Jon Allen
December 1st marks the release of ‘Going Home’ - the debut full single release by South Devon’s finest singer-songwriter Jon Allen: a rootsy blend of early 70s style folk rock, with a touch of Nick Drake and Elliot Smith.
‘Going Home’ has been featured on a worldwide Land Rover TV advert this year and subsequently achieved close to 20,000 downloads from Allen’s website. The song also garnered an early champion in Radio 1’s Jo Whiley. The downloads were made after Allen had several labels chasing his tail for a deal. Rather than wait for the slow-moving wheels of the industry to react to the success of the advert, he pressed ahead and sold the track himself and has used the proceeds to set up his own label.
Fans of early Rod Stewart and the Faces, Tim Hardin or Credence Clearwater Revival should find much to like, but there is equally a strong contemporary nod to Damian Rice and Jose Gonzales. With a well-crafted album due for release early 2009, Jon Allen is a serious contender.
‘Going Home’ possesses a reflective, 60s style wistfulness and, according to Allen, has an open lyrical content which could be seen as existential, or anything else you might want. B-side ‘Dead Man’s Suit’ (also the album’s title track) has a playful lyric, over a sprightly pop-rock track with a Zombies-style organ line. Allen expounds on said garment: “I thought it was black, I found out it was blue – now I’m seeing things that only dead men do.â€
A country boy, Jon Allen was born near Winchester and moved to Totnes, South Devon when he was six. At 15 Jon traded his computer for an electric guitar and a fifteen watt guitar amp. After a year of playing an upside down, right-handed model he switched to a leftie after trying to play along to ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ from the Beatles ‘Let It Be' album and failing to reach round the neck to play a chord. Allen rented a room for £8 a week at Darlington Hall where he developed his sound. (Philanthropists Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst bought the dilapidated stately home in 1925 and converted it into a progressive school. An influx of ‘alternative’ people soon followed, flourishing to this day).
Allen left the south west in his teens and enrolled on a degree course at The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. A five star review of one of his demos in 'Making Music' magazine led to offers of management in London, which became his next destination after graduation.
Since arriving, Allen has supported Emmylou Harris, Damien Rice, KT Tunstall, Jose Gonzalez and Mark Knopfler. He’s also found fans in Coldplay producer Ken Nelson and songwriter to the stars, Guy Chambers. Following the Land Rover advert and near 20k downloads of ‘Going Home’, Jon remains self-funded and independent, releasing on his own label, Monologue Records. The Landrover ad will be running again from mid November 2008.