John Otway and his band will be performing at The Platform in Morecambe on Friday 8 February.
John became notorious back in 1977, after an appearance on the the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test with his former partner, Wild Willy Barrett. He had leapt astride Wild Willy’s amplifier and lost his footing. One leg slipped on one side of the sturdy wooden piece of musical equipment and the other leg down the other. The whole weight of Otway’s body crashed down on his most delicate parts.
This sort of behaviour went down exceedingly well with the punk audiences of the time. Otway was rewarded with a recording contract – worth a million in today’s money – his first hit and a sizeable live audience. Over the years his following steadily grew and by 1988 he was able to boast that ticket touts were doing a roaring trade for his show at the Albert Hall.
Subsequently to this, as a run up to the Millenium, the BBC ran a poll to find the nation’s favourite song lyric from the last 2000 years. Otway was as shocked as many other to discover that “Beware of the Flowers Cause I’m Sure They’re Going To Get You, Yeah” – the B-side to his first hit – was voted Number 7, coming above artists like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.
Over the years, John’s fan base has remained loyal and 25 years after his first hit “Cor Baby That’s Really Free” he had his second hit and was finally in the Top Ten in 2002 with “Bunsen Burner“, appearing on Top of The Pops for the first time.
John last performed in Morecambe at the Platform as part of the Punk Festival, where he played to a very enthusiastic full house.
• The show will start at 8pm and tickets cost £12 adults, £11 concessions, and are available from the Box Office on 01524 582803.