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Description
Jah Wobble
John Wardle
August 11, 1958

If there’s anybody who can be called a one of a kind, it’s the astounding Jah Wobble. Bass legend, post-punk pioneer, Public Image Ltd cofounder, composer, writer, author, radio host, globetrotter, musicologist, Jah Wobble is each and every one of these things, with a never ending sense of curiosity and passion fueling each and every pursuit he’s undertaken through his life and career.

Beginning life in the London district of Stepney, John Wardle had a fairy typical beginning to life. His father a postman and his mother a school secretary, Wardle had a fairly normal life early on. But in this rather typical life, John found a wide range of music within his grasp, from the Motown and Philly soul of America to the reggae and ska of Jamaica and the Caribbeans, the avant rock Of Can and Beefheart, and some Celtic folk and sounds from all around the world sprinkled in for good measure. While attending Kingsway College in Northern London, John met and befriend three other Johns in Lydon, Ritchie, and Gray. The former two would soon become notorious as members of the Sex Pistols under the stage names Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious and each would contribute to John’s development in some fashion. Through the former, he found somebody with a similarly broad taste in music as well as an introduction to live music. And through the latter after one too many, he’d gain a new name in Jah Wobble.

Initially attempting guitar, those cursed weller’s hands meant that wasn’t much of a success. Then one night while seeing Bob Marley And The Wailers onstage, watching Family Man Barrett do his thing on the bass, that seismic power and full body experience moved Wobble to take up bass himself. In a grubby little flat with John Gray, Wobble had his little Music Man copy bass and started getting some ideas on different bass lines. These weren’t your typical rock bass lines, that wasn’t really what Wobble was into. Instead, these were more trance-like, a little more off the beaten path. Just as luck would have it, John Lydon was growing disillusioned with the Sex Pistols and hoping to put a group of his own together. He already had original Clash guitarist Keith Levene on board and needed a bass player. Wobble was an old mate who played bass and wasn’t looking to play three chord rock and roll, thus being was the natural choice. With Wobble on board, the nucleus of this new ba-company was complete.

Rounding out the lineup with Jim Walker, then Martin Atkins, then whoever else was available to drum that week, the group would become known as Public Image Ltd., or PiL. Debuting with “Public Image”, John’s caustic attack was present as always, and there was a punk edge of sorts. Yet Levene’s guitar was more akin to shards of glass thrown out the speakers, and Wobble’s bass throbbing and pulsive. With what was literally his first bass line, Wobble established bass as a truly integral part of punk. Amidst Keith Levene’s sonic assault and John Lydon’s primal scream, Wobble’s bass can anchor it all with an infectious riff, one that just moves you in a way that simply can’t be explained. “Public Image” was but the beginning. First Issue builds upon the ground its debut single and delivers some great, explosive music that would come to be known as post-punk. The attitude is there, yet it’s now being bent into this strange kaleidoscopic thing that nonetheless feels immediate and powerful.

Then came Metal Box, where the gloves came completely off. You had Krautrock, you had dub, avant garde, you even get a twisted take on disco. Death Disco, you might say. Metal Box is a madness mantra set to music, sending you down the sea of insanity. And yet, it’s so powerfully seductive, and so much of that is thanks to Wobble, delivering some of the most rhythmically powerful bass lines ever caught on record. You hear that bass and any doubts about what Lydon could do without the Sex Pistols were silenced. Far from the root notes on Never Mind The Bollocks, Wobble’s bass sent earthquakes through the speakers and into the floors of wherever he played, wherever his presence felt. Even as your mind collapses, as your senses give way to psychosis, Wobble ensnares the listener each and every time. Bass is well established as the lynch pin in any good band, and Jah Wobble epitomizes that.

Of course, there was a good deal of chaos behind the scenes, with Wobble feeling creatively and professionally frustrated and soon deciding to simply move on. Luckily, he had a solo album to work on, with former Roxy Music member Eddie Jobson producing. The Legend Lives On...Jah Wobble In “Betrayal” takes on a very sparse character, with Wobble’s instrumental work taking center stage with only occasional signs of a guitar or drums. His vocals might be an acquired taste, but the music itself remains as powerful as you’d expect. He’d also form The Human Condition with former PiL bandmate Jim Walker, followed by the first incarnation of the Invaders of The Heart.

