Musical career

In 1970, Lisberg put Joans together with Strawberry Studios in Stockport to write a Christmas song and Joans wrote a single - "The Man From Nazareth" - with Kevin Godley, Lol Creme, and Eric Stewart, who had already had a hit as Hotlegs and would be 75% of 10cc.^[7] The song was a spoken word routine to the Hotlegs backing, in the vein of "Ringo" by Lorne Greene, and got to number 41 in the charts at the end of 1970, but a complaint from John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin (on the basis that the American release printed his name as J.P. Jones)^[8] led to a reprinting of labels and the single lost momentum.

It did however re-enter the charts after a missing week and peaked at number 25,^[9] helped by Joans performing on Top Of The Pops on 14 January 1971, while the song was out of the charts.^[10]

Capitol Records signed up Joans and released two singles simply under the name John, but neither charted. A 1972 single in support of striking miners - by which time Joans was on the Polydor Records label - was only played twice on the British Broadcasting Corporation because of its political slant, resulting in Joans' manager - and wife - Maureen announcing that she was banning the BBC from playing it in future.^[11]

Stand-up comedy

However Joans' main career was in stand-up comedy, with topical and often controversial routines,^[12] and having a "gift for ad lib".^[13] Bob Monkhouse said he was "brilliantly bitter and hilariously tasteless...with a considerable gift for persuading the audience to adopt his very funny view of life", and has been called the first alternative comedian in Britain.^[14]

In 1975, Joans separated from his wife, who retained custody of their two children. Joans moved to London in 1976^[15] and in 1977 gave up performing in order to work as a promoter for the Peace People in Belfast, organizing entertainment shows in Northern Ireland.^[16]

However, in February 1977, Joans was critically injured after being run over by a Land Rover,^[17][18] the effects of which altered his personality to the extent that, when visiting his ex-wife in Dewsbury after she had suffered an injury, he "snatched" his younger son^[19] and refused to allow him to return to his mother for 11 weeks; he was given a 6-month suspended sentence.^[20]

Joans retreated to private life and married his carer Sheila, finally receiving compensation for the car accident in 1985^[21] and regaining his full speech capabilities in 1993. He briefly came out of retirement for charity shows in 1997.^[22] Joans died in Somerset in 2011.

As John Paul Joans

• "The Man From Nazareth"/"Got To Get Together Now" (RAK RAK 107, 1970) - UK charts no. 25

As John

• "The Ten Lost Tribes Of Israel"/"Good Morning Old Man Time" (Capitol Records CL 15678, 1971)
• "Jody And The Kid"/"Colours" (Capitol CL 15701), 1971)

As John And City Lights

• "The Miners' Song"/"Colourful Man" (Polydor 2058 211, 1972)

As John Davidge

• "The Fear Of Love"/"Cold Road" (Polydor 2058 298, 1972)^[23]