Jona Lewie (born John Lewis, 14 March 1947 in Southampton, England) is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his 1980 UK hits "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" and "Stop the Cavalry".
Career[]
A most significant step in the continuing rise of Lewie's career was when he was signed to Stiff Records in 1977. In 1978, he had a two hits with "The Baby, She's On The Street" and "Hallelujah Europa", they were both topped of the charts. In 1980, following appearances on the Stiff package tours, he had a solo hit with the humorous synthpop number, "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" co-written with fellow Brett Marvin member Keef Trouble, which made the British Top 20.[2] His next single, "Big Shot — Momentarily", was a hit in Germany but not in the UK. By the end of 1980 he was back in the British charts with what became his biggest UK hit, "Stop the Cavalry".[2] His subsequent 1981 release, "Louise (We Get It Right)" reached no. 2 in Australia, and achieved chart success in other world territories. His recordings of his songs for Stiff Records : "Vous Et Moi" and "The Seed That Always Died", both charted in France. Both 'Kitchen At Parties' and 'Stop The Cavalry' had also been hits in Germany at the times of their original releases in 1980 and 1981 respectively, and remained popular in Germany. In 2010 and 2011 both tracks achieved prominent positions in an all time German chart that appeared in a high ratings TV show: not only in the Electronica category (for 'You Will Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties') but also in the Pop category (for 'Stop The Cavalry'). Lewie performed in both the Electronica and Pop Ultimate Chart Programmes known as 'The Ultimate Chart Show' which was broadcast to the nation from Cologne in 2010 and 2011 . He also talked on the 'chat' part of the show with the aid of a German translator.
During the 1990s, Lewie appeared with solo public performances on a 60 day UK tour as guest of The Blues Band, playing venues such as theatres and civic centres, while occasionally playing one-off gigs such as that at the Hackney Empire, London and taking part in occasional radio and television broadcasts. In December 2005, he appeared in Channel 4's Bring Back...The Christmas Number One, along with David Essex and Slade. They only fronted, but did not play on, the studio recording session of "I'm Going Home". It failed to secure a recording contract. It was written by ex-Mud star Rob Davis, who also appeared on the show. In 2009, Lewie performed two songs at the London Ukulele Festival. The next year Lewie joined Captain Sensible and The Glitter Band on their British tour, but he was able to do only three performances due to prior commitments.
Discography[]
Albums[]
- Alias Jona Lewie (1975)
- On the Other Hand There's a Fist (1978)
- Gatecrasher (Compilation of singles for Sonet) (1980)
- Heart Skips Beat (1982)
- Optimistic (1993)
- Ukephoric: The London Ukulele Festival 2009 (2010)
Singles[]
- "Cherry Ring" (1976)
- "The Baby, She's on the Street" (1978)
- "Hallelujah Europa" (1978)
- "God Bless Whoever Made You" (1979)
- "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" (1980) (UK #16) (AUS #21)
- "Big Shot — Momentarily" (1980)
- "Stop the Cavalry" (1980) (UK #3; BPI: Gold) (AUS #2)
- "Louise (We Get It Right)" (1981) (AUS #2)
- "Shaggy Raggy" (1981)
- "Re-arranging the Deckchairs on the Titanic" (1981)
- "I Think I'll Get my Hair Cut" (1981) (AUS #71)
- "Love Detonator" (1983)