Holly Johnson

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Holly Johnson

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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = William Johnson
Alias =
Born = Birth date and age|1960|2|9
Liverpool, England
Died =
Origin =
Instrument =
Voice_type =
Genre = Dance Synthpop New Wave
Pop/Rock
Occupation = Musician, artist, writer
Years_active = 1979–1991
Label = Erics, ZTT, MCA
Associated_acts = Frankie Goes to Hollywood
URL = [http://www.hollyjohnson.com/ www.hollyjohnson.com]
Notable_instruments =

Holly Johnson (born William Johnson; February 9, 1960; name on passport William Holly JohnsonFact|date=September 2008) is an English artist, writer and musician.

Career

Johnson was born in Liverpool, England. Actively involved in the Liverpool punk rock/new wave scene, Johnson played bass with Big in Japan and released several solo singles on the Eric's label (first of them in 1979), before finding fame as the lead singer and lyricist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who experienced both controversy and commercial success during their heyday in the early 1980s. Some of the band's controversy stemmed from the gay themes of their videos and appearance. Both Johnson and vocalist Paul Rutherford were open about their homosexuality. [Citation
last = Sprague
first = David
title = There's Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby
newspaper = Rolling Stone
date = 1999-03-19
url =http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/frankiegoestohollywood/articles/story/5924904/theres_nothing_like_the_real_thing_baby
accessdate=2008-01-20 ] [cite book
last = Warner
first = Timothy
title = Pop Music: Technology and Creativity : Trevor Horn and the Digital Revolution
publisher = Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
year = 2003
pages = 78
url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NWQ6xfA5hfQC&pg=PA78&d
isbn =075463132X ]

Holly left the group in 1987 after disagreeing on their further musical direction, becoming the subject of an injunction from the group's record company, ZTT Records, which cited his prior recording agreement and effectively barred him from releasing solo material with new label MCA Records.

Johnson embarked on a protracted legal battle with ZTT, the case finally being settled in Johnson's favour in 1989, the judge ruling that ZTT's original contract had constituted an unreasonable restraint of trade. The result represented a landmark legal outcome within the music business. Johnson's relationship with ZTT owners Trevor Horn and Jill Sinclair apparently broke down irretrievablyweasel-inline due to the court case.Fact|date=September 2008

Johnson finally released his first solo album, "Blast", in 1989, which reached number one in the UK and spawned four hit-singles, "Love Train", "Americanos", "Atomic City" and "Heaven's Here". The album went Platinum. However, relations with MCA cooled over dissatisfaction with promotional budgets for his second solo album, "Dreams That Money Can't Buy", released in 1991 after Johnson had left the label.

Personal life

In November 1991, Johnson learned he was HIV positive. This triggered a temporary withdrawal from the music business and public life in general. His condition was made public in April 1993. In 1994 his critically acclaimed autobiography, "A Bone In My Flute", was published.

Since the mid 1990s, Johnson has worked primarily as a painter. His works have been exhibited at the Tate Liverpool, and The Royal Academy. He has contributed to " Modern Painters" and the Paul Smith sponsored "CARLOS" magazine. He co-owns an art gallery in Dallas, Texas. He has continued to make music via his own Pleasuredome label, such as 1999's "Soulstream", an album that includes a re-recording of "The Power of Love.

Books

* "A Bone In My Flute"; hard cover Century UK ISBN 0-7126-6145-X, 17 March 1994; soft cover Arrow UK ISBN 0-09-939341-7, 6 April 1995

References

External links

* [http://www.hollyjohnson.com/ Official web site]
* [http://www.zttaat.com/ Zang Tuum Tumb and all that]
*imdb name|id=1017407|name=Holly Johnson