Dean Johnson

Dean's new single, I Will Fight For You (from Bullets & Daffodils), is released on 6 December. The Chester Chronicle has given the song a very positive review. To read it, click here.

Christ Church in Oxton, Wirral (where Wilfred Owen attended Sunday school), is to play host to the musical based on his life.

A special Christmas version of Dean’s acclaimed commemoration Bullets and Daffodils, takes place on Wednesday 15 December at 7.30pm.

This production, which features the voice of Christopher Timothy, is entitled Bullets and Bunting, Christmas In The Trenches. Carols will be added to the score for this one off performance in the very room that Wilfred attended Sunday school.

Following the Wirral premiere at the borough’s libraries, Dean says “Singing at a venue that Wilfred loved and spent time in feels like a pilgrimage.”

The performance at Christ Church Hall, Bessborough Road, Oxton, starts at 7.30pm, doors open at 7.00pm. Admission £3.00 which includes mince pies and a hot drink — payable on the door.

I would Fight For You is taken from Bullets And Daffodils, The Wilfred Owen Story, and represents the grand finale. A majestic love song, it is a gesture of unconditional love and sacrifice.

The musical tells the story of the iconic war poet Wilfred Owen, his tragically short life and his brilliant legacy of his poetry.

Bullets and Daffodils, The Wilfred Owen Story stars the much loved TV actor Christopher Timothy as the narrator.

The project sets some of Owen’s poems to music, as well as original songs by Dean, who like Owen was educated in Birkenhead. Dean feels that the whole experience has been a creative and spiritual one.

The single is released in aid of the Great Ormond Street Hospital and is the title track on their all star charity album.

Dean is very pleased to announce that John Gorman, of The Scaffold (Thank U Very Much & Lily The Pink) fame, is now also on board the Bullets & Daffodils project. He is going to direct and write the stage production.

Below is footage of John performing with Dean for the first time. John is reading his narrative before Dean performs Anthem For Doomed Youth at an Oxjam (Oxstan) event at The Home Cafe, Oxton, Wirral.

SUPERB ARTIST DONATES WILFRED OWEN PORTRAIT FOR THE BULLETS & DAFFODILS PROJECT

Wilfred Owen by Georgina Flood - click to see full sized version

Amazing artist Georgina Flood has donated her fantastic portrait of Wilfred Owen (left) to Dean to use in any way he wishes for Bullets & Daffodils. Dean also presented a framed copy of this portrait to Christopher Timothy when he recorded his narration for the production. It features in the photograph of them together in the news article below.

The Wirral Globe, which appears to be becoming Dean's newspaper of choice, ran a great article regarding Bullets & Daffodils on Wednesday 3 November. Click on the logo to the left to read the full article.

Much admired actor Christopher Timothy (most well-known for his TV portrayal of the Yorkshire vet James Herriott) is to star as the narrator in Dean's Wilfred Owen musical Bullets & Daffodils.

Christopher took time out this week from appearing in the play Haunting Julia in Lichfield to record his part for the musical.

The photo on the left shows Dean with Christopher in Lichfield. Click on it for the full-sized version.

On Friday 22 October, Dean did a short set at Oxjam, in Leadenhall Market, City of London, during the busy lunch period, which meant he got plenty of passing trade. He did an abridged version of the Bullets & Daffodils set, with The Daily Mirror's Gavin Martin doing the narration.

Below is one of the videos shot on the day, the first song, Anthem For Doomed Youth, featuring Gavin's opening narration. Being lunch hour, there was a lot of noise in the market, but hopefully this doesn't detract from Dean's performance.

Also, check out Dean's blog (link at the top of this page), for some photos of the event.

Here's the first musical taster for Dean's new project, Icepicks & Violets. This video is to the first ever demo version of new song Ascension Day, which will be the main theme for this production.

The ever-busy Dean won't let the ground beneath his feet rest for long now that Bullets & Daffodils is nearing fruition.

He's already embarking on his next project, Icepicks & Violets, a musical work based on the life of Birkenhead mountaineer Andrew (Sandy) Irvine, who accompanied George Mallory on his ill-fated climb of Mount Everest in the 1920's.

To the left is the first promo poster advertising this. Click on it for a full-size version.

Saturday 11 September sees Dean's Bullets & Daffodils set make its hometown debut at Birkenhead Library (see Gigs Page for details).

The Wirral Globe ran a small article in their 1 September issue. Click on the thumbnail of the article on the left to see a full sized readable version.

