Daniel Johns
Daniel Paul Johns (born 22 April 1979) is an Australian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the frontman, guitarist, and main songwriter of the rock band Silverchair. Johns is also one half of The Dissociatives with Paul Mac and one half of Dreams with Luke Steele. He released his first solo album, Talk, in 2015. Johns' second solo album, FutureNever, was released on 22 April 2022.
Daniel Johns
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
1992–present
- Vocals
- guitar
- keyboards
In 2007, Johns was ranked at number 18 on Rolling Stone's list of The 25 Most Underrated Guitarists.[1] Johns has won 21 ARIA Awards from 49 nominations as a member of Silverchair,[2] and has earned four other nominations as a solo artist.[3]
Early life[edit]
Johns was born on 22 April 1979[4] to Greg and Julie Johns.[5] His father owned a fruit shop in Newcastle, and his mother was a housewife.[6][7] He grew up in Merewether, New South Wales, Australia, with two younger siblings.[8]
Johns attended Newcastle High School,[9] from which he graduated in 1997.[10]
Career[edit]
Silverchair (1992–2011)[edit]
At the age of 12, Johns and school friends Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou formed a band, originally named "The Innocent Criminals", and practiced daily after school for periods of four hours or more.[8][11]
The band's career began when the three members were 15 years old when a demo recording of their song "Tomorrow" won a competition that was run by the SBS TV programme Nomad.[8] The group, now named Silverchair, subsequently accepted a three-album deal from Sony Music in 1994, and the label hurriedly released their first album Frogstomp in 1995 after "Tomorrow" remained in the No. 1 position on the Australian singles chart for six weeks.[12]
The band released Freak Show in 1997,[13] followed by Neon Ballroom in 1999,[14] and then Diorama in 2002.[15] Following Diorama, Silverchair embarked on a lengthy hiatus before the release of the next album.[12]
In late 2005, Johns and Silverchair reunited and announced the production of a new album entitled Young Modern, whose title comes from a nickname given to Johns by composer Van Dyke Parks.[16] The new album was released on 31 March 2007 and was followed by the Across the Great Divide tour with fellow Australian band Powderfinger.
In May 2011, Silverchair announced on their website that the band was going into "indefinite hibernation" and explained that "it's become increasingly clear that the spark simply isn't there between the three of us at the moment".[17][18] Later that month, Johns and filmmaker Josh Wakely presented a talk at TEDx Sydney in which they discussed a film that they were working on that was tentatively titled My Mind's Own Melody. A video of the talk was uploaded to YouTube in June 2011,[19] and a trailer for the completed film was released in mid-2012.[20]
I Can't Believe It's Not Rock and The Dissociatives (2000–2004)[edit]
During the post-Diorama hiatus, Johns worked on several side projects, the most notable being The Dissociatives with dance musician/producer Paul Mac. Johns and Mac worked together since Mac's 1997 remix of "Freak" and his contribution to Neon Ballroom. In 2000, they recorded a five-track EP I Can't Believe It's Not Rock. Their debut album The Dissociatives (2004) was initially recorded in London, United Kingdom, and a few months later, the two regrouped in Sydney and Newcastle to finish off the project. The Dissociatives toured with musicians Kim Moyes on drums, Julian Hamilton on keys, and James Haselwood on bass.
Collaborations[edit]
On 13 June 2008, it was reported on Silverchair's website that Johns was working on a new side project with Luke Steele (The Sleepy Jackson, Empire of the Sun), but a release date was not confirmed for the collaboration. In 2008, the name of the project was "Hathaway and Palmer," according to a radio interview that Steele conducted, but this has not been confirmed since.[21]
In December 2008, Johns was named as the producer of The Scare's album.[22]
In 2012, Johns collaborated with the Australian Chamber Orchestra to create the soundtrack Atlas for a Qantas Airlines commercial that began airing a week before the 2012 Olympics.[23] Johns explained:
Controversy[edit]
In July 2007, Johns claimed on Australian radio station Triple J that he had shared a joint with his then-wife Natalie Imbruglia, Australian Federal MP and ex-Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, and U2 frontman Bono in November 2006 while they listened to a demo recording of Silverchair's album Young Modern. In response, Tony Wood, whose daughter Anna Wood died of water intoxication secondary to use of MDMA, suggested that Garrett be subject to a drug test.[47] Garrett asserted that he had not touched marijuana since his twenties, and Johns said the original statement was a joke, adding he thought it would be obvious that it was a joke, as both Garrett and Bono were publicly against drugs.[48]
