{"id":766002,"date":"2026-09-10T09:26:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T09:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/766002\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T09:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T09:26:16","slug":"van-morrisons-music-maestro-steps-out-of-the-shadows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/766002\/","title":{"rendered":"Van Morrison\u2019s music maestro steps out of the shadows"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ronnie Johnson\u2019s show business CV reads like a movie script.<\/p>\n

A child actor talent spotted at his Surrey primary school aged six by director Richard Lester, he appeared in iconic 1960s films The Knack starring Rita Tushingham; Oliver! the musical as \u201cFagin\u2019s Boy\u201d, and The Beatles\u2019 A Hard Day\u2019s Night.<\/p>\n

But by his late teens he decided \u201cthe play\u2019s the thing\u201d wasn\u2019t the thing for him after all, and took up playing electric guitar instead.<\/p>\n

He was soon in demand at the famous Speakeasy Club on the fringe of London\u2019s Soho, where everyone from the Rolling Stones and Bowie to Elton John and Bob Marley played in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

The list of stars Johnson has performed and\/or recorded with in half a century since then reads like a roll\u2018n\u2019roll hall of fame: Van Morrison<\/a>, Bob Dylan<\/a>, Sting, Tom Jones, Joe Cocker, John Lee Hooker, Georgie Fame, Fleetwood Mac\u2019s Peter Green, Leo Sayer and many more.<\/p>\n

Nor are his skills limited to his beloved Fender Stratocaster: he was director of music for Van Morrison for a decade. <\/p>\n

\"RonnieRonnie Johnson (right) onstage with Van the Man (Supplied by Ronnie Johnson)<\/p>\n

Johnson is one of the most prolific and enduring British electric guitarists you have never heard of \u2013 unless you read specialist music magazines, where he has often been lauded.<\/p>\n

He spent a decade with Van Morrison with his back permanently faced to the audience as he led a band of up to 10 musicians.<\/p>\n

But now Johnson is emerging from the shadows with a new album of his own music with his own band, the quirkily named Dez Ez\u00e9 (pronounced Dez Ezzay).<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s eponymous debut album has been variously described as \u201cguitar-led rock and jazz improvisation and ambient soundscapes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Having had an exclusive preview for The Independent, I detect shades of Ry Cooder, Pat Metheny and Steely Dan. <\/p>\n

But the four piece Dez Ez\u00e9 have a style all their own too. Wave after wave of swooping and beguiling music, two lead guitars weaving in and out of each other, switching from melody to harmony as though they share a musical DNA.<\/p>\n

Which in fact they do. More of that later.<\/p>\n

But first, what is it like working for the famously \u2013 to put it mildly according to some \u2013 intimidating Van Morrison?<\/p>\n

Johnson should know: he was the Northern Irish blues and soul legend\u2019s lead guitarist for most of the 1990s, as well as music director. <\/p>\n

He has done several world tours with Van Morrison, sharing top billing on one with Bob Dylan, while acting as both his band leader and lead guitarist. He has played on some of Van Morrison\u2019s most successful albums, such as Days Like This and The Healing Game and regularly collaborates with him to this day. <\/p>\n

Loyal Johnson says Van Morrison is not as moody as has been claimed. He puts it more diplomatically, saying his reputation is all down to his being \u201cimpatient to get things right\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"RonnieRonnie Johnson (Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true he is demanding: he has a song called \u2018Why Must I Always Explain?\u2019 \u2013 that pretty much tells you all you need to know!\u201d says Johnson with a loud cackle, adding: \u201cHonestly, he is a darling sweet man.\u201d<\/p>\n

He claims Van Morrison told him he employed him not for his musicianship but because he makes him laugh. After interviewing Johnson I can believe it \u2013 up to a point. His conversation is littered with jokes and wisecracks delivered in a \u201cSarf London\u201d accent that makes Mick Jagger sound posh. Part of him is still auditioning for \u201cFagin\u2019s Boy\u201d, though the jokes are a mask to leaven the refined and meticulous way he actually approaches his craft. <\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s sense of humour got him into trouble while recording with Sheffield-born gutsy singer Joe Cocker.<\/p>\n

After deciding Cocker \u2013 \u201cthe nicest man I ever met\u201d says Johnson \u2013 needed cheering up with \u201csome working-class humour\u201d, he was rebuked by Cocker\u2019s po-faced manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe barked at me \u2018cut the jokes \u2013 you\u2019re employed to play guitar not make him laugh\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes Van Morrison so good?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a stunning voice – even now in his late seventies, phenomenal stamina, is blessed with extraordinary phrasing and writes incredible songs.\u201d <\/p>\n

That should do.<\/p>\n

Johnson says Van Morrison plays down his familiar bluesy songwriting style as \u201cre-inventing the wheel\u201d. Johnson is more generous: \u201cVan invented the wheel in the first place!\u201d <\/p>\n