Front Page of Beatles Week 2010 Programme

Dean will be both interviewed and performing as part of Beatles Week 2010 at the Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, on Sunday 29 August. He will be interviewed in the Interview Room at 12 noon (by Spencer Leigh), and will do a short performance in the Ballroom at 4.45.

Click on the image to the left to view the full programme for the week (PDF document). Timings for Dean can be found on Page 26 (performance), Page 37 (interview), and there is also a nice little article and picture of him on Page 39.

Poster advertising Dean's Birkenhead Library appearance

Dean will be holding a special free event in the entrance hall of Birkenhead Central Library on Saturday 11 September to raise awareness of Wilfred Owen, thought to be the greatest war poet of all time. Owen spent his formative years in Birkenhead and was educated at the Birkenhead Institute Grammar School.

Dean will be performing selections from his forthcoming musical Bullets and Daffodils' (based on Wilfred's life and work) that was premiered in Oswestry, Shropshire last week to great success.

As well as songs and poems from the show, there will be facts and photographs of Wilfred's Wirral landmarks, free handouts and a chance for the public to create their own poetry based on Wilfred's life in the town.

Birkenhead Library houses a wonderful stained glass window dedicated to Wilfred Owen and Dean hopes the day will inspire more people to seek out the poems of Wilfred and visit the places where he lived. Dean says, “For some reason Owen is not celebrated here to the same degree as say Wordsworth is in the Lake District.”

The image to the left is of the poster advertising this event. Click on it to see the full sized version.

Poster for Bullets & Daffodils Show at The Ironworks, Oswestry

Gavin Martin, reknowned Daily Mirror music journalist and long-time champion of Dean's work, has the following to say about Dean and Wilfred:-

"This guy's unknown and so, practically these days, is Owen.

What's happening here is the custodial common cause, fidelity to the righteous path, of the human heart.

"A generation lost"? This guy won't let it be so. A tremulous tender apprehension, an actual reawakening, of a vital English (he)artist."

The image above is the official poster for Dean's gig at the Ironworks, Oswestry (see Gigs Page for details). Click on it to see the full size version.

Dean with the Wilfred Owen stained-glass window at Birkenhead Library

Dean will be presenting a one man version of Bullets And Daffodils at The Loft at The Old Post Office, Shrewsbury on 17 September 2010

Wilfred Owen's family moved to Shrewsbury after leaving Birkenhead. It is the 3rd town that features in Dean's Wilfred Was Here tour. Of note is that the venue was probably the Post Office that received the telegram saying Wilfred had been killed in action.

The picture on the left shows Dean with the stained-glass window commemorating Wilfred in Birkenhead Library. Click on it to see a full sized version.

Dean has very kindly donated Silence Is Its Own Reply (Revisited) to a charity album in aid of The Mayor of Tamworth's chosen charity Children In Crisis (click here for their website). Only 500 copies of this album will be pressed, so it's bound to become a collector's album in future years.

As well as Dean, other artists from the folk and indie scene have also donated tracks, including Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin (another Merseyside connection there), Groucutt & Haynes, Phil & Jo Bates, Tina McBain, and the most famous artist to donate a track, none other than Sir Bob Geldof.

The album is due to be released some time in November. Nearer the time, payment will be requested. In the meantime, you can reserve yourself a copy via our Contact Page, putting Children In Crisis as the subject, and specifying how many copies you would like.

Please be quick as copies are being snapped up as we speak, via the album's Facebook Page (if you are on Facebook, click here, join and reserve via a wall post). Tina McBain is co-ordinating the Facebook campaign and making a note of all reservations via that page. We will pass any reservations from this site on to Tina to add to the list.

Dean will premiere the songs from his forthcoming stageshow Bullets and Daffodils, based on the life and work of fellow Birkenhead-educated war poet Wilfred Owen in Owen's birthplace of Oswestry, Shropshire, on 12 August 2010.

As well as original songs, many of Owen's most famous poems have been set to music by Dean. The concert will take place at The Ironworks Arts Centre (click here for their website).

Dean will perform the musical’s score solo and narrate key events leading up to Wilfred’s tragic death, and some of Oswestry's promising new poets will precede Dean’s performance.

Beatles fans will have a chance to give their own reply, when Dean performs his extraordinary composition Silence Is Its Own Reply (which started life as a fragment of a lost George Harrison lyric), at the world famous Beatles Convention in Liverpool on Sunday 29 August.

