| Johnny Borrell |
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Jonathan Edward Borrell |
| Born |
April 4, 1980 (1980-04-04) (age 27) |
| Origin |
 London, England |
| Genre(s) |
Indie rock |
| Occupation(s) |
Musician |
| Instrument(s) |
Guitar
Vocals
Bass |
Associated
acts |
Razorlight
The Libertines |
| Notable instrument(s) |
| Gibson L6S
Custom and Deluxe |
Johnny Borrell (born Jonathan
Edward Borrell, 4 April 1980, in Muswell Hill, London, England) is an English singer and guitarist,
and the frontman of the band Razorlight.
|
Contents
- 1 Life
and career
- 2 Reputation
and controversy
- 2.1 Borrell
and The Libertines
- 2.2 Borrell
and The Kooks
- 2.3 Borrell
and Keane
- 3 Trivia
- 4 References
- 5 External
links
|
Life and career
He grew up in and around the city of London, in Muswell
Hill, and attended first St. Anthony's
School, Hampstead, and then Highgate School, an expensive public
school, with John Hassall,
former bassist of The Libertines and frontman
of Yeti.
He currently resides in the Hampstead Heath area. He went on to form
Razorlight with Carl Dalemo, Christian
Smith Pancorvo (Later exchanged for Andy
Burrows) and Björn Ågren. After a string of top
twenty hits including "Golden Touch", their debut album Up All
Night charted at number 3 in the UK, and
stop-gap single "Somewhere Else" just missed
out on the number 1 spot. Their self-titled follow-up album was
released July
17, 2006,
and debuted at number 1 in the UK album chart, giving the band their
first release to top the chart. Johnny and Razorlight scored their
first UK number 1 single with "America" on the 8th of October '06.
Reputation and controversy
Borrell is notorious for his arrogant attitude towards the
press and is famous for his proclamations of his own abilities.
However, like many other artists who come across negatively in NME interviews, Borrell
and supporters have accused the magazine of misrepresentation and
emphasising quotes out of context.
Interviewers have recently alluded to tension between Borrell and the
two Swedish members of the band, one of whom claims Borrell spends
little time with them.
Borrell and The Libertines
Borrell is one of "The Dalston Set", a clique of indie
notables connected to the early days of the London scene of the early
2000s, along with Dominic Masters of The
Others, Pete Doherty, Carl
Barât, John Hassall, and
the Queens of Noize. It has
been reported that he was briefly a stand-in bassist for The
Libertines before they were signed, but in recent interviews
he has claimed that this is not true. In Pete Welsh's Kids in the
Riot, it is alleged that Borrell was sacked as The Libertines' bassist
for unreliable behaviour and not turning up to gigs,
but in general there is little animosity between the two bands, and
Borrell remains friends with Carl Barât. The Libertines'
song "The Boy Looked At Johnny" is
reputedly about Borrell, and Razorlight album track "Don't Go Back To Dalston"
is reputedly directed at Pete Doherty, telling him to
curtail his drug habit. Another Razorlight song talking about
curtailing a drug habit is "Up All Night" which is largely
misinterpreted as being a love song. However, Borrell's former friend
Pete Doherty headbutted him backstage at the Leeds Festival in 2005.
Borrell and The Kooks
In the May 17, 2006 issue of the NME, Borrell became embroiled
in a spat with fellow NME favourites The
Kooks, as a result of his remarks that their music is 'shit'
and the lead singer 'boring'. In an interview with the popular music
magazine NME Borrell is quoted as saying "He models his style on me.
And that record is the most horrible thing I've ever heard. It sounds
like the band are literally rolling over, sticking their arse in the
air and begging Radio 1 to fuck them. I heard their single on the radio
the other day and it sounds like fucking Avril
Lavigne! If he can live with himself after that production, and if he
feels like he has to slag people off to keep up, then I'm sure his
nights are long and those moments of doubt are really painful. So fuck
The Kooks. Fuck 'em!" [3]" implying that The Kooks had "sold out" to
the commercial music industry by signing to Virgin
Records and adjusting their sound to become more marketable.
Ironically, Radio 1 had held a "Razorlight week" recently before that
to coincide with and promote the band's second album.
Borrell also said that he believed Razorlight were better than
the Arctic Monkeys.
Borrell and Keane
In late 2006,
Tim
Rice-Oxley, pianist and songwriter with Keane,
declared their song "The Frog Prince" to be a
criticism of Borrell.
Trivia
- In Razorlight's 2004 release Up All Night,
Borrell recorded the number of the company Vice into the track "Vice."
The number has been quoted as 07761-010-233, though the authenticity of
this number has been disputed. In the video for the track, Borrell is
seen in a phone box with adverts for prostitutes on the walls, as can
be seen across many London phoneboxes. The telephone number for every
advert on the wall is also 07761-010-233.
- He supports Chelsea Football Club.
- Borrell is a big fan of cricket and a member of Middlesex County
Cricket Club.
- He has been romantically linked to Uruguayan-born singer Fabiola Gatti [1] and is currently dating Kirsten
Dunst, who he was seen with at Lord's
during a 2007 cricket match between England and the West Indies.[2].
- He has appeared twice on The
Mighty Boosh, once alone as a giant rapist
rabbit in the 2006 stage show
and once with Razorlight in the episode "The Priest and the Beast".
- Borrell appeared on the front cover of the May 2007 issue
of Vogue
Magazine, alongside supermodel Natalia Vodianova, in his
trademark skinny white jeans. Borrell is one of only seven men who have
appeared on the cover of the British Vogue.
References
-
Harper, A.L.. "Interview: Razorlight Frontman Johnny Borrell
Looks Back and Ahead", BC
Music, 2006-09-10. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
-
"'I'm paying some karma'", Guardian
Unlimited, 2006-12-08. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
-
Welsh, Pete (2005). Kids
in the Riot: High and Low with the Libertines. London:
Omnibus Press. ISBN
1-84449-716-X.
-
"Razorlight
- 'We're better than Arctic Monkeys'", NME,
2006-05-17. Retrieved
on 2007-07-21.
-
"Famous fan: Johnny Borrell", BBC Sport,
2006-07-19. Retrieved
on 2007-07-21.
External links
| v • d • e Razorlight |
| Johnny Borrell
| Björn
Ågren | Carl
Dalemo | Andy Burrows |
| Discography |
| Albums: Up All Night
| Razorlight |
Singles: "Rock
‘N’ Roll Lies" | "Rip It Up" | "Stumble
and Fall" | "Golden Touch" | "Vice" | "Somewhere
Else"
"In
the Morning" | "America" | "Before I Fall to Pieces" | "I Can't Stop This
Feeling I've Got" | "Hold On" |
| Persondata |
| NAME |
Borrell, Johnny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
|
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
English rock singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
April
4, 1980 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
Muswell Hill, London, England |
| DATE OF DEATH |
|
| PLACE OF DEATH |
|
