Jon Camp
Jon Camp | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Renaissance in 1979 Jon Camp is seated in the bottom left | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 9 October 1949 Winchmore Hill, London, England, UK |
| Died | 13 December 2024 (aged 75) |
| Instrument(s) | Bass, guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Formerly of | Renaissance |
Jon Camp (9 October 1949 — 13 December 2024) was a British musician. He was the bassist for Renaissance from 1972 to 1985.[1] He, along with Chris Squire, have been quoted as pioneers of the Rickenbacker bass sound.[2][3]
Early life
[edit]Jon Camp, born in Winchmore Hill, London, went to Edmonton County Grammar School until he was eighteen.[4] Camp's parents bought him his first guitar, a Selmer 555 acoustic guitar, for his tenth birthday.[5] After leaving school his father, who worked in insurance, gave him three months to make a living as a musician or work in insurance.[4]
Career
[edit]His main influences were instrumental groups such as The Shadows, The Outlaws, The Ventures and The Tornados.[5] Jon's first group, which had him on lead guitar, was called 7th Dimension.[5] He soon joined another group, Pepper, who were looking for a bassist; Camp stole his friends bass, auditioned, and got the part, despite the fact Jon could not play the bass.[5] Pepper became known for backing American soul artists who toured in the UK, including Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, the Drifters, the Three Degrees, Gary U.S. Bonds and Four Tops.[4][5] He was also in The Nocturnes, which featured Lyn Paul and Eve Graham of The New Seekers.[5]
In 1972, Camp answered an ad in an issue of Melody Maker about a band looking for a bass player. This band was Renaissance, who had already had a rotation of different bass players since forming in 1969.[4] Camp played in Renaissance from 1972 to 1985, during which he played on nine albums, performed both bass and guitar, and was a primary songwriter in the bands later half of the 70s. Camp was the male lead on the song "Song of Scheherazade" from the album Scheherazade and Other Stories.[6] Camp left Renaissance in 1985.
For many years, Camp was the touring bassist for Roy Wood and played in a band with him called Helicopters.[2] Through Wood, Camp met Robin George, who he toured with on a world tour featuring REO Speedwagon.[5][4] Camp moved to Shropshire where he built a home studio.[4][7] There he met keyboardist John Young and they formed the band Cathedrale with guitarist Brett Wilde, drummer Tony Bodene and vocalist Mark Goddard-Parker.[7] Their only album was released in 2017.[8]
He joined forces with Maurice Douglas to form the duo Mojo, whose album was released in 2017.
Personal life and death
[edit]Jon was close friends with Roy Wood, who is the godfather to Camp's daughters.[4] Camp died on 13 December 2024 at the age of 75.[9] A cause of death was not revealed but he did have Huntington's disease at the time of his death.
Discography
[edit]Renaissance
- Prologue (1972)
- Ashes Are Burning (1973)
- Turn of the Cards (1974)
- Scheherazade and Other Stories (1975)
- Novella (1977)
- A Song for All Seasons (1978)
- Azure d'Or (1979)
- Camera Camera (1981)
- Time-Line (1983)
Others
- Annie in Wonderland — Annie Haslam (1977)[10]
- Live Under Brazilian — Annie Haslam (1998)[10]
- Things Are Getting Stranger on the Shore — Mordecai Smyth[10]
- J2-B2 (Cathedrale) - recorded 1989-1991, released by Angel Air Records 2017
- Urgent Delivery (Mojo) released by Repertoire Records 2017
References
[edit]- ^ "RENAISSANCE bassist Jon Camp passes away at 75". lambgoat.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ a b November 1997 Interview
- ^ The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock - Charles Snider 2007 - page 233 - ISBN 978-0-615-17566-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Jon Camp Interview 2012". renaissance-fanfare.net. Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Band of Rain - Jon Camp - Bass/Keys". bandofrain.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Ewingpublished, Jerry (2024-12-19). "Renaissance bassist Jon Camp has died, aged 75". Louder. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ a b "Jon Camp Interview by Martin Kinch". cherryblossomclinic.x10.mx. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ "Renaissance bassist Jon Camp overleden". Progwereld (in Dutch). 2024-12-24. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ "Jon Camp Passed Away". DMME.net. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ a b c "Jon Camp Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | ..." AllMusic. Retrieved 2025-08-05.