The song has gone on to gain almost mythical status within Beatle circles, and the YouTube video received tens of thousands of viewings.

Dean will appear on stage at the Adelphi Hotel on the Sunday afternoon of the festival, and after performing he will be taking questions from the audience. Since BBC Radio Merseyside presenter Spencer Leigh proposed the scenario in which Dean finish George’s lost lyric, it has divided Beatle fans the world over. Now completely revised, minus George’s lines, it remains a powerful piece of modern Beatle mythology.

Dean & Nino Enrico during the Bullets & Daffodils recording sessions

Studio sessions are going really well. You can listen to the completed title track on Dean's MySpace site (click here), along with some of the demos.

Here we have a nice photo of Dean & Nino from the sessions. For a laugh why not supply a caption, although there is no prize on offer unfortunately!

Dean's new venture into the world of musical theatre, in the form of his new work Bullets & Daffodils, based on the poetry of Birkenhead WWI poet Wilfred Owen, is now beginning to take shape. Dean went to the same school as Owen and has had a fascination with his poetry ever since.

Click here for a dedicated page about this project (also linked from the Home Page).

ANIMOSITY INTERNATIONAL GETS GREAT REVIEW IN CURRENT ISSUE OF 'ROCK & REEL' (R2)

Dean's Animosity International compilation this month received a 4-star review in Rock & Reel Magazine, courtesy of reviewer Eddie Cooney. Text as follows:-

"This wonderful twenty-five track distillation of Dean Johnson's fifteen-year, sixteen album career, is a somewhat sad reflection on the British record industry's inability to market one of this land's most precious artists. Johnson is able to point to a long list of favourable reviews and collaborations with the great and the good, but despite being a critics' and musicians' favourite, a glance at the Guinness British Hit Singles & Albums reveals not a single entry.

"Johnson is a top-notch songwriter with an instinctive feel for the blues and country. His command of melody and lyricism is second to none. Songs like Letting Go, Invisible Ink and I Wish I Was Here are among the best you will hear, and ought to strike a chord with every serious British music lover.

"Some will not like this album's lower-fi moments. Others will not relate to its almost resolutely negative sadness, but I love it."

Click the thumbnail above to see the article as an image (WARNING: Large File).

Dean in front of Birkenhead Town Hall, proposed future site of the John Peel Arts Centre

On 7 April, The Wirral Globe published a very comprehensive article regarding Dean's song for the John Peel Arts Centre campaign (see previous news item below), featuring an interview with Dean, and a full history of the project.

"I hope to be involved in the centre myself, because I am becoming more involved, culturally, in the area now.

"I really want to pull back from being on the road nationally. Because of the George Harrison thing, my profile was raised. So I want to become more of an ambassador now and contribute on a local stage."

Dean has picked up his pen to support an important Wirral campaign. It was suggested by John Gorman of the Hamilton Partnership that Dean should write a song to raise awareness for the need of a creative centre for the people of the Wirral.

The proposed John Peel Art Centre would be housed in the former Birkenhead Town Hall. Dean’s song It’s Gonna Cost Ya highlights the need for funding the development of the project. You can see the video below.

Dean is also busy on the production of a musical play based on the life of the Birkenhead war poet Wilfred Owen, entitled Bullets and Daffodils.

Dean will be appearing as part of the Everything You Wanted To Know About Spiritualism, But Were Afraid To Ask Extravaganza, which is the final day of the month-long Psychic Truth Society Exhibition at St George's Hall, Liverpool. The Extravaganza is on 31 May 2010, whilst the Exhibition itself runs from 1-30 May.

Dean is likely to be performing during the evening section of the show, so an evening ticket would be advisable. Full details of how to get tickets on the Gigs Page.

Click on the thumbnail pic on the left to see a full size version, showing the full line-up of the entire month (WARNING: Large File).

Dean's Animosity International compilation got a very positive 3 star (out of 5) review in the current issue (1-7 March) of The Big Issue In The North. The reviewer had the following to say:-

"The Birkenhead-based songwriter is something of a musical nearlyman but it’s part of his everyman appeal. Having made records for almost two decades and with 16 albums to his name, this collection of his best songs proves how versatile and prolific he is. The songs show his progression from bedsit songwriter to live performer. Big Night has a seductive, jazzy feel and there are some rousing drinking songs here in the form of Parrot Fashion and Everybody’s Got It. Throughout the 25 tracks accordions, saxophone and piano light up his acoustic guitar melodies."

