Paul Bonin
Encyclopedia
Paul Bonin is a singer and musician (electric bass
, guitar) and a songwriter/composer. His body of published recorded work spans from 1980 to the present day.
Bonin was born in Hammersmith
, London
and grew up in north London
. He began playing bass in north London punk band
"The Shit", the only band to play at the National Union of Students rally in Hyde Park
in front of a crowd of 5000 in March 1979. Bonin played bass in The Jetset
, recording and touring with the band from 1980-82. During this time, Bonin worked for media mogul
Clive Banks at his Parker Street offices, taking over the office boy’s job from Gary Crowley
, where several well-known bands (The Pretenders
, Elvis Costello
, The Stranglers
, Bob Geldof
) were based.
After moving to Berlin
in 1986, he founded the street-punk band "The Magoo Brothers
". Before their demise in 1989, the band had toured all over Europe, playing over 400 concerts in the process. They released the album Beyond Believable in 1988 on the German Bouncing Corporation label and published by Constrictor.
Bonin followed this by forays into the newly-independent Eastern Europe
an states, playing to a TV audience of 250 million at the Jurmala Festival in Riga, Latvia in 1992
, as well as at the Ukrainian national Festival Maria later that year. Bonin also supported Marc Almond
at the Sopot Festival
in 1993.
He was offered a place at Paul McCartney
's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
(LIPA) in 1996. This was also the year he began a 15-year performing career on stage at the Deutsche Oper (German National Opera) in Berlin
, taking on a variety of roles including M. Guillot in Tschaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
.
Record releases followed throughout the late 1990s with his band "King Bastard" which featured the legendary Tex Morton
on guitar. Their song "Time on my Hands" was featured in Leander Haussmann’s film of Sven Regener
's novel "Herr Lehmann
". Bonin teamed up with Regener in 2001, singing backing vocals on the Element of Crime
album Romantik. Bonin has continued to write, many of his songs appearing in films and television. He signed to Universal
in 2004 as a songwriter
in his own right.
During a period arranging and co-producing with Moses Schneider (Beatsteaks
, Tocotronic
), and writing with Christian Geller (Banaroo
, No Angels
), Vanessa Petruo
and Apocalyptica
, Bonin also found time to tour and write with Ben Hamilton and The Say Highs, playing supports for The Sea and Cake
, Jack Peñate
and Kula Shaker
, among others.
He has continued to play live and record since then and is now preparing his new band, The Chosen Few, for action.
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitar) and a songwriter/composer. His body of published recorded work spans from 1980 to the present day.
Bonin was born in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and grew up in north London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
. He began playing bass in north London punk band
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
"The Shit", the only band to play at the National Union of Students rally in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
in front of a crowd of 5000 in March 1979. Bonin played bass in The Jetset
The Jetset
The Jetset were a 1980s English pop band, who were associated with the British Mod revival.-Career:Formed in 1979 by teenage friends Paul Bevoir and Melvyn J Taub, the band developed their style under the guidance of former Advertising and Secret Affair drummer, Paul Bultitude...
, recording and touring with the band from 1980-82. During this time, Bonin worked for media mogul
Media proprietor
A media proprietor is a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position in any media enterprise. Those with significant control of a public company in the mass media may also be called "media moguls", "tycoons", "barons", or "bosses".The figure of the media proprietor...
Clive Banks at his Parker Street offices, taking over the office boy’s job from Gary Crowley
Gary Crowley
Gary Crowley is an English broadcaster and DJ.When he was at school in the late Seventies Crowley started a punk fanzine titled The Modern World, interviewing some of the most important bands of the day including the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Jam.After leaving school he took up a junior...
, where several well-known bands (The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
) were based.
After moving to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1986, he founded the street-punk band "The Magoo Brothers
The Magoo Brothers
The Magoo Brothers were an Anglo-German Berlin-based punk-jazz band who toured extensively in Germany and throughout Europe during the late 1980s, playing over 400 concerts...
". Before their demise in 1989, the band had toured all over Europe, playing over 400 concerts in the process. They released the album Beyond Believable in 1988 on the German Bouncing Corporation label and published by Constrictor.
Bonin followed this by forays into the newly-independent Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an states, playing to a TV audience of 250 million at the Jurmala Festival in Riga, Latvia in 1992
, as well as at the Ukrainian national Festival Maria later that year. Bonin also supported Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
at the Sopot Festival
Sopot International Song Festival
The Sopot International Song Festival is an international song contest held in Sopot, Poland. It was the biggest Polish music festival altogether with the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, and one of the biggest annual song contest in Europe...
in 1993.
He was offered a place at Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts is, despite its young age, one of the United Kingdom's leading institutions for the performing arts. The university is situated in the English city of Liverpool...
(LIPA) in 1996. This was also the year he began a 15-year performing career on stage at the Deutsche Oper (German National Opera) in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, taking on a variety of roles including M. Guillot in Tschaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin.It is a classic of Russian literature, and its eponymous protagonist has served as the model for a number of Russian literary heroes . It was published in serial form between 1825 and 1832...