He name checks his favourite rock guitarists, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Jeff Beck. \u201cThey all play guitar that gets you in the solar plexus,\u201d he says, holding a clenched fist to his stomach, \u201cthey have heft.\u201d Before quickly adding \u201cheft\u201d does not mean \u201cheavy\u201d. <\/p>\n

He is no fan of heavy metal, calling it \u201ca sausage fest\u201d in reference to the historically male-dominated scene.<\/p>\n

Before we explore the music of Dez Ez\u00e9, where does the name come from?<\/p>\n

It is apparently all the fault of \u201cpunk poet\u201d John Cooper Clarke. Johnson is a big fan and heard him choose Against Nature, an obscure 19th-century novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans, as his favourite book on BBC Radio\u2019s Desert Island Discs.<\/p>\n

\"JohnsonJohnson says John Cooper Clarke inspired the band\u2019s name, after he heard an interview with the \u2018punk poet\u2019 on \u2018Desert Island Discs\u2019 (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Johnson bought a copy and loved it, calling it \u201ca bible of hedonistic decadence\u201d. The name of the protagonist Des Esseintes was shortened to Dez Ez\u00e9 for the band. <\/p>\n

The aforementioned shared DNA of the two lead guitarists is explained by the identity of Johnson\u2019s co guitarist: son Patrick, 38, who matches his father mellifluous riff for riff and choral chord for chord.<\/p>\n

The album is a joint effort by them in terms of writing and playing, with the exception of one \u201ccover\u201d song, \u201cWichita Lineman\u201d, written by Jimmy Webb for Glen Campbell.<\/p>\n

Johnson senior says: \u201cPatrick and I sat down and jammed one day a couple of years ago and I couldn\u2019t believe what came out between us. His music has a romantic sound which I think compliments mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t all plain sailing. He smiles: \u201cThere\u2019s the usual father-son tensions. Going to a gig together I\u2019d turn up and he\u2019d still be in his dressing gown. So we go separately now. The father-son thing is often reversed with Patrick shouting at me: \u2018No dad, not like that! More reverb!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most striking aspects of the album is that it has no vocals. Johnson says: \u201cI often joke the only reason you need a singer is if the music isn\u2019t good enough. Well it is here!\u201d<\/p>\n

Try saying that within Van Morrison\u2019s hearing. More seriously, he maintains the dual guitars give voice to Dez Ez\u00e9 more eloquently than any human voice. <\/p>\n

The Johnsons rely heavily on so-called \u201cfloating\u201d chords (\u201c\u2018suspended\u201d to use the technical term) to shape their distinctive sound. <\/p>\n

It is a method used notably by Joni Mitchell, one of Johnson\u2019s most profound inspirations, to conjure an airy, dreamy feel, with songs ending mysteriously and unresolved, rather than all loose ends neatly tied up.<\/p>\n

Mitchell called them her \u201cquestion chords\u201d. Dez Ez\u00e9\u2019s music poses questions to listeners and offers a soothing response. Not that it is all intricate patterns and aesthetics: they don\u2019t shrink from using a bit of \u201cheft\u201d when required, aided by powerful US-born drummer Neil Burton.<\/p>\n

\"Left-right:Left-right: Ronnie Johnson, Patrick Johnson, Neil Burton, Dylan Bond (Press)<\/p>\n

Johnson refuses to take himself seriously, but over the course of an hour the carapace keeps lifting up at the edges. Asked to elaborate on suspended chords, he grabs an acoustic guitar and strums one, observing casually: \u201cRavel and Debussy did something similar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Come again?<\/p>\n

French classical composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel understood the link between music, colour and tone. Contemporaries of artists like Monet, they were called \u201cImpressionist\u201d composers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it sounds pompous but the way I see it we are painting with music,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is one reason our music has an appeal to both genders, it is a palette with many colours, not like the \u2018sausage fest\u2019 preferred by some.\u201d (He means men)<\/p>\n

Johnson has spent most of his career letting others hog the limelight.<\/p>\n

An unlikely frontman, he walks gingerly, the painful legacy of a mid-concert fall caused by a rogue amplifier lead a few years back. The musical ringmaster in him watches every move by Dez Ez\u00e9 as they play. But between songs, he is an angular bundle of energy, irreverent and playful, the child actor in him not yet totally extinguished.<\/p>\n

The Dez Ez\u00e9 line-up is completed by young funk-loving bass guitarist Dylan Bond. Johnson is proud that the album was recorded live over three days at The Wool Hall studio in Somerset without a single overdub.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a measure of the fantastic quality of the other musicians in the band and makes the whole sound so much more coherent and complete,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The studio is where Johnson recorded Days Like This with Van Morrison 30 years ago. He is hoping to replicate a slice of its success for Dez Ez\u00e9.<\/p>\n

They play their first public gig at The Old Court in Johnson\u2019s home town of Windsor, Berkshire on Saturday 26 September. The album is released the same day. <\/p>\n

Tickets and info: www.oldcourt.org.uk\/events. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-766002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}