Manchester singer-songwriter John Blaylock is a new solo artist with a storied background in music, his talents attracting top-tier collaborators such as the two-time Grammy winner Guy Massey (Ed Sheeran, Manic Street Preachers, Jack Savoretti), Helen Boulding (Ward Thomas) and Freddy Sheed (Lewis Capaldi). Now John is set to be discovered by a wider audience with his new single, Violets, which previews the release of his new album in March.


What made you return back to Manchester after being away for a few years?

I knew I had a hit album of songs ready to go. I thought I should come back, record them, and go all out to get as many people to hear them as possible. I’m glad I did because it’s been a lot of fun so far.

Also I was missing the constant buzz of human interaction. Living in Japan / Pakistan / Colombia / Ecuador was an amazing experience, but I wasn’t surrounded by people like I am in Manchester. I really missed that.

Your music sounds to be influenced by Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. Did any of the Manchester bands excite you?

Yeah, absolutely. When I was 15, I and my 6 closest friends all played guitar, and that was because the influence of Oasis, The Stone Roses, and The Charlatans was so strong growing up in Manchester. I also loved New Order, Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays, great Manchester bands. I was listening to all of those with my friends, then coming home and going through my dad’s CD collection to listen to Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd. 

What do you like about the north?

Manchester’s there! People are friendly, but people say that people are friendly in the South and all over the world. I’ve generally found at a community level people are amazing wherever you go. 

What was the inspiration behind the new single Violets? 

They say most songs are about the first or last 5 minutes of a relationship; this song would be the latter. It was about breaking up with someone that was incredibly sweet and kind but then could fly into a jealous rage over insignificant things. Girls, eh? Funny breed but great inspiration :) 

What’s this I hear about you being commissioned by Desmond Tutu to compose a song for Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday?

Yes, true story. It was when I was in International One, my former band from Manchester. We were working with a record label at the time, and I got a call one day from the head of the label saying, “Desmond Tutu wants you to write a song for Nelson Mandela.” Apparently Bono had said no, so I was the obvious next choice! Lol. But yeah, what an honour, so of course I did, and it was presented to the great man by the archbishop on his 90th.

Do you think it is getting harder for people to discover your music?

It’s easier and harder than ever. In the 60s you had to save up money, go to a specific record shop and buy a record; now with effectively zero cost you could listen to any of the 120,000 songs a day that are uploaded to Spotify. So I think it’s easier to discover but a lot harder to stand out.


The new album, Sounds of the Dreadnought, is released in March. Why the unusual title?

I’ve been playing the guitar for over 20 years, and for the vast majority of that time I’ve been playing one instrument only, a Martin Dreadnought DXME acoustic guitar. It features on every track on the album, and there are some really awesome guitar parts that I’m very proud of. 

Your tour visits some very intimate venues. Why do you think these grassroots venues are so important for musicians?

I love playing these small intimate shows when it’s just me and an acoustic guitar on stage, when there’s pin-drop silence in the room and you can hear every note. It’s grass roots venues where most people first get their chance to perform, but it’s getting harder for those venues to stay open these days, so we should support them where we can. I’d like to think even if I could sell out arenas, I’d still like to tour those small places and have a beer with everyone after the gig.