John Evan

{{short description|British musician and composer|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Other people|John Evans}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}} {{BLP sources|date=April 2010}} {{Infobox musical artist  | name = John Evan | image = Jethro-Tull-9-73(2).jpg | caption = John Evan in concert with Jethro Tull in 1973 | background = solo_singer | birth_name = John Spencer Evans | alias = John Evans | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1948|3|28}} | birth_place = [[Blackpool]], Lancashire, England | instrument = Keyboards | genre = [[Progressive rock]] | occupation = {{hlist|Musician|songwriter|record producer}} | years_active = 1960s–present | label = [[Chrysalis Records]], A New Day Records | past_member_of = [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] }}

'''John Evan''' (born '''John Spencer Evans'''; born 28 March 1948, in [[Derby]], Derbyshire) is a British musician and composer. He is best known as the keyboardist for [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] from April 1970 to June 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p74580|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: John Evan|last=Hill|first=Gary|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref>

==Early life== Evans' father was headmaster at a Derbyshire village school and his mother was a local concert pianist and piano teacher. The family moved to Blackpool, Lancashire in October 1949. Evans was educated at Blackpool Grammar School, where he met [[Ian Anderson]] and [[Jeffrey Hammond]], and at Chelsea College, now [[King's College London]].

==Career== Evans changed his name when his first band, The Blades, changed their name to The John Evan Band. [[Jeffrey Hammond]] apparently thought 'The John Evan Band' sounded better than 'The John Evans Band'. He participated in the Blackpool musical scene, with most of the musicians that would become Jethro Tull, including [[Barriemore Barlow|Barrie Barlow]], [[Jeffrey Hammond]], [[Glenn Cornick]] and [[Ian Anderson]].

Later on, Evan was attending college when he happened to recognize his then future bandmates on the radio with the song "[[Living in the Past (song)|Living in the Past]]", remarking years later that it stood out to him because of its quite unusual time signature for a pop song ([[Quintuple meter|{{music|time|5|4}}]]).

===Jethro Tull=== In 1970, he played as a session musician on Jethro Tull's ''[[Benefit (album)|Benefit]]'' album (where his acknowledgement reads: "...and John Evan, who played keyboards for our 'benefit'"), and was eventually convinced by [[Ian Anderson (musician)|Ian Anderson]] to leave school to become a full-fledged member of the band. In addition to his many distinctive contributions to the group's overall musical sound and stage personality, it is also notable that Evan composed the memorable piano introduction to "[[Locomotive Breath]]", having achieved this task in the studio while some of the other band members were out to lunch.

Whilst with Jethro Tull, Evan had a penchant for wearing his trademark white suit, along with a yellow shirt underneath and a pink-and-yellow [[polka-dot]] tie. Evan can be seen wearing this outfit in photographs on the album ''[[War Child (album)|War Child]]'', and the live album ''[[Bursting Out]]'', while a painted version of him is seen wearing the suit and tie on the inside cover of the ''[[Aqualung (Jethro Tull album)|Aqualung]]'' album. During concerts, Evan's wildly rendered pantomime gestures would conjure visions for audiences of a cross between [[Harpo Marx]] and [[Mad Hatter|The Hatter]] from ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (sans the hat). Because of the familiar white suit, Anderson was known to jokingly refer to Evan (during band member introductions) as "everyone's favourite ice cream salesman".{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

==After Jethro Tull== Evan departed Jethro Tull in July 1980, with the "Big Split" of the band. He then went on to form [[Tallis (band)|Tallis]] with fellow departing Tull member, [[Dee Palmer]].<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 344 | id= CN 5585}}</ref> He appeared in the 2004 DVD ''Jethro Tull – A New Day Yesterday: The 25th Anniversary Collection (1969–1994)'' (originally released in 1994 on VHS), the 2008 DVD ''Jethro Tull – Their Fully Authorised Story (1968–2008)'', and the 2009 CD/DVD combo ''Jethro Tull – Live at Madison Square Garden (1978)''. In 2018, Evan appeared in a video segment, dressed as a flower, during Ian Anderson's Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicconnection.com/jethro-tull-50th-anniversary/|title=Ian Anderson Presents Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary|last=Kluft|first=Alex|date=2018-06-07|website=Musicconnection.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-06-18}}</ref>

In his middle years Evan started a construction company and enjoyed long-distance bicycle touring and rallies in many parts of the world. Now he makes his home in Melbourne where he sings in local choirs but due to bicycle injuries to his hands can't play the piano.<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Evan |url=https://jethrotull.com/the-attic/past-band-members-and-guests/john-evan/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Jethro Tull |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Album discography== ===With The John Evan Band=== *''Live 1966'' (A New Day Records){{Citationneeded|date=December 2023}}

===With Jethro Tull=== ;Studio albums * ''[[Benefit (album)|Benefit]]'' (1970 - as [[session musician]]) * ''[[Aqualung (Jethro Tull album)|Aqualung]]'' (1971) * ''[[Thick as a Brick]]'' (1972) * ''[[A Passion Play]]'' (1973) * ''[[War Child (album)|War Child]]'' (1974) * ''[[Minstrel in the Gallery]]'' (1975) * ''[[Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!]]'' (1976) * ''[[Songs from the Wood]]'' (1977) * ''[[Heavy Horses]]'' (1978) * ''[[Stormwatch (album)|Stormwatch]]'' (1979)

;Compilations * ''[[Living in the Past (album)|Living in the Past]]'' (1972) * ''[[20 Years of Jethro Tull]]'' * ''[[25th Anniversary Box Set]]'' * ''[[Nightcap (album)|Nightcap]]''

;Live albums * ''[[Bursting Out]]'' (1978) * ''[[Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970]]'' (as session musician, released in 2004) * ''[[Live at Carnegie Hall 1970 (Jethro Tull)|Live at Carnegie Hall 1970]]'' (as session musician, released in 2015) * ''[[Live at Madison Square Garden 1978]]''

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://jethrotull.com/the-attic/past-band-members-and-guests/john-evan/ Biography on official Jethro Tull website] *{{Discogs artist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evan, John}} [[Category:1948 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century British organists]] [[Category:Alumni of King's College London]] [[Category:British keyboardists]] [[Category:British rock keyboardists]] [[Category:Jethro Tull (band) members]] [[Category:Musicians from Blackpool]] [[Category:Progressive rock keyboardists]] [[Category:Progressive rock organists]] [[Category:Progressive rock pianists]] [[Category:British rock pianists]]