Jah Wobble: dark and luminous

Bass legend Jah Wobble and his Invaders of the Heart are on the road again. They play Chelmsford’s Social club this Friday (12 April). The support act is Tian Qyi, which comprises his sons, John and Charlie.

From birth, his boys have been exposed, naturally, to a diverse range of musical styles and traditions, including traditional Chinese music. This exposure had a profound influence on their musical style, which combines elements of traditional Chinese music with contemporary sounds and instrumentation.

Exclusive Jah Wobble chat with this blog

In advance of the show, Jah Wobble spoke with me about all manner of topics, including his devotion to his chosen instrument, his love of his sons, and much more. Paul Dupree, as part of his Transmission show on City Sound at 20:00 tonight (10 April), will broadcast the chat. The chat with Jah Wobble follows hot on the heels of this blog’s interview with Deb Googe, another bass player extraordinaire, of My Bloody Valentine.

As if that is not enough, coming soon in these pages is an interview with Held By Trees, an instrumental post-rock collaboration (of unbelievably talented well-known musicians) that has been inspired by Talk Talk and Mark Hollis. Please enter your email below to make sure you don’t miss any of the awesome (if I may say so) upcoming articles. (And take some time to check out the back catalogue.)

A fantastic autobiography

Be sure to bring some extra cash to the Jah Wobble gigs because copies of Dark Luminosity (Faber & Faber), his extraordinary autobiography, are sure to be available to purchase. It’s frank, fascinating, and fuc furiously funny.

Among many happy/sad tales, the book reveals how John Wardle was given his stage name by his friend, a drunk Sid Vicious. There’s also an eye-opening account of the time the two went to Sid’s counsellor. The life path Jah Wobble suggested, to the health worker, for Sid was unusual to say the least.

Conclusion

It’s unlikely, dear reader, that you’ll have reached this point without knowing Jah Wobble’s legacy. However, it bears repeating here. After crashing onto the music scene with the incendiary Public Image Limited, he has collaborated with Telefís, Andrew Weatherall, Brian Eno, Bjork, Sinead O’Connor, Jaki Liebezeit, Holger Czukay, Dolores O’Riordan, Primal Scream, Bill Laswell, and The Edge, among many others. Always good to play this though.

Head over to jahwobble.com to see the full tour list and plan your chance to see a living legend in action.

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