My name is Jo.
I grew up , the sixth child (and second daughter) of Dr Calum and Mrs Alice Bartlett in Frimley Green, Surrey.
My Mum ran the local nursery school from our house and Dad was the village doctor.
Each summer we went on holiday to the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, where my father had grown up.
Avidly reading ‘Smash Hits’, ‘The Face’ and then the ‘N.M.E.’, I was in my first band at 14. I promoted my first gig at 17. I went on to promote loads of gigs at The Buzz Club in Aldershot, which I started in 1985 and booked The Stone Roses, Blur, The Manic Street Preachers, Suede, The Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, The Charlatans and lots more.
I was always in bands while I promoted those gigs. I was part of the C-86 movement, releasing a couple of 12″s on Dan Treacy’s Dreamworld Records.
I worked in London as a press officer and plugger for independent label, Ultimate Records from 1991 – 96. Organising press trips to Japan, TV appearances, radio sessions and live reviews for lots of fantastic bands. Including this live tv appearance for Senser on ‘The Word’ – i’m in the crowd somewhere!
I’ve released records in many guises over the years on various labels. We signed to R.C.A. as It’s Jo and Danny in 2000. Danny and I had our music used for the goal round up on Match of the Day and had a Single of the Week on the Virgin Radio drive time show.
We shot the ‘Love Expression’ video, in the barn where we lived, just outside Brecon, in Wales. It stars our son, baby Spike and some local musicians, neighbours and friends.
My music was used by Liam Gallagher for his Pretty Green clothing line, and included on the Guitar Hero computer game with my group, The Yellow Moon Band.
Danny and I moved from London to Brecon in Wales in 2000. We started the Green Man Festival there in August 2003. Three hundred and fifty people attended the first one, in a small Welsh castle.
I ending up booking Robert Plant, Michael Kiwanuka, The Flaming Lips, Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons, James Blake, Billy Bragg, The National, Laura Marling, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and loads more.…plus live soundtracks to 1970’s cult films in the cinema tent after midnight, DJs….loads and loads of wonderful music, films, talks and more. We grew the festival from 350 year one, for one day and night, to 15,000 people for four days and nights by 2011. We moved on after that festival – the 9th. I’m writing about it here.
I started releasing a few solo tracks in 2023 and have been getting regular plays on BBC 6 Music, Radio X, BBC Radio London and BBC Radio Wales.
‘Drawing A Line’ was released on 26 January 2024.
These tracks form part of my new album, ‘Ghost Tapes 1 to 9′ which was released on 26 April 2024.
Indie Through The Looking Glass 