Biography
John Lees (born in Oldham on 13 January 1947) is an English musician who co-founded the rock band Barclay James Harvest.
Lees had no formal musical education, but took up guitar when he was fourteen. Educated at Robin Hill Secondary Modern and Breeze Hill Comprehensive, He went on to study at Oldham School Of Art, where he met Woolly Wolstenholme in 1964. They played together in the Sorcerers, playing Eddie Cochran-style rock and roll, and in The Blues Keepers, before forming Barclay James Harvest in 1967.
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He recorded a solo album, A Major Fancy, in 1972, but this was tied up when the band changed record label and was not released until 1977. Lees' musical influences include Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh and The Eagles. He enjoys reading, his favourite books being Graham Greene’s A Burnt Out Case, science fiction novels (especially those of Ray Bradbury) and poetry. His hobbies include photography and amateur radio.
Lees later worked part-time as a Music Technician at a Church of England High School near Oldham, helping a new generation of musicians with GCSE and A Level coursework in Music and Music Technology.
Lees lives in Saddleworth with his wife Olwen and they have two children, Esther Jane (born 28th July, 1980 and married) and John Joseph (who shares his father’s birthday, being born on 13th January, 1986), plus various pets including an African grey parrot called Fritz.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.