Johnny McElhone
Encyclopedia
John Francis "Johnny" McElhone (born 21 April 1963, Bearsden
, Scotland
) is a Scottish
guitar
ist and songwriter
.
Unusually, he has played with three, otherwise unconnected rock bands, who have all enjoyed a Top 20 presence in the UK Singles Chart
. Indeed, two of those groups (Altered Images
and Texas
) have repeated that feat in the UK Albums Chart
. In addition, McElhone (who founded the band) contributed the musical part of co-writing the bulk of Texas's material.
He is the son of Scottish Labour Party
politicians Frank
and Helen McElhone
. His own son, child actor Jack McElhone
, co-starred with Gerard Butler
and Emily Mortimer
in the 2004 film
, Dear Frankie
, winning several film festival awards.
Bearsden
Bearsden ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the City Centre, and is effectively a suburb, with housing development coinciding with the introduction of a railway line in 1863, and from where the town gets its name...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) is a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Unusually, he has played with three, otherwise unconnected rock bands, who have all enjoyed a Top 20 presence in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Indeed, two of those groups (Altered Images
Altered Images
Altered Images were an early 1980s Scottish New Wave / post-punk band. Led by lead singer Clare Grogan, the band branched into mainstream pop music, and had a string of chart hits between 1981 and 1983.-Early career:...
and Texas
Texas (band)
Texas are a Scottish pop band from Bearsden, near Glasgow, Scotland. They were founded by Johnny McElhone in 1986 and feature Sharleen Spiteri on lead vocals. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at Scotland's University of Dundee...
) have repeated that feat in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. In addition, McElhone (who founded the band) contributed the musical part of co-writing the bulk of Texas's material.
He is the son of Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
politicians Frank
Frank McElhone
Francis Patrick "Frank" McElhone was a Scottish Labour Party politician.McElhone was elected Member of Parliament for Glasgow Gorbals at a 1969 by-election, serving until the constituency was abolished in boundary changes for the 1974 general election.He was then elected as MP for Glasgow Queen's...
and Helen McElhone
Helen McElhone
Helen Margaret McElhone is a Scottish politician. She worked together with her husband, Frank McElhone, during his time as a Member of Parliament representing Glasgow from 1969...
. His own son, child actor Jack McElhone
Jack McElhone
Jack McElhone is a Scottish actor. He is famous for his role as Frankie in the 2004 film Dear Frankie, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland Award. He also had roles in Young Adam, The Book Group, Stacked and Nowhere Boy....
, co-starred with Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
and Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer
Emily Kathleen A. Mortimer is an English actress. She began performing on stage, and has since appeared in several film and television roles, including Scream 3, Match Point, Lars and the Real Girl, and Shutter Island....
in the 2004 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Dear Frankie
Dear Frankie
Dear Frankie is a 2004 British drama film directed by Shona Auerbach. The screenplay by Andrea Gibb focuses on a young single mother whose love for her son prompts her to perpetuate a deception designed to protect him from the truth about his father....
, winning several film festival awards.