Earlier in February, Dean sang the new revised version of Silence Is Its Own Reply with amended lyrics on 7Waves Radio's Wirral Tonight. The video of this is below.

As the highlight to a week of songwriting workshops organised by the Cascade Project, Dean was asked to compose a special song to celebrate the 5th birthday of the St James Centre in Birkenhead North.

Drawing on famous names from the area such as Dixie Dean, boxer Wally Thom and singer Charlie Landsborough, mixed with personal recollections such as the infamous Blood Tub Pub, the song, entitled Northend Of Dreams, was completed by Dean and members of the public in under two hours. It was performed for visitors, dignitaries and guest of honour Wirral-born actress and TV star Patricia Routledge (celebrating her own birthday this week), who originally opened the centre.

Patricia was captivated by the poignant lyrics of the song, which included a cheeky reference to her TV character Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced “Bouquet”!):-

“This song is for your special day,
Wish I had a big bouquet
For Hyacinth is here to see us
She’s keeping up appearances.”

She has requested the first copy of the song, which will be recorded along with other songs from the Cascade workshops at 7Waves Radio at the celebrations for their second birthday on Saturday 27 February; and will then be made available at the St James Centre.

David Essex fans - cast your minds back to the David Essex 2008 Tour. Would you like a recording of Dean's full set from your fave gig? Each will cost £5 and be signed by Dean himself. Interested? Email us at reservationrecords@hotmail.co.uk stating which venue's recording you'd prefer. At the moment just trying to ascertain if there's interest. If we get enough requests, we will go ahead and get them out to you.

DAVID COURTNEY RADIO INTERVIEW TO FEATURE DEAN'S VERSION OF ONE OF HIS SONGS

Spencer Leigh will be speaking to David Courtney (writer of many Leo Sayer and Roger Daltrey hits) on his On The Beat show on BBC Radio Merseyside on Saturday 6 February. Dean's version of David's song I Survived (which can currently be heard on Dean's MySpace) is going to be played on the show, which begins at 5.30pm.

Dean, who is at the centre of a storm of publicity surrounding a lost lyric fragment written by the late George Harrison, will be sharing his songwriting skills in Valentine events being held throughout Wirral in the second week of February.

Just recently Dean found himself the subject of tabloid articles and hundreds of online postings and message boards after being asked to complete the long lost Beatle lyric for a BBC radio programme.

Dean has collaborated with some of the top names in the music industry, with over 25 years’ experience. His songs have been broadcast on national radio and television. His live performances have taken him from the Wirral folkscene to the Royal Albert Hall.

In the week before Valentine’s Day, he will be available to work with anyone who has that love song trapped inside. Dean will be holding songwriting workshops at Happy Hearts events organised by the Cascade Project for local residents to showcase their skills and talents to their friends and neighbours.

Dean says, “Over the years I have worked with many different musicians. These workshops will be a brilliant opportunity for me to work with people who have that raw desire to express themselves through song. There is so much talent out there. People have fallen into the trap of covering other people’s work but these workshops will help release the hidden songwriter that’s eager to get out. You don’t have to be a musician to take part, just a desire to put your feelings into words.”

The FREE Happy Hearts events will also feature activities such as cooking a romantic meal, designing and making Valentine’s cards, ceramic gifts and floral bouquets, and belly dancing. They will be held at the following community centres:

· The Allandale, Oakdale Road, Seacombe on Monday 8 February between 10am – 1pm.

· Woodchurch Methodist Centre, Pemberton Road on Wednesday 10 February between 1pm – 4pm

· Leasowe Learning and Wellbeing Centre in the Millennium Centre, Leasowe on Thursday 11 February between 10am – 2pm.

For further details and to book a place, please contact Martin or Jenny at the Cascade Project, St James Centre, 344 Laird Street, Birkenhead. Tel 0151 670 9974, or e-mail cascadewirral@btconnect.com

Dean is to play a very rare hometown gig when he opens for the legendary 70's band Stackridge at the Pacific Road Arts Centre on Friday 29 January.

The band's seminal melodic pop and Dean's confessianal acoustic ballads will be a great bill, and both artists share strong Beatle connections.

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Home | News | Bullets & Daffodils | YouTube | Gigs | Blog | Biography
Discography | Gallery | Workshops | Related Artists | Shop | Links | Guestbook
Contact Us