Unfortunately, problems with alcohol would plague Wobble through the mid eighties and would slow his musical career down in the process. In the meantime, he’d work various odd jobs, most notably working transportation in the London Underground where he’d occasionally announce he used to be somebody. By 1986, he would soon conquer his alcoholism and gradually began rebuilding his life. With the encouragement of friends, this would extend to returning to music, forming a second version of Invaders Of The Heart and securing a deal with a small European deal with whom he’d released a live album.

From this point forward, Wobble came back stronger then ever. Without Judgement and Rising Above Bedlam both received a strong reception critically and commercially, with the latter producing a hit in the Sinead O’Connor hit “Visions of You”. He has also collaborated with a wide array of artists and musicians, from Brian Eno to Bill Laswell, Cranberries frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan to Senegalese singer-songwriter Baaba Maal, Lonelady to Ginger Baker, The Orb to Peter Gabriel, Sly & Robbie to Sinead O’Connor, and countless more. He’s also most notably collaborated with classical guzheng player Zi Lan Laio, with whom he’s been happily married to for many years, and reconnected with fellow PiL alumni Keith Levene for several performances of their former band’s early material. And beyond the world of music, he’s been a poet and author, including his memoir Memories Of A Geezer, served as a pundit on the Virtual Jukebox segment of BBC Radio 5 Live’s Up All Night, and been a freelance literary critic with The Independent among other other outlets.

While he may not have the record sales of a more mainstream artist, Jah Wobble has been a resounding success in every other respect. From a rich and diverse body of work to paving the way for other notable punk and alternative bassists such as Peter Hook, Tina Weymouth, Simon Gallup, Mike Watt, and Flea, Wobble has left a mark all his own. To sum it up, Jah Wobble is still somebody and always will be.

Description
Jah Wobble
John Wardle
August 11, 1958

If there’s anybody who can be called a one of a kind, it’s the astounding Jah Wobble. Bass legend, post-punk pioneer, Public Image Ltd cofounder, composer, writer, author, radio host, globetrotter, musicologist, Jah Wobble is each and every one of these things, with a never ending sense of curiosity and passion fueling each and every pursuit he’s undertaken through his life and career.

Beginning life in the London district of Stepney, John Wardle had a fairy typical beginning to life. His father a postman and his mother a school secretary, Wardle had a fairly normal life early on. But in this rather typical life, John found a wide range of music within his grasp, from the Motown and Philly soul of America to the reggae and ska of Jamaica and the Caribbeans, the avant rock Of Can and Beefheart, and some Celtic folk and sounds from all around the world sprinkled in for good measure. While attending Kingsway College in Northern London, John met and befriend three other Johns in Lydon, Ritchie, and Gray. The former two would soon become notorious as members of the Sex Pistols under the stage names Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious and each would contribute to John’s development in some fashion. Through the former, he found somebody with a similarly broad taste in music as well as an introduction to live music. And through the latter after one too many, he’d gain a new name in Jah Wobble.

Initially attempting guitar, those cursed weller’s hands meant that wasn’t much of a success. Then one night while seeing Bob Marley And The Wailers onstage, watching Family Man Barrett do his thing on the bass, that seismic power and full body experience moved Wobble to take up bass himself. In a grubby little flat with John Gray, Wobble had his little Music Man copy bass and started getting some ideas on different bass lines. These weren’t your typical rock bass lines, that wasn’t really what Wobble was into. Instead, these were more trance-like, a little more off the beaten path. Just as luck would have it, John Lydon was growing disillusioned with the Sex Pistols and hoping to put a group of his own together. He already had original Clash guitarist Keith Levene on board and needed a bass player. Wobble was an old mate who played bass and wasn’t looking to play three chord rock and roll, thus being was the natural choice. With Wobble on board, the nucleus of this new ba-company was complete.

