Jo Callis

John William "Jo" Callis (born 2 May 1951) is an English musician and songwriter who played guitar with the Edinburgh based punk rock band The Rezillos (under the name Luke Warm), and post-punk band Boots for Dancing before joining The Human League.[1]

Jo Callis
Jo Callis 2008
Background information
Birth nameJohn William Callis
Born (1951-05-02) 2 May 1951
Rotherham, Yorkshire, England
GenresPunk rock, new wave, post-punk, synthpop
Occupation(s)Instrumentalist
InstrumentsSynthesizer, keyboards, guitar, vocals
Years active1977–present
LabelsVarious
Associated actsThe Rezillos, Shake, Boots for Dancing, The Human League

Biography

Callis was educated at the Edinburgh College of Art. He was a member of The Knutsford Dominators before forming The Rezillos in 1976.[1] The band played many gigs in Edinburgh and Glasgow, during which Callis wore space suits and other hi-tech costumes. He wrote the Rezillos' 1978 hit "Top of the Pops". In late 1978, after the release of the band's only album, The Rezillos split in two, with Callis forming Shake along with Simon Templar (born Simon Bloomfield) and Angel Paterson.[1] Shake released two singles before splitting, with Callis later joining Boots for Dancing.

Callis released a solo single, "Woah Yeah!", in 1981 on the pop:Aural label,[2] and also joined The Human League, playing both keyboards and lead guitar and making contributions as a backing vocalist.[1] Callis co-wrote many tracks and following his departure from the band in 1986, returned several times either to play keyboard or to offer help with songwriting. He co-wrote the band's 1990 hit "Heart Like a Wheel" together with former Rezillos bandmate Eugene Reynolds. The track was produced by Martin Rushent.

In 1985, he teamed up with Feargal Sharkey to write Sharkey's "Loving You" which reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart.

Discography
The Rezillos
  • Can't Stand the Rezillos (1978) Sire SRK6057
  • Mission Accomplished… But the Beat Goes On (1979) Sire 6069
  • Can't Stand the Rezillos: The (Almost) Complete Rezillos (1993) Sire 9 26942-2
Shake
  • Culture Shock (EP, 1979) Sire 4016
The Human League
  • Dare (1981) Virgin V2192
  • Love And Dancing (1982) Virgin OVED6
  • Hysteria (1984) Virgin V2315
  • Romantic? (1990) Virgin V2624, CDV2624
  • Octopus (1995) East West 4509-98750-2
  • Greatest Hits (1996) Virgin HLC1, HLCD1
  • The Very Best of The Human League (2003) Virgin HLCDX2

See also

References
  1. Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 130-1, 240
  2. Gimarc, George (2005) Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970–1982, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-848-6, p. 502
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