About John Grant
John William Grant is an American and Icelandic singer, musician, and songwriter. He first became known as the co-founder, lead singer, pianist, and primary songwriter for the alternative rock band the Czars. After releasing six albums from 1994 to 2006, the band split up and Grant retired for four years before starting a solo career.
Grant's debut solo album, Queen of Denmark , was named the best album of the year by Mojo. His second album, Pale Green Ghosts , was named the best album of the year by Rough Trade. His third album, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure , received widespread critical acclaim and peaked at No. 5 on the UK albums chart, while his fourth album, Love Is Magic , entered the top 20 in the UK. His fifth album, Boy from Michigan , also received acclaim. He also released the live album John Grant and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra: Live in Concert , on which he performed songs from his first two albums while accompanied by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
Grant is also known for his collaborations with varied musicians such as Budgie, CMAT, Elbow, Elton John, Goldfrapp, GusGus, Hercules and Love Affair, Kylie Minogue, Midlake, Robbie Williams, Sinéad O'Connor, Tracey Thorn, and Linda Thompson. Since 2018, he has been the lead vocalist of Creep Show, a side project he formed with the members of rock band Wrangler.
John William Grant was born in Buchanan, Michigan, on July 25, 1968, the son of a housewife mother and an engineer father. He has three siblings and grew up in a conservative Methodist household which was at odds with his realization that he was gay. When he was 12 years old, the family moved to Parker, Colorado. He was bullied both physically and emotionally in high school, and would later write snarky deadpan lyrics about these experiences.
Grant did not feel comfortable with his sexuality until his mid-20s, having been raised in an environment where he was taught that "those people were going to Hell". He moved to Germany in 1988 to continue his study of languages, and began listening to artists such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ministry, Scritti Politti, Skinny Puppy, and the Cocteau Twins. Although he was pained for a long time by the fact that his mother called him a "disappointment" on her deathbed and then died soon after, he later came to terms with the experience and said it reminded him of something he would see in his favorite British dark comedy shows.
In 1994, Grant returned to the U.S. and co-founded the Denver-based alternative rock band The Czars. With Grant as its lead singer, pianist, keyboardist, and primary songwriter, the band enjoyed critical success and released six studio albums, but commercial recognition proved elusive. Grant met with English musician Simon Raymonde, a member of one of Grant's favorite bands, the Cocteau Twins; Raymonde had recently started the record label Bella Union and, although he was not particularly looking for new acts at that time, he saw potential in The Czars and agreed to produce two of their albums. After releasing Sorry I Made You Cry in 2004, the band split in 2006. Grant then took a four-year hiatus, which he spent working in New York City as a waiter at the Gramercy Tavern, a medical interpreter for Russian patients in a hospital, a record store clerk, and a flight attendant. The Czars' Best Of album was released in December 2014.
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