John Helmer

John Helmer (born 1956) is a former musician and part-time writer best known for contributing lyrics for Marillion.

With The Piranhas

From 1977 to 1981, "Johnny" Helmer was a guitarist and vocalist in the Brighton-based ska punk band The Piranhas, best known for their 1980 top ten hit "Tom Hark". While in The Piranhas, Helmer attended Sussex University and obtained a degree in English. After The Piranhas split in 1981, Helmer formed a "rock comedy" act called Pookiesnackenburger with Nick Dwyer, formerly with Nicky and the Dots. They had a Spinal Tap-like series on BBC TV and also appeared in a Heineken commercial. Pookiesnackenburger finally evolved into the dance troupe Stomp, which Helmer also wrote lyrics for. [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/marillion-faq/part2/section-13.html]

With Marillion

After the departure of Fish (1988), whose complex lyrics had been a signature feature of Marillion's music, the band was uncertain whether any successor would be able to write lyrics on a similar level. EMI put them in touch with Helmer at this point. They eventually found Steve Hogarth, who already had experience in writing lyrics for his previous project How We Live. Still, Helmer went on to contribute to Marillion albums over the next decade. He also wrote most lyrics for Carnival of Souls, a 1996 album by Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery's side project The Wishing Tree.

As a writer

In 1999, Helmer published a novel titled "Mother Tongue".

As of 1999, Helmer held a day job as a marketing manager for a Brighton-based internet company [Jane Ridley, "Eighties hit is No.1 with soccer fans", "The Mirror", October 15, 1999 [http://www.stockaitkenwaterman.com/artists/pira01.htm] ] .

Bibliography

*"Mother Tongue", Quartet Books, 1 April 1999, ISBN: 0704381052

References

External links

* [http://www.marillion.com/shop/merch/mother.htm "Mother Tongue" at marillion.com]
* [http://www.marillion.com/band/other.htm#helmer John Helmer at marillion.com]