John Maher (Buzzcocks drummer)

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Not to be confused with Johnny Marr.

John Maher
Born (1960-04-21) 21 April 1960 (age 63)
OriginManchester, England
GenresPunk rock, new wave, post-punk
Occupation(s)Musician, photographer, engineer, car racer
Instrument(s)Drums
Years active
  • 1976–1992
  • 2012–present

John Maher (born 21 April 1960)[1][2] is a British musician who was part of the punk and new wave scenes in Manchester, England, most notably as the drummer with Buzzcocks.[3]

Music career

Maher's father and mother were from

Whalley Range, Manchester, he joined punk band Buzzcocks, then led by Howard Devoto, who was the lead vocalist. After the first Buzzcocks dissolving in 1981, he collaborated with Pauline Murray of The Invisible Girls,[3] and formed along with Steve Diggle (also of Buzzcocks) a band called Flag of Convenience, in 1982, but he quit shortly afterwards. In 1981, he was drumming with Pete Wylie in Wah![5]

Buzzcocks reunited in late 1989 for a month long tour of the US and seven shows in the UK. While the other members of the band decided to continue, Maher left to continue with his VW business (see below). He returned once more in early 1992, when his replacement (Mike Joyce, formerly of The Smiths), quit Buzzcocks on the eve of a European and Japanese tour.

In May 2012, Maher stepped out of musical retirement to rejoin Buzzcocks for two one-off shows: his first public appearance behind a drum kit in 20 years. The concerts took place at Manchester Apollo and London's Brixton Academy. Howard Devoto, the band's original vocalist also joined the band on stage for five songs – all four tracks from their debut EP, Spiral Scratch, plus a cover version of The Troggs' "Can't Control Myself". Maher spoke about his brief return to the stage in an interview with online fanzine Mudkiss. Another interview with Maher appears in the first issue of The Drummers Journal.

In 2014, Maher reunited with another Manchester band he had previously been involved with during his Buzzcocks years: The Things.[6] The band recorded several songs, both old and new, during the summer of 2014. An EP (entitled EP1) containing four tracks was released in mid 2015.

In 2015, Maher was back in the recording studio with old friends Pauline Murray and Robert Blamire, working on a new

Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls
album. The new album Resolution took the runner-up spot in Vive Le Rock's Top 50 albums of 2015.

In August 2015, the website

Louder Than War
published an in-depth interview with Maher.

Drag racing

When Maher first quit the

Channel 5
programme Stars & Cars. This featured footage of his former incarnation as a drummer, a tour of his workshop, and interviews.

Maher relocated his business from Manchester to the

Isle of Harris in Scotland in 2002. In 2010 he appeared on the BBC Alba
motoring programme Air an Rathad. The interview features footage inside his workshop on the Isle of Harris, a brief interview and a drive in one of his customers' VW Beetle.

Photography

Since 2009, Maher has gained recognition for his photography; in particular his long-exposure night photographs and interior images of abandoned Hebridean homes.[7][8]

References

  1. ISBN 978-88-09-21523-8
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-7119-6973-5
    .
  3. ^ a b Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 352. CN 5585.
  4. ^ Toland, Justin (2008). "Indie Originals: The New Hormones Story". Newhormonesinfo.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Buzzcocks". NKVD Records. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  6. ^ "The Things". Thethingsband.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  7. ^ "It is time to wield the stick on empty homes". The Herald. Glasgow. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  8. ^ "The lonely island: abandoned houses of the Hebrides – in pictures". The Guardian. 17 August 2016.

External links

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