John Otway is an English singer-songwriter who has built a sizeable cult audience through extensive touring, a surreal sense of humour and a self-deprecating underdog persona.
From the age of 9, Otway knew he wanted to be a pop star. But even at that young age, having listened to his sister's Beatles and Stones records, he knew he would never be able to do what they do. However, when his sister got the latest Bob Dylan album, he knew there was a place for him and he set about learning how to play guitar.
Otway had to wait until 1977 and the rise of punk before his dream of fame and fortune would finally become a reality. Having caught the eye of the producers of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test, Otway's performance on that show would grab the attention of the watching audience. Otway, ever the showman, decided to jump on to the amplifier of his colleague during a performance of Bob Lind's Cheryl's Going Home. (Un)fortunately for Otway, he misjudged his leap and sent Wild Willy Barrett’s amplifier tumbling as he crashed down straddling the box under the amp.
The full force of the impact was absorbed by the most tender body parts, but in doing this one simple act of recklessness and his wanton disregard for his own safety, Otway was the talk of everyone who watched that evening's programme.
Not only did he see a surge in his audiences, sales of Otway's sixth single, the half-spoken love song Really Free increased dramatically and reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. An appearance on the BBC's flagship music programme Top of the Pops, where Otway & Barrett were introduced by Elton John later, Otway was finally a star. It would however, be his greatest success for some time.
Despite numerous attempts to get back into the charts, Otway would have to wait 25 years for his next taste of chart success. In the intervening years, Otway would become an actor; write an autobiography (Cor Baby That’s Really Me: Rock and Roll’s Greatest Failure); perform sold out shows at London’s Astoria and Royal Albert Hall; make regular appearances at both Glastonbury and Edinburgh Festivals; and write the nation’s seventh favourite lyric of all-time (beating Bob Dylan and Paul Simon in the process).
In 2002, Otway achieved what he desired the most – a second hit. A concerted publicity campaign saw Otway reach number 9 with the disco pastiche Bunsen Burner and a second appearance on Top of the Pops. Despite this success, a planned world tour collapsed, but Otway continued to gig extensively around the UK either with his band, as a duo with Wild Willy Barrett or solo. A follow-up autobiography was penned in 2010 and titled I Did It Otway: Regrets I’ve Had a Few.
In 2012, to celebrate his 60th birthday, Otway produced his debut movie - Otway the Movie: The Story of Rock n Roll’s Greatest Failure. A screening for producers was held at London’s Leicester Square with the final scenes from the movie filmed on the red carpet and edited into the film as it was being shown. The film was then taken to Cannes Film Festival and a 50-date tour of cinemas in both the UK and North America. It was subsequently voted the 2nd best film of the year in a poll of its readers conducted by The Guardian newspaper.
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Otway took his band to the Caribbean island of Montserrat to record a new album. The album would be the first to be recorded on the island by an international artist since The Rolling Stones recorded Steel Wheels in 1989. Produced by Grammy-award winner Chris Birkett and recorded at Olveston House – the former home of Sir George Martin, it was released to critical acclaim in May 2017.
Otway recorded a popular series of Face-book live shows during the 2020 Lockdown in the UK which has a regular audience of 10,000 viewers (or two and a half Royal Albert Halls which is Otway’s preferred numbering system).
The constant gigging over the years meant that in April last year John was able to fill London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire for his 5,000th gig - and produce a Free Newspaper listing every single one of those shows.
In September 2022, Otway became Dr. Otway after being awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Oxford Brookes University.
Over 14s only
As a first time buyer you may be nervous about purchasing tickets through a company you've not used before. This is completely understandable, which is why we want to put your mind at ease and assure you that Gigantic Tickets are a safe, reliable place to buy tickets from a primary ticket agent. We are full members of STAR - the society of Ticket Agents and Retails. STAR is the leading self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticketing industry across the United Kingdom.
STAR members include all major UK ticket agencies as well as Gigantic Tickets and numerous venues and box offices in London and across the country. There are also associate members in other industries (such as travel) where entertainment ticketing forms part of their business and affiliate members who do not sell tickets directly to the public but support STAR's work.
Buying entertainment tickets from a STAR member - in person, by phone or online - enables you to buy with confidence, as all members sign up to STAR's Code of Practice, which requires them to treat customers fairly and make all transactions clear and straightforward.
Customers buying from a STAR member will benefit from:
To give you complete peace of mind you can find Gigantic Tickets on STAR's current full membership list here and verify our full membership by clicking here.
For more information about STAR please visit their official website here.
You can find more information about ticket purchasing, ticket security, ticket delivery and much more on our FAQ's page here, as well as on our Terms & Conditions page here.
You may also want to take a peek at our Privacy Policy too so you know you really are in the safest of hands.
We appreciate reading through our web pages might take you a little while to find the answer you are looking for, so please feel free to get in touch with us directly and our team will do their utmost to answer any queries you might have:
Contact us: Click here to find your order and contact us Address : Gigantic, 3-5 High Pavement, Nottingham, NG1 1HF