Jah Wobble – aka John Wardle – wrote ‘Dark Luminosity: Memoirs of a Geezer’ in 2009. It’s just been reworked, expanded and republished and it’s well worth reading, full of information about growing up in the East End, unexploded bombs, pickling factories, grim schooldays, record shops and clubs, the artists he saw and his arrival at Kingsway College where he met John Lydon and Sid Vicious and became a cornerstone of the punk rock inner circle. And then two challenging years as the bassist of Public Image Ltd, the time he worked as a train driver and ticket collector for London Transport, a series of collaborations – Brian Eno, Baaba Maal, Holger Czukay, Sinead O’Connor, Chaka Demus – and some bold and original solo albums (you’ll enjoy Island Records’ reaction when he pitches an album based on the poems of William Blake). Among this podcast’s highlights …
… the Kafkaesque world of working for the London Underground in the days when you could “punch an area manager and not get sacked”.
… why great rhythm sections are like great football players.
… his dad, an El-Alamein survivor, on seeing Mick Jagger on Top of the Pops: “the Rolling Stones should be used for mine clearance.”
… Public Image Ltd – “three of the weirdest people you could ever meet”, the band that kept their cash in a shoebox.
… “you can’t go through life as a tourist”.
… the secret of the perfect bass sound.
… watching the first Sex Pistols’ rehearsal.
… seeing Bob Marley & the Wailers at the Lyceum.
… the record that reversed his dislike of the Beatles.
… why working with Pharoah Sanders was the highlight of his musical life.
… his 2023 album, ‘The Bus Routes of South London’.
… Jim Reeves, Burl Ives and further sounds of the family homestead.
… and a powerful aversion to hippies.
Order John’s memoir here …
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Luminosity-Memoirs-Geezer-expanded/dp/0571375359
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20 Responses
Always great value
A friend of mine said he heard Jah once say over the rail speaker system "I used to be someone" 🤣
Top man honest nails it
Very cool guy.
He’s got a great story telling mode, funny and off beat.
I'm not into PIL but he seems a decent bloke and a serious musician.
Wobble. Top bloke.
Brilliant, innit?
Ha loved this interview.
How about mirroring the book by getting him back for an extended version? Such good value.
legend ! metal box was years ahead of its time….
Hands down best interview on here yet. Can't wait to read the diamond geezers book! Rick Beato has his niche, but this is propper! Please DO a PART 2
Loved the first edition of his book.
great interview, he's always so open and honest, and such a way with words, as well as a brilliant musician involved with some great records.
Great interview – top bloke !
Thanks for this one, gents – I like Jah Wobble, not just as a musician, but also as a yooman bean with a good story to tell, and it's been a very pleasant conversation indeed…
☝️😎
This has been the best episode for me. Wobble is a superb raconteur with a lovely old school London accent which although ubiquitous in my youth has almost disappeared. It reminded me of the Tufty Club in Brockwell Park where the boys I played with had Irish and Jamaican parents. They all spoke like Wobble until they went home and adopted the accents of their respective cultures. The sound that came from each home was the soft country burr of Jim Reeves , they both loved country music but Jim was the king. Family Man Barrett played such lyrical bass lines because he was a singer originally and played like he sang. He's rumoured to have more children than Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Another slice of Wobble pie would be most welcome.
Great interview, but way too short unfortunately. Could you do a show where Mark gives us a tour of his book shelves?
A first-class individual.
Seems to have come out of it all with less baggage than the other John. Good interview.
Awesome! Love Wobble and as a bass player it’s fantastic to hear one so esteemed bringing the secrets of bass to the fore!