.
Record releases followed throughout the late 1990s with his band "King Bastard" which featured the legendary Tex Morton
Tex Morton
Tex Morton was a pioneer of Australian country music.-Early life:At age 14 he left home to launch himself into show business...
on guitar. Their song "Time on my Hands" was featured in Leander Haussmann’s film of Sven Regener
Sven Regener
Sven Regener, born January 1, 1961 in Bremen, is a German musician and writer living in Berlin. In 1982 he recorded his first LP with the band Zatopek and in 1984 he joined Neue Liebe. In 1985 he founded the Berlin band Element of Crime together with Jakob Friderichs. He writes almost all their...
's novel "Herr Lehmann
Herr Lehmann
Herr Lehmann is a German novel by Sven Regener, published in 2001, adapted for the screen in 2003. It has been translated into English by John Brownjohn under the title Berlin Blues....
". Bonin teamed up with Regener in 2001, singing backing vocals on the Element of Crime
Element of Crime
Element of Crime is a German rock band that plays melancholic chanson-, pop- and rockmusic with guitar, bass, drums and voice/trumpet.- Band-History :...
album Romantik. Bonin has continued to write, many of his songs appearing in films and television. He signed to Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
in 2004 as a 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...
in his own right.
During a period arranging and co-producing with Moses Schneider (Beatsteaks
Beatsteaks
Beatsteaks are a punk rock band from Berlin, Germany, formed in 1995.- History :Peter Baumann, Stefan Hircher, Alexander Rosswaag and Bernd Kurtzke founded the Beatsteaks in 1995. Shortly after Arnim Teutoburg-Weiß joined the band as a singer and additional guitarist...
, Tocotronic
Tocotronic
Tocotronic is a German rock band founded in 1993 . Similar to Blumfeld or Die Sterne they are considered a part of the Hamburger Schule movement...
), and writing with Christian Geller (Banaroo
Banaroo
Banaroo was a German pop group, who had music success between 2005–2008. They have had several successful singles in countries including Germany, Austria and Switzerland.The group is made up of two males and two females.Robbert "Bobby" Dessauvagie...
, No Angels
No Angels
The No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...
), Vanessa Petruo
Vanessa Petruo
Vanessa Anneliese Petruo , also known as Vany, is a German singer–songwriter and actress. She came to international prominence as a member of the all–female pop band No Angels that was created during the talents show Popstars...
and Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a band from Helsinki, Finland, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso and drummer Mikko Sirén...
, Bonin also found time to tour and write with Ben Hamilton and The Say Highs, playing supports for The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake is an indie rock band with a pronounced jazz influence, which formed in the mid-1990s in Chicago out of the ashes of local bands The Coctails and Shrimp Boat. The group's name came from a willful reinterpretation of "The C in Cake", a song by Gastr del Sol...
, Jack Peñate
Jack Peñate
Jack Fabian Peñate is an English musician and singer-songwriter signed to XL Recordings.-Early life:Jack Peñate attended St. Olave's Preparatory School, New Eltham until he left to attend Alleyn's School when he was 18 years of age...
and Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
, among others.
He has continued to play live and record since then and is now preparing his new band, The Chosen Few, for action.
Music and/or words (outtakes)
- "At School" Magoo Brothers (Sanft u. Mutig compilation)
- "Beyond Believable"- Magoo Brothers (Bouncing (Pastel)/Constrictor) - album
- "The Equestrian" by Paul Bevoir, Dumb Angel album (Polystar)
- “Summer In The Rain” – Paul Bonin (FNAC compilation)
- "A Million Places", King Bastard (EMI - Big Noize compilation)
- "Moonman Underground", King Bastard (Virgin Fetensause compilation)
- "A Million Places", King Bastard (Edel); “Gute Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten“ compilation
- "Romantik", Element of Crime (Motor); vocal tracks for album
- "Time on my Hands"/"Fly" - King Bastard (Rabazco/BMG single)
- "Sensational" (single by Martin Kesici) Bravo Hits compilation (Polystar)
- Nitro 17 (BFS album)
- Blood Runs Cold, Soul Doctor (Metal Heaven album)
- Back to the Bone, Soul Doctor (Metal Heaven album)
Film and television outtakes
- "Apocalypso Calypso" - ARD Germany
- "America" - ARD Germany
- "After the Fire" - Russian State TV
- "Somewhere" - Russian State TV
- "Miracle" - Ukrainian State TV
- "To Be Someone" - Ukrainian State TV
- "Rembrandt" - Ukrainian State TV
- "Summer in the Rain" - Polish State TV (Sopot Festival)
- "Million Places" - Millennium Crash (film), ARD Germany
- "Strawberry Parade" - Millennium Crash (film), ARD Germany
- "Time on my Hands" - Herr Lehmann (film), Boje Buck Films Germany
- "Sensational", Starsearch 2, SAT1 Germany
- Paul Bonin songsearch at the GEMA (German Performing Rights Society)
- Paul Bonin and the Chosen Few (live on German national TV)