Jay, called Johnny by his dad, started writing poems at the tender age of eleven years old when he went to Boarding School following the separation of his parents as a younger child. It was father that encouraged him to write as he found that putting his poems to music and learning a few chords on the guitar made him an instant hit with the girls!
Jay had what he describes as “a short childhood”, following on from the divorce of his parents when he was four years old, followed by the death of his father when he was seventeen years old. His early memories were introduced to the magic of the film industry at an early age when other kids were collected from school by their mum and dad, Jay was often picked up in a taxi and taken to Pinewood, Shepperton or Elstree Studios to be at his father’s side. Jay was in some ways star struck by his own dad who was Irish born film director Norman Cohen. Early memories include his dad playing poker in the kitchen with Spike Milligan and Jim Dale and swimming in Warren Mitchell’s pool.
Jay’s career has taken some interesting twists and turns. After a short spell in the City, he traded his pinstripe suit for army greens and joined the Royal Marines. In some ways, he says that this may have saved his life because it gave him routine, discipline, guidance and purpose for a spell when the rest of his life was in chaos.
During this time, Jay continued to write songs and record. An opportunity arose to work as a runner in the film business until one day he met legendary stunt performer Rocky Taylor who introduced him to the world of stunts. Over the years, whilst continuing to develop his music, Jay worked on numerous blockbusters including Bond films, Pirates of the Caribbean, X-Men, Harry Potter and Benidorm!
A tattooist once described Jay as a collector. The relevance of this is that a collector, in tattooing terms, will choose pieces of work that represent different aspects of their life, rather than sticking to one theme. Ten years ago, he decided to explore an academic pathway and took himself back to school. Seven years later, he had achieved both a Bachelor of Science Honors Degree in Osteopathy and a Master of Science in Equine Osteopathy. Because of his connections in the Entertainment Industry, his patients include Johnny Depp, Iron Maiden, Megadeath, 30 seconds to Mars and Sasha Barron Cohen.
For all of the uncertainty in life, Jay says he is certain of one thing – music defines who he is. It is his honesty, his expression and his integrity. Over the years, Jay’s musical experience includes numerous collaborations, appearances on TV, radio airplay and countless gigs. However, he has always felt that he has allowed other areas of life to distract him from his purpose. Jay said he feels that now is the right time to fulfill his musical ambitions.
So, why Johnny Wore Black? Johnny Cash wore black to identify with the poor, downtrodden and less fortunate individuals of the world. When Jay was seventeen, it was the first time he wore a black suit as his dad’s funeral. The title of the album ‘Walking under Water’ created a visual representation of the momentary slowing down of life’s rollercoaster when a significant event happens to you. Jay is in pre-production for the re-make of one of his father’s films, ‘The London nobody knows’ which will include his music and he is in negotiations with various commercial outlets to showcase his various music and a magazine sponsored by Diesel recently interviewed him to discuss his music and the forthcoming film, the article of which is due out beginning of June. He forgot to mention, “If you are going through hell, keep going”.
