John Blackburn is currently known as a member of Skin's backing band as the bass and keyboard player. His first gig with Skin was on the V Stage for the V Festival

V Festival

The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...

 in 2003.

Blackburn also played with Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer

John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...

 & The Mescaleros

The Mescaleros

The Mescaleros were the backing band for Joe Strummer, formed in 1999, which went on to make three albums prior to Strummer's death in 2002. Many of the band members were gifted multi-instrumentalists...

, filling in for Scott Shields

Scott Shields (musician)

Scott Shields is a Scottish musician and record producer, best known as a member of Joe Strummer's backing band The Mescaleros.-Biography:...

 on the 2000 tour supporting The Who

The Who

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

 during the UK leg, and is featured as a Mescalero in A. Davie's book Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. Vision of a Homeland.

Blackburn and his family now live in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.