Rounding out the lineup with Jim Walker, then Martin Atkins, then whoever else was available to drum that week, the group would become known as Public Image Ltd., or PiL. Debuting with “Public Image”, John’s caustic attack was present as always, and there was a punk edge of sorts. Yet Levene’s guitar was more akin to shards of glass thrown out the speakers, and Wobble’s bass throbbing and pulsive. With what was literally his first bass line, Wobble established bass as a truly integral part of punk. Amidst Keith Levene’s sonic assault and John Lydon’s primal scream, Wobble’s bass can anchor it all with an infectious riff, one that just moves you in a way that simply can’t be explained. “Public Image” was but the beginning. First Issue builds upon the ground its debut single and delivers some great, explosive music that would come to be known as post-punk. The attitude is there, yet it’s now being bent into this strange kaleidoscopic thing that nonetheless feels immediate and powerful.

Then came Metal Box, where the gloves came completely off. You had Krautrock, you had dub, avant garde, you even get a twisted take on disco. Death Disco, you might say. Metal Box is a madness mantra set to music, sending you down the sea of insanity. And yet, it’s so powerfully seductive, and so much of that is thanks to Wobble, delivering some of the most rhythmically powerful bass lines ever caught on record. You hear that bass and any doubts about what Lydon could do without the Sex Pistols were silenced. Far from the root notes on Never Mind The Bollocks, Wobble’s bass sent earthquakes through the speakers and into the floors of wherever he played, wherever his presence felt. Even as your mind collapses, as your senses give way to psychosis, Wobble ensnares the listener each and every time. Bass is well established as the lynch pin in any good band, and Jah Wobble epitomizes that.

Of course, there was a good deal of chaos behind the scenes, with Wobble feeling creatively and professionally frustrated and soon deciding to simply move on. Luckily, he had a solo album to work on, with former Roxy Music member Eddie Jobson producing. The Legend Lives On...Jah Wobble In “Betrayal” takes on a very sparse character, with Wobble’s instrumental work taking center stage with only occasional signs of a guitar or drums. His vocals might be an acquired taste, but the music itself remains as powerful as you’d expect. He’d also form The Human Condition with former PiL bandmate Jim Walker, followed by the first incarnation of the Invaders of The Heart.

Unfortunately, problems with alcohol would plague Wobble through the mid eighties and would slow his musical career down in the process. In the meantime, he’d work various odd jobs, most notably working transportation in the London Underground where he’d occasionally announce he used to be somebody. By 1986, he would soon conquer his alcoholism and gradually began rebuilding his life. With the encouragement of friends, this would extend to returning to music, forming a second version of Invaders Of The Heart and securing a deal with a small European deal with whom he’d released a live album.

From this point forward, Wobble came back stronger then ever. Without Judgement and Rising Above Bedlam both received a strong reception critically and commercially, with the latter producing a hit in the Sinead O’Connor hit “Visions of You”. He has also collaborated with a wide array of artists and musicians, from Brian Eno to Bill Laswell, Cranberries frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan to Senegalese singer-songwriter Baaba Maal, Lonelady to Ginger Baker, The Orb to Peter Gabriel, Sly & Robbie to Sinead O’Connor, and countless more. He’s also most notably collaborated with classical guzheng player Zi Lan Laio, with whom he’s been happily married to for many years, and reconnected with fellow PiL alumni Keith Levene for several performances of their former band’s early material. And beyond the world of music, he’s been a poet and author, including his memoir Memories Of A Geezer, served as a pundit on the Virtual Jukebox segment of BBC Radio 5 Live’s Up All Night, and been a freelance literary critic with The Independent among other other outlets.

While he may not have the record sales of a more mainstream artist, Jah Wobble has been a resounding success in every other respect. From a rich and diverse body of work to paving the way for other notable punk and alternative bassists such as Peter Hook, Tina Weymouth, Simon Gallup, Mike Watt, and Flea, Wobble has left a mark all his own. To sum it up, Jah Wobble is still somebody and always will be.