John Williams

John Christopher Williams (1942- ) is an Australian-born British classical guitarist who first appeared in concert in the UK in 1958 and has made regular TV and radio appearances since then. Despite his formidable classical pedigree (including partnerships with the more traditionally inclined Julian Bream), Williams has attempted to straddle the worlds of classical and popular music, initially by eschewing white tie and tails for concert performances and instead wearing a plain suit: in the late 60s, he was a constant companion of the younger classical musicians set and took to wearing loud flowery shirts on stage. In 1970 he recorded Stanley Myers' Cavatina which only became popular after its use in the file The Deer Hunter (1978). He re-recorded the piece with Cleo Laine as He Was Beautiful in 1973. Additionally, between 1978 and 1984 he was a member of the fusion group Sky, which also featured Herbie Flowers (T. Rex) and Francis Monkman (Curved Air).

Links to Peel
Williams became the first classical musician to appear at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London in 1969, and appeared there during the summer season until the late 1970s. At around the time of this first appearance, he became one of a select group of such artists to record a session for one of Peel's programmes: it went out on Night Ride on 16 July. As the show was available on medium wave only at the time, it must surely have been hard for Peel's audience to appreciate the subtleties of Williams' technique in the pieces by De Falla and Albeniz, but it was typical of the programme's broad remit that he was included at all. It was never repeated and does not appear to have been commercially released.

Williams has been married three times: his second wife, the broadcaster Sue Cook, once stayed at Peel Acres (and according to Peel broke his electric blanket).

Festive Fifty Entries

 * None

Sessions
1. Recorded: 1969-06-17. First broadcast: 16 July 1969. No repeats.
 * One session, no known commercial release.
 * Courant-Ballet-La Volta / Sonata / Asturias / Miller's Dance / Sonata

Other Shows Played

 * None