Jon Camp
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Jon Camp | |
|---|---|
 Camp in 1979 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 9 October 1949 Winchmore Hill, London, England |
| Died | 13 December 2024 (aged 75) |
| Instruments | Bass, guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1967–2024 |
| Formerly of | Renaissance |
Jon Camp (9 October 1949 — 13 December 2024) was an English 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]
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
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]
![](#/media/File:Renaissance_"Azure_D’_Or"_(1979_Sire_press_photo).jpg)
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.