Johnny Foreigner

Johnny Foreigner are an indie rock band from Digbeth, Birmingham, active since 2005. Their line-up includes Alexei Berrow, Lewes Herriot, Kelly Parker, Junior Elvis Washington Laidley and Daniel Boyle. The band forms around Berrow and Parker, who both play in earlier projects before Johnny Foreigner begins. Berrow plays in Panda Love Unit and Autolight, while Parker plays in Twist and Baxxter.

Formation and early releases

The band starts in late 2005 with a self-described idea of being “a country band with pretensions”, and Daniel Boyle plays bass in the original line-up. Boyle leaves in 2006 to go to university. Before he leaves, the band releases We Left You Sleeping And Gone Now. In 2007 the band signs to Best Before Records and soon after releases the EP Arcs Across The City.

Albums, singles and label changes

During 2008 the band releases several singles, including Eyes Wide Terrified, before issuing their debut album Waited Up 'til It Was Light. Their second album, Grace and the Bigger Picture, follows in late 2009 after the singles Feels Like Summer and Criminals; it is recorded in Brooklyn. A further single, Every Cloakroom Ever, appears after the album. The band leaves Best Before in September 2010 and releases its first EP for Alcopop! the same year.

Johnny Foreigner’s third album, Johnny Foreigner vs Everything, appears in late 2011. A double vinyl LP edition follows in summer 2012. In 2012 the band releases the non-album EP NAMES, their first release after Lewes Herriot joins earlier that year.

Later work and side projects

The band’s fourth album, You Can Do Better, follows in early spring 2014. Later in 2014, Alexei Berrow and Junior Elvis Washington Laidley form yr poetry, a merger of their solo projects Yr Friends and Fridge Poetry. In 2016 the band releases Mono No Aware, which is described as its final album before a hiatus. That year also sees the singles If You Can't Be Honest, Be Awesome and Flooding, plus The X and the O EP, which includes two new tracks and a remake of Palace Fires from the Criminals single.

In 2022 the band resumes activity and records material that leads to the 2024 album How To Be Hopeful. That release is issued with two accompanying EPs, one of which is available only on Bandcamp. The band also releases a Christmas single in December 2024.

Members and associated projects

As of 2012, Johnny Foreigner’s line-up consists of Berrow, Herriot, Parker and Laidley. Additional projects linked to members include Fridge Poetry Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam and yr friends yr poetry. The group has also been associated with a number of earlier and parallel acts involving its members, including Panda Love Unit, Autolight, Twist and Baxxter.