ABOUT JOHN DAVID
JOHN DAVID
John originally built Berry Hill Studio to record his own song demos which, fortuitously, helped him over the years become a multi-hit producer, sound engineer, and songwriter. His philosophy is to treat every track as a single and go for that hit record. If the artist has something particular in mind, that's great: John sees his role as working with artists to develop and deliver the exact sound they want.
John's music career began playing the drums, aged 14, in his father's big band. By the age of 20, he had hooked up with Dave Edmunds to form Love Sculpture
with whom they had a #2 hit, Sabre Dance. They followed that success a few years later with the massive worldwide hit, I Hear You Knocking.
The studio began to attract local and independent artists, established international acts, and music labels and John went on to produce everything from classical to punk. Mark Knopfler, Robert Plant, Dave Edmunds, Shakin' Stevens, Albert Lee, the BBC, ITV, Artista, Zomba and EMI record labels, to name but a few.
As well as studio manager, producer, engineer, and musician, John has also had a highly successful songwriting career and seen his titles recorded by over 200 artists worldwide.
PRODUCER
John's talents as a music producer have attracted many big names such as Mark Knopfler, Robert Plant, Dave Edmunds, Shakin' Stevens, BBC, Arista, Zomba, EMI, Sire, to name only a few. Additionally, John has produced many up and coming bands for major and indie labels alike and recorded all genres of music.
ENGINEER
John has engineered for bands who have recorded at his Berry Hill Studio including Shakin' Stevens, Giles Matthews, and Bo Walton. He, in turn, has worked in other studios for albums and singles on behalf of Robert Plant, Cliff Richard, Status Quo, Alvin Stardust, Samantha Fox, Little Richard, and many more.
MUSICIAN
As a musician, John has performed with Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Sting, Bryan Adams, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and many others. He's also had several parallel careers: as a session bass player and backing vocals with acts such as Airwaves, Andy Fairweather Low, Carl Perkins, Dave Edmunds, and Robert Plant; and as a solo performer in his own right with United Artists and Albion Records.
SONGWRITER
John has had top ten hits with She Means Nothing To Me
sung by Cliff Richard and Phil Everly, another with Alvin Stardust and I Won't Run Away, and a top twenty hit, Hold on Tight, for Samantha Fox. John has written regularly for Status Quo – eight singles, three album tracks – as well as songs for Robert Palmer, Little Richard, The Searchers, Dave Edmunds, Webb Wilder, Luciana, and Vicious Pink.