On 28 October 2014, Johns was stopped by police when they spotted his black Jaguar travelling at a speed of between 70 and 80 kilometres per hour (43 and 50 mph) along Morgan Street in Merewether, which is governed by a speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph). Johns, who was arrested for driving under the influence, told police that he had consumed four large wines between 4.30pm and 7.40pm. Johns was required to attend a traffic offenders course;[49] he reappeared in Newcastle Local Court in February 2015 and was convicted of mid-range drunk driving, receiving an $880 fine and disqualification from driving until June 2015. "I made a mistake, for which I am really sorry," the singer told reporters outside the court that day. "I completed the traffic offenders program, and it will never happen again."[50] However, in March 2022, Johns was again charged with a DUI (this time in the high range, testing 0.157, which is more than three times the legal limit) after his SUV crossed to the wrong side of the Pacific Highway at North Arm Cove and collided with a van travelling in the opposite direction.[51] A woman passenger of the van was hospitalised, but there were no serious injuries and she was released from the hospital that same night.[51][52] Johns said of the incident, "I have to step back now as I'm self-admitting to a rehabilitation centre and I don't know how long I'll be there." Johns said he had been medicating with alcohol to deal with his PTSD, anxiety and depression.[51] On 7 July 2022, Johns was sentenced. The judge said the charge was serious but Johns' background and circumstances were exceptional and gave him a relatively light punishment by disqualifying him from driving for seven months and a 10-month intensive corrections order.[53]
On 11 August 2019, The Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Mail published a false story about Johns alleging that he had been spending his time at a notorious Sydney S&M brothel and bondage club called The Kastle.[54] Johns sued The Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Mail for defamation and denied the allegations, describing them as "simply untrue" and "hurtful, humiliating, and damaging to me and my family".[54] The Kastle's proprietor also denied that Johns had ever been at the club.[54] The Telegraph's publisher News Corp has paid Johns a $470,000 settlement.[54] The Sunday Telegraph issued a retraction and apology to Johns on 3 May 2020.[55] The Daily Mail issued a retraction and apology on 8 August 2020: "The story was wrong. Mr Johns had not been there and he has never been there. Daily Mail retracts the story and apologises to Mr Johns for the error and for the hurt and damage caused to him."[56]
Personal life[edit]
Health[edit]
In late 1997, during the Freak Show tour, Johns experienced depression.[57] In 2004, Johns spoke at length to ABC interviewer Andrew Denton about his battle with anorexia nervosa at that time, saying that he weighed less than 50 kg (110 lb) at his thinnest. He also revealed that at one point he had considered suicide. However he was by then married to singer Natalie Imbruglia, who provided him with emotional support, and he was healthy.[58]
After recording Diorama, Johns was diagnosed with a rare but serious case of reactive arthritis. After treatment in Los Angeles, he was able to tour with the band for the Across the Night Tour.[59]
After putting Silverchair into "indefinite hibernation" in 2011, Johns retreated to his home in Merewether, later stating "I felt like I was losing who I was". He checked the surf conditions obsessively every morning even though he hadn't surfed since his teens. By his own admission, he spent four years hiding and shutting things out. He kept company with his shar-pei–whippet crossbred dog named Gia, watched movies with the blinds closed, and ordered online grocery deliveries.[60]
Animal rights[edit]
Johns is known for his animal rights support, having revealed that he was a vegan in 1998,[61] although it was stated that he was a pescetarian in 2009.[62] The Neon Ballroom song "Spawn Again" features Johns' views on animal liberation.[63]
Relationships[edit]
In 1999, Johns met Australian actress, singer, and model Natalie Imbruglia backstage at a Silverchair concert in London. They started dating after meeting again at the ARIA awards after-party at the Gazebo Hotel in Sydney in October of the same year.[64] After years of an on-and-off relationship,[65][66] Johns announced their engagement shortly before Christmas 2002,[67] and they married on New Year's Eve 2003.[68] Johns wrote the song "Satisfied" for Imbruglia's 2005 album Counting Down the Days, which he also produced,[69] and co-wrote the song "Want" from Imbruglia's 2009 album Come to Life.[70][71] Imbruglia wrote her 2005 single "Counting Down the Days" about their long-distance relationship, as Imbruglia was based in London and Johns in Newcastle.[68] On 4 January 2008, they announced that they were divorcing, stating, "We have simply grown apart through not being able to spend enough time together."[72]
In 2008, Johns was dating Australian model Louise Van der Vorst.[73] In 2009, the couple moved from Australia to New York City so that Van der Vorst could expand her modelling career. By July 2011, the couple were living together in Newcastle, Australia.[74] They split in 2012.[75][76]
In early 2013, Johns was spotted with fashion designer Estelita Huijer in Sydney.[76] Johns commenced a relationship with former model Michelle Leslie in October 2016.[77]
Awards and nominations[edit]
AIR Awards[edit]
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.