Jowe Head (born Stephen Bird) is a British guitarist, singer, and visual artist, who was a member of
Swell Maps
Swell Maps was an English experimental DIY, early punk and post-punk rock group from Birmingham, England active in various forms between 1972 and 1980. Influenced by bands such as T. Rex and German krautrock groups such as Can and Faust, ...
before joining the
Television Personalities
The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...
. He has also released a large amount of material as a solo artist and as leader of groups such as Househunters and Palookas.
Biography
Jowe Head (the stage name derived from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
slang for "weirdo")
[An Interview with Jowe Head]
, ''The Big Untidy'', July 2009 was born Stephen John Bird in 1956 in
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...
, Worcestershire, and moved to
Solihull
Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
at an early age.
He started playing in 1973 with
Nikki Sudden
Adrian Nicholas Godfrey (19 July 195626 March 2006), known professionally as Nikki Sudden, was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother, Epic Soundtracks, while attending ...
,
Epic Soundtracks
Epic Soundtracks was the stage name of the British musician Kevin Paul Godfrey (23 March 1959 – 6 November 1997). Born in Croydon, Surrey, he was brought up in Solihull, West Midlands with his brother Adrian Nicholas Godfrey, who was known a ...
and Phones Sportsman in a loose collective that later became known as Swell Maps. He also played with Epic Soundtracks and Ken Spiers (later better known as
Spizz) in another local band.
[Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Alternative Rock'', Miller Freeman, , p.671] With Swell Maps he recorded numerous singles (some under the guise of the Phones Sportsman Band and also backing The Cult Figures) and two albums, before the band split up in 1980.
He then embarked on a solo career, releasing his debut album, ''Pincer Movement'', in 1982.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 158-160] In the mid-1980s he formed a new band, The Palookas, which ran in parallel to his other projects until 1989, and joined the Television Personalities in 1983, staying with the band for the next ten years.
His second solo album, ''Strawberry Deutschmark'', was issued in February 1986, featuring contributions from two of his former-Swell Maps colleagues, and singer
Carmel
Carmel may refer to:
* Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea
* Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
* Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order
Carmel may also ...
.
He then led a new band, The Househunters, releasing three singles and an album, ''Feeding Frenzy'', between 1986 and 1988, before again recording as a solo artist.
''The Jowe Head Personal Organizer'' was released in 1988. A collection of his work, ''Unhinged'', was issued by Overground Records in 1994. After playing bass in Long Decline, he formed Angel Racing Food.
In 2008 he formed Jowe Head and the Demi-Monde, releasing three albums on Topplers Records, with a line-up including Lee McFadden, Catherine Gerbrands, Jeff Bloom, Marina Young and Jane Ruby. Contributing musicians included Phil Martin, Chloe Herrington, Kate Newell and Heath Stanley. By 2012, the line-up consisted of Jowe and Catherine with Tim Bowen on cello and Ravi Low-Beer on drums.
Following the demise of The Demi-Monde in 2015, Jowe collaborated with other musicians in three projects: Firstly he played synthesiser and various self built devices with Rude Mechanicals, and contributed songs to their repertoire. Secondly, Infernal Contraption, featuring Catherine and Ravi, plus Cos Chapman (of Rude Mechanicals and Alternative TV) and Lee McFadden (of Cult Figures). He also formed a duo called Eleventh Hour Adventists, with Jasmine Pender (of Rotten Bliss).
Discography
''See also
Swell Maps
Swell Maps was an English experimental DIY, early punk and post-punk rock group from Birmingham, England active in various forms between 1972 and 1980. Influenced by bands such as T. Rex and German krautrock groups such as Can and Faust, ...
and
Television Personalities
The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...
.''
Jowe Head
Albums
*''Pincer Movement'' (1982), Hedonics
*''Strawberry Deutschmark'' (1986),
Constrictor
*''The Jowe Head Personal Organizer'' (1988), Hollow Planet
*''Unhinged'' (1994), Overground
*"From a Parallel Universe" (2006) Topplers
"Cabinet of Curios" (2017) Munster (double LP compilation)
Singles
*"Sudden Shower" (1988), Hollow Planet
*''The Legendary'' EP (1991), Small
Compilations
*"Classical Music" (1989), Constrictor
*"Falling Uphill" (2004), Windless Air Music
Soundtracks and Head
Albums
*''Daga Daga Daga'' (2024), Glass Modern
Singles
*''Rain, Rain, Rain'' (1982), Rough Trade
The Long Decline
Albums
*"Decomposure" (2006), Sniffin' Glue Records
Househunters
Albums
*''Feeding Frenzy'' (1988), Hollow Planet
Singles
*"Cuticles" (1986), 53rd & 3rd
*"Cooler Than Thou" (1988), 53rd & 3rd
*"Warp Factor 13" (1988), Hollow Planet
Palookas
Albums
*''Gift'' (1986), Constrictor
*''Dump'' (1987), Constrictor
*''Hit The Bottle'' (1988), Constrictor
*"Schmalookas" (1991), Historia
Rectify(2012)available on downloads
Singles
*"Clear Day" (1985), Prophet
*"I Want to Be Free" (1987), Constrictor
*"Run Rabbit" (1987), Hollow Planet
Angel Racing Food
Albums
*''Angel Racing Food'' (2009), Topplers
Singles
*"Venus Bigfoot" (2003),
Little Teddy Recordings
Little Teddy Recordings is an Austro-German independent record label based in Munich, Germany
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-la ...
Jowe Head and the Demi-Monde
*"Diabolical Liberties" (2010), Topplers
*"Tales from a Twisted Tower" (2013), Topplers
*"Visionaries" (2015), Topplers
References
External links
*
Jowe Headat televisionpersonalities.co.uk
trakmarx.com
Rude Mechanicalsone of his current projects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Jowe
English bass guitarists
English male guitarists
British male bass guitarists
People from Kidderminster
People from Solihull
1956 births
Living people