John Moore is a British bass player, musician, writer and journalist based in central London. He begins performing as a guitarist, taking lessons from the age of ten and learning rock and rhythm-and-blues material from records by Muddy Waters, Little Richard and Bo Diddley.

Music career

In 1985, he joins The Jesus and Mary Chain, leaving a degree course to do so, and remains with the band until 1988. He then records two albums as John Moore And The Expressway before moving back to England after a period in New York. Later, as grunge gains prominence, he forms the minimalist trio Revolution 9, who release You Might As Well Live. The group receives critical attention but is not well matched to the musical climate of the time.

Black Box Recorder and later releases

Moore founds Black Box Recorder with Luke Haines and Sarah Nixey. The band reaches the UK Top 20 with The Facts of Life and releases three albums: England Made Me, The Facts of Life and Passionoia, along with a Worst Of Black Box Recorder compilation. He later records a Christmas single with Art Brut, credited as The Black Arts, and issues Christmas Number One on Fantastic Plastic Records. He also releases Half Awake on his own label, The Germ Organization, in 2005, and Floral Tributes, a collection of older songs, in 2008.

Other work

Moore becomes involved in absinthe importation after discovering the drink while touring in the Czech Republic. He and The Idler Magazine set up Green Bohemia, which helps drive an absinthe craze around the Millennium. Outside music, he writes fiction, journalism and music criticism. He is a regular contributor to The Guardian and Weekend Magazine, writes a weekly blog for the Guardian website, has written for The Idler and The Erotic Review, contributed to books including The Decadent Handbook and Crap Holidays, and publishes a novel, Bad Light.