Background
John L. Walters was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom.
composer editor journalist record producer jazz musician
John L. Walters was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom.
He attended King"s College London and holds a degree in Maths with Physics.
The band is best known for the 1981 hit "Einstein A Go-Go", which reached number 5 in the United Kingdom charts. After the band split in 1984, Walters went into record production. In 1992, with Laurence Aston, he co-founded the audio journal Unknown Public.
Aston and Walters also founded the SoundCircus label with producer James Mallinson and pianist Joanna MacGregor.
In 1997, after working for a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Architectural Review, he joined Eye magazine as managing editors Walters has been the editor of Eye magazine since the publication of Eye northern
33 in 1999. He became its co-owner (with art director Simon Esterson) after a management buy-out in 2008.
Walters also writes about creative music (including jazz, electronica and world music) for The Guardian. Walters has been a guest lecturer at colleges and conferences internationally, and he served as an external examiner at Central Saint Martins from 2003-2006.
Walters has also served as chair for several international juries, including one for the inaugural European Design Awards and also the 24th International Biennial of Graphic Design. In January 2010, Walters was the co-curator of a one-day conference about music and design at Street Bride Library, London.
Merz to Emigre and Beyond: Avant-Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century, Steven Heller, Phaidon, 2003.
The Barnbrook Bible, Rizzolli, 2007. Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design, Michael Bierut, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. Communicate: Independent British Graphic Design since the Sixties, Rick Poynor (editor), Laurence King Publishing, 2004.
Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, 7th Edition - 1988 New Sounds New Styles, 1981.
Layout by John Warwicker. Walters discography. Landscape discography.
Jazz: the Rough Guide (2nd edition). The Rough Guides, 2000.
2004: The Rough Guide to Jazz, with Digby Fairweather & Brian Priestley (3rd edition), Rough Guides Limited.
Alyn Shipton, Out Of The Long Dark: The Life Of Ian Carr, Equinox Publishing, 2006. ISBN (Paperback) 1845532228 ISBN (Paperback) 9781845532222 The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Civil Defense, LP & Cassette, Richard Cook and Brian Morton, Penguin Books. Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (British Society of Magazine Editors) award-winners, 2002.
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (British Society of Magazine Editors) Awards shortlist 2010.
In 1974 John L. Walters was a founding member of the band Landscape with Richard James Burgess (vocals, drums), Christopher Heaton (keyboards), Andy Pask (bass) and Peter Thoms (trombone, keyboards). From 1987 to 1997 Walters was a member of the "electronic jazz orchestra" Zyklus, with Neil Ardley, Warren Greveson and Ian Carr.