-
- For John Manly
music has always been as much a part of life as eating and
breathing.
- His songwriting has ranged from
Rock, Pop, Gospel to Country.
Born and raised in Melton on the western outskirts of Melbourne,
John began teaching himself to play guitar and write songs from
the age of 12.
The artists in his mum’s record collection were his earliest
musical influences. These included the likes of The Beatles,
Elvis, The Shadows, Johnny Cash and Johnny O’Keefe. John began
learning to play songs by The Beatles and Elvis, trying to emulate
their style in his own songwriting.
Over the next few years, he became involved in the youth music
group of his home church, plus becoming involved in playing in
several garage bands. Playing at youth events and various
community and private events.
October 1990 saw the release of John Manly's first
cassette-single, I'm A Rebel. The release received steady airplay
on several of Melbourne's community radio stations, including 3WRB
and 3RIM. Two more cassette singles followed I’m A Rebel. Get Wise
(July 1991) and With Love (April 1994) that feature Merelyn and
David Carter (Carter & Carter) on backing vocals and guitar
respectively.
During this period John had performed in various churches, youth
groups, coffee shops, retirement homes and other community events.
For the later part of the 90’s John stepped away from music,
concentrating on other areas of his life. It was during this time,
when John began writing country songs, where he focused on the
stories in the songs. It was these songs that were like a breath
of fresh air to John.
In recent times, After John had been encouraged to do something
with the country songs he had written in the late 90’s, he has
been focusing purely on Country Music, inspired by the likes of
Lee Kernaghan, George Strait, Adam Brand and Troy Cassar-Daley.
John has now begun playing in front of an audience again after a
decade.
John Manly has a new determination and passion. After using
computers and sequenced accompaniments, John had gone back to the
basics of a single voice and guitar and the new songs are about
writing songs about life, the good, the bad, the ugly and at times
the humorous.
In late April 2007, John released a 4 track CD Out Of The City,
containing basic vocal / acoustic guitar arrangements as a demo.
These tracks have been getting positive comments about his songs
from around the world via his MySpace page, from both the public
and other country artists. As well as airplay on a handful of
community and Internet based radio stations.
- Print out and have
the memories
Tamworth
Rage Page
