from the second night's concert, with no overdubs or editing. In 2010 Noyce had commercial successes with the release of French

's album '' Bleu Noir'', for which he supplied all the bass guitar tracks. He played for Love Amongst Ruin's debut gig at

Eurosonic Festival ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, the Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the f ...

in January 2010. In 2012 Noyce joined his old Jethro Tull bandmate

for live shows across Europe. In 2013 Noyce played on Martin Barre's solo album ''Away With Words''. The same year he had been joined

Sixto Rodriguez Sixto Diaz Rodríguez (July 10, 1942 – August 8, 2023), mononymously known as Rodríguez, was an American musician from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in Sou ...

for a run of shows that included the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

and

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

. In 2014 Noyce joined the

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. They were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of the members. All of the band members were multi-instrument ...

offshoot band Three Friends, featuring former members Gary Green and

Malcolm Mortimore Malcolm Paul Mortimore (born 16 June 1953 in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, England) is an English drummer and percussionist who has played with Arthur Brown (musician), Arthur Brown, Ian Dury, Herbie Flowers, Gentle Giant, Spike Heatley, ...

. Other work includes playing on the soundtracks to the films I Am Ali and

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and Illya Kuryakin, p ...

, the later with

released a film, Axiom, and returned to

to perform the soundtrack live. In 2015

's album Restriction features Noyce on

s. In 2016 Noyce played bass on the soundtrack of the film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword by

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

. The same year, he played on the album ''The False Foundation'' by

. In 2019, Noyce performed on the soundtrack of the film '' Yesterday''.

Style and equipment

Noyce likes to play a style which he calls 'stealth bass': "you can't hear it, but you feel it." He also described the bass guitar as his bands "secret weapon", due to its ability to provide rhythm as well as melody. His bass guitars have included a Yamaha BB1100s, a 1960

Fender Precision The Fender Precision Bass (or "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrument usually equ ...

, a

Music Man StingRay The Music Man StingRay is an electric bass originally made by Music Man. Introduced in 1976, the StingRay was co-designed by Leo Fender and followed a similar format to his namesake company's influential Precision Bass. The more notable des ...

and three custom-made

Wal WAL or Wal may refer to: Places * Wał, Lublin Voivodeship, village in eastern Poland * Wał, Masovian Voivodeship, village in east-central Poland Codes * Sierra Leone, country in West Africa, license plate code * Wales, constituent nation of ...

. Noyce is currently using a Yamaha BBP34 as his main instrument. His pedalboard was built and designed by Custom Chain Pedal Systems and includes a Boss OC2 custom modification by

Pete Cornish Pete Cornish is a British designer of electric guitar effects and other electronic musical instruments. He is mainly noted for his elaborate fully custom guitar pedalboard systems. He has worked for Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, T ...

, an Audio Kitchen Big Trees pre-amp, an RMI Basswitch switching unit, three distortion units and Lehle Mono volume and Sunday Driver buffer pedals. His live rig features a Skrydstrup custom preamp. In the studio he uses Radial Firefly, JDV and JDI

DI unit A DI unit (direct input or direct inject) is an electronic device typically used in recording studios and in sound reinforcement systems to connect a high output impedance unbalanced output signal to a low-impedance, microphone level, balanced ...

s. He uses the

Big Cheese A big cheese is a boss or other senior person, particularly in an organization. Big Cheese or The Big Cheese may also refer to: Arts and Entertainment Music * Big Cheese (band), an English straight edge hardcore punk band * "Big Cheese", a s ...

fuzzbox from

Lovetone Lovetone was a manufacturer of analog effect pedals in England in the 1990s and 2000s. The effects were created by Vlad Naslas and Daniel Coggins, and their pedals were noted for their tongue-in-cheek names like the "Big Cheese" and the "Ring S ...

. In addition to bass guitars, Noyce has also used the

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

and

Moog Taurus The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music. It was originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less pop ...

synthesizers for bass.

References

External links

Jonathan Noyce's page at MyspaceJethro Tull official websiteArtist Biography by Gary Hill
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noyce, Jonathan 1971 births People from Sutton Coldfield Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music English rock bass guitarists British male bass guitarists Jethro Tull (band) members The Gary Moore Band members 21st-century English bass guitarists