John Lawton needs no introduction. A talented musician, singer and songwriter, he is best known as a member of the band Uriah Heep. He was not a part of the world-famous group for long, but these three years that John gave to the team definitely had a positive effect on the development of the group.
Childhood and youth of John Lawton
He was born in early July 1946. He spent his childhood in the small town of Halifax. By the way, the full name of the rocker sounds like John Cooper Lawton. The main hobby of the guy in his teenage years was music.
He soon joined The Deans. The band members were pleasantly surprised by John Lawton's baritone. By voting, the young man became the main vocalist of the team.
He loved the blues. But, those groups in which he began his creative career encouraged him to take higher notes, which was unnatural for his voice.
The creative path of John Lawton
The professional career of the artist started at the beginning of the 70th year of the last century. John worked in two teams. In the group Lucifer's Friend, he, along with the rest of the musicians, worked in the style of mystical prog-rock. At Les Humphries Singers, he took part in the creation of tracks that played on the best dance floors in the world.
Since the mid-70s, he has become part of the cult group Uriah Heep. From this period of time, his popularity inexorably begins to grow. A couple of years later, John will unofficially become one of the most important musicians in the UK. He took part in the recording of four LPs.
After leaving the group, there were many solo projects in his creative biography, but he failed to return to his former popularity. There were times when he was completely forgotten. But, in this case, music saved from the onset of depression. John made his living from commercial jingles.
In the new millennium, he acted as the narrator of a series of documentaries. It should be noted that the film was accompanied by the tracks of the debut LP Mamonama.
Years later, he tried his hand at cinematography. John appeared on the set of the movie Love.net. The artist did an excellent job with the task that the director set for him.
Details of the personal life of the artist John Lawton
At the end of the 70s of the last century, he married a girl named Iris Melis. He met a charming German woman 10 years ago, but only at that time he matured in order to burden himself with marriage.
By the way, the musician's biographers are sure that it was because of the woman that John's career in Uriah Heep did not work out. An artist inexperienced in love affairs, he took a woman with him everywhere. She toured with the musician and often visited the recording studio.
Iris, who did not understand anything in music, gave her husband advice on how he should act. The rest of the team, Melis's advice, was taken sharply. They thought that she wanted to take their group into her own hands. At this stage, the rockers chose to say goodbye to John.
John adored his wife and followed her. Unlike many rockers, he chose a quiet lifestyle for himself. He lived with Iris until his death. In this marriage, the couple raised two children.
Interesting facts about the musician
- In the mid-70s, the artist performed at the international song contest "Eurovision". Note that at that time he was part of the Humphries Singers.
- He legalized relations with his wife right on his 31st birthday.
- In 1994 Lawton formed his own group GunHill, which did not bring him success.
Death of John Lawton
He passed away on June 29, 2021. He did not live to see his birthday for only a few weeks. The news of the death of the artist appeared on the official website of the rock band, which brought him popularity.
In the last days of his life, his wife was next to John. These days, John managed to tell his wife that he wants the funeral ceremony to take place exclusively in the circle of relatives.
