John Helliwell
John Anthony Helliwell (born 15 February 1945) is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist, secondary keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional songwriter for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs.
Helliwell played with The Alan Bown Set, replacing Dave Green when he joined in January 1966, before joining Supertramp in 1973 along with bassist Dougie Thomson, who convinced Helliwell to make the move. In 2004, Helliwell formed the band Crème Anglaise with Mark Hart, who had joined Supertramp in 1985. This group recorded their eponymous debut album in 2005.
In 1987 Helliwell played on Pink Floyd's album A Momentary Lapse of Reason; his name was misspelled as "Halliwell". This was after Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour had played on Supertramp's album Brother Where You Bound. Helliwell also played on French singer Jean-Jacques Goldman's 1985 album Positif, and clarinet on Sara Hickman's 1990 album Shortstop.
During a professional lull in the 1990s, Helliwell began studying for a music degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, but he discontinued his studies to join Supertramp on tour when Some Things Never Change was released. In 2004 he contributed saxophone work on the Simon Apple album River to the Sea.
Helliwell contributed clarinet to The Pineapple Thief's song "Fend For Yourself" from their Your Wilderness album which was released in 2016.
Helliwell fronts the Super Big Tramp Band, which has a jazz big band line-up of trumpets, trombones, saxophones and rhythm section. It plays versions of Supertramp tunes, arranged by members of the band, with no vocals, but with Helliwell as the chief soloist. The band first played in Manchester in June 2013. In 2019 the band played at the Manchester Jazz Festival in May and was scheduled to play in Hull and Hamburg later in the year.
In October 2020, Helliwell released Ever Open Door, a CD album of ballads with Helliwell on saxophone and clarinet, with a string quartet and Hammond organ.
Source: Article "John Helliwell" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For | Acting |
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Most Rating | 1.868 |
Birthday | 1945-02-15 |
Place of Birth | Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England, UK |
Also Known As | John Anthony Helliwell, Supertramp, |
1977
Supertramp - BBC in Concert
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Supertramp - BBC in Concert
2004
Inside Supertramp 1974-1978
8/1
Supertramp was one of the last major progressive-rock bands to enjoy an international commercial breakthrough; the band had cultivated a devoted follo...
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2011
Pink Floyd: Whatever Happened to Pink Floyd? The Strange Case of Waters and Gilmour
6/2
This film traces the path Floyd took after the recording of the Animals album - an era when cracks in the band first started to show - and brings the...
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1983
Supertramp - Live in Munich, Germany
5.3/3
Live in Munich, Bavaria Germany, 1983. Supertramp was started and bankrolled in 1969 by a wealthy Dutch industrialist with aspirations of forming the...
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Supertramp - Live in Munich, Germany
2012
Supertramp : Live in Paris '79
7.4/10
Supertramp’s “Breakfast In America” was the biggest selling album in the world in 1979. It spawned several hit singles and went on to win two Grammy A...
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Supertramp : Live in Paris '79
2019
ManDoki Soulmates: Wings Of Freedom
9/1
ManDoki Soulmates: Wings Of Freedom Live at Berlin, Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt 2017.
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ManDoki Soulmates: Wings Of Freedom
2017
The Pineapple Thief: Your Wilderness
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The acclaimed 2016 hit album from The Pineapple Thief with bonus tracks. For the first time, TPT brought in several guest performers for Your Wildern...
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1979
Supertramp - Breakfast in America
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