Jona Lewie is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Southampton, born John Lewis in 1947. He works in classic pop and rock, and is also associated with new wave, 1980s pop, and pub rock.

Early career

Lewie starts performing while still at school, joining The Johnston City Jazz Band in 1963 and also playing in the amateur group Dramatis Personae. By 1968 he is working as a blues and boogie singer and piano player, and he begins his professional career as a session pianist.

In the late 1960s he joins Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts, a cult pub rock band that becomes a popular live act for several years. The group’s only mainstream hit is the 1972 single “Seaside Shuffle,” issued under the one-off name Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs. The song reaches number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.

Solo work and chart success

Lewie signs to Stiff Records in 1977 and appears on the label’s package tours. He has his first solo hit in 1980 with “You’ll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties,” a humorous synthpop song that reaches the British Top 20.

Later in 1980 he returns to the charts with “Stop the Cavalry,” his biggest UK hit and, to date, his last. The song becomes one of Britain’s best-known Christmas singles, although it is not originally written as a Christmas song. It later inspires a series of humorous television adverts for John Smith’s beer.

Later recognition

In 1981 Lewie reaches number 2 in Australia with “Louise (We Get It Right).” In December 2005 he is recruited by Channel 4 to record a new Christmas record with other artists associated with Christmas hits for Bring Back The Christmas Number One.

Style and legacy

Lewie’s work sits across pop, rock, pub rock and synthpop, with “Stop the Cavalry” giving him a lasting place in seasonal radio and holiday music culture. He is known both for his solo novelty-leaning hits and for his earlier role in the pub rock circuit.