After a short foray into jazz, John was won over by his interest in folk music,notably The Clancy Brothers and The Kingston Trio.John's musical career lasted from the 1960s until 2010,mainly with The Mariners, Plum Duff and Titus,where his skills in organisation, arranging and presentation contributed greatly to the successes experienced by each group.

John played mandolin,autoharp,whistle and occasional guitar and fronted the band Titus, with Ian, creating much humour and adding effective high harmonies to the group sound. 

 

He took over as the main organiser of the celebrated Black Horse Folk Club at Telham for thirteen years,from 1970 until the club closed in 1983, bringing all the stars of the folk revival to that crowded clubroom on Saturday nights, and in 1989 was one of the trio who started ,what became, the very successful Black Horse Music Festival.From the mid 1990s his Black Horse Christmas Reunion Nights raised thousands of pounds for St. Michael's Hospice. John also ran The Hayloft Folk Club at Fairlight during a break from the Black Horse in the late 1970s.

 

Sadly John died in September 2010,after a long period of ill -health,but urged the group to replace him which Alan Marshall duly did.His final gig was at The Beacon Folk Club in Tunbridge Wells, a couple of months before his death.

 

 
Titus Mark 3