Biography
In one of his initial compositions, John Wesley Harding asserted "Bob Dylan was my father, Joan Baez was my mother, and I'm their bastard son," signaling an affinity for the leading singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s. The British tunesmith merged core elements of modern folk with the incisive humor and keen social observation characteristic of later figures such as Elvis Costello and Billy Bragg. His first recording appeared as the live set It Happened One Night in 1988, generating sufficient critical notice to secure a Sire Records deal that yielded the studio debut Here Comes the Groom in 1989. Over subsequent releases Harding established an unmistakably personal songwriting identity, issuing a range of independent albums that included Awake in 1998, The Confessions of St. Ace in 2000, and Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead in 2009. Under his birth name Wesley Stace he issued his debut novel Misfortune in 2005 while balancing musical work with literary projects, later releasing the album Self-Titled in 2013 as Wesley Stace even as he occasionally retained the Harding billing, as on the 2018 covers collection Greatest Other People's Hits.
Wesley Harding Stace entered the world in Hastings, East Sussex, England, in 1965. He acquired guitar technique independently by reproducing material from John Prine, Loudon Wainwright III, and Bob Dylan, then began composing original songs while still a teenager. In 1988 he abandoned Ph.D. research at Cambridge University to pursue music professionally. An opening slot for John Hiatt drew the interest of Demon Records, which issued the live album It Happened One Night that same year. Teaming with producer Andy Paley and musicians from Elvis Costello’s Attractions—an association that initially prompted persistent Costello comparisons—he recorded Here Comes the Groom for Sire in 1990. Harding promoted the album across the United States via solo acoustic dates whose energetic performances generated substantial word-of-mouth interest and a devoted following, particularly on alternative and college radio. He next delivered The Name Above the Title in 1991 and Why We Fight in 1992. Although reviewers responded favorably and audiences embraced his concerts, Sire failed to expand his reach, prompting a return to independent outlets with John Wesley Harding’s New Deal in 1996. Continuing to perform live, Harding was invited by Bruce Springsteen to open a series of solo acoustic shows at California’s Berkeley Community Theater in 1995—the first time Springsteen had used an opener in twenty years.
Entering the new century, Harding maintained his recording and songwriting activity while reviving his longstanding engagement with literature. His first novel, Misfortune, appeared under the name Wesley Stace in 2005 and received strong notices, earning inclusion among The Washington Post’s best books of the year. A second novel, By George, followed in 2007, and Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer appeared in 2010. As his profile as a novelist approached his musical reputation, Stace began contributing reviews and essays to The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Washington Post, along with various prominent music magazines and literary journals. In 2009 he refocused on music with the John Wesley Harding album Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead while inaugurating the variety series John Wesley Harding’s Cabinet of Wonders, sharing stages with rotating casts of musicians, comedians, and spoken-word artists. A further John Wesley Harding album, The Sound of His Own Voice, arrived in 2011. In 2013 Stace declared that future recordings would appear under the name Wesley Stace, beginning with that year’s Self-Titled. He published his fourth novel, Wonderkid, in 2014. In 2017 he reconciled his dual identities on the album Wesley Stace’s John Wesley Harding, a collaboration with alt-country stalwarts the Jayhawks. Despite earlier statements, his subsequent release returned to the name John Wesley Harding: the 2018 covers set Greatest Other People’s Hits.
Wesley Harding Stace entered the world in Hastings, East Sussex, England, in 1965. He acquired guitar technique independently by reproducing material from John Prine, Loudon Wainwright III, and Bob Dylan, then began composing original songs while still a teenager. In 1988 he abandoned Ph.D. research at Cambridge University to pursue music professionally. An opening slot for John Hiatt drew the interest of Demon Records, which issued the live album It Happened One Night that same year. Teaming with producer Andy Paley and musicians from Elvis Costello’s Attractions—an association that initially prompted persistent Costello comparisons—he recorded Here Comes the Groom for Sire in 1990. Harding promoted the album across the United States via solo acoustic dates whose energetic performances generated substantial word-of-mouth interest and a devoted following, particularly on alternative and college radio. He next delivered The Name Above the Title in 1991 and Why We Fight in 1992. Although reviewers responded favorably and audiences embraced his concerts, Sire failed to expand his reach, prompting a return to independent outlets with John Wesley Harding’s New Deal in 1996. Continuing to perform live, Harding was invited by Bruce Springsteen to open a series of solo acoustic shows at California’s Berkeley Community Theater in 1995—the first time Springsteen had used an opener in twenty years.
Entering the new century, Harding maintained his recording and songwriting activity while reviving his longstanding engagement with literature. His first novel, Misfortune, appeared under the name Wesley Stace in 2005 and received strong notices, earning inclusion among The Washington Post’s best books of the year. A second novel, By George, followed in 2007, and Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer appeared in 2010. As his profile as a novelist approached his musical reputation, Stace began contributing reviews and essays to The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Washington Post, along with various prominent music magazines and literary journals. In 2009 he refocused on music with the John Wesley Harding album Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead while inaugurating the variety series John Wesley Harding’s Cabinet of Wonders, sharing stages with rotating casts of musicians, comedians, and spoken-word artists. A further John Wesley Harding album, The Sound of His Own Voice, arrived in 2011. In 2013 Stace declared that future recordings would appear under the name Wesley Stace, beginning with that year’s Self-Titled. He published his fourth novel, Wonderkid, in 2014. In 2017 he reconciled his dual identities on the album Wesley Stace’s John Wesley Harding, a collaboration with alt-country stalwarts the Jayhawks. Despite earlier statements, his subsequent release returned to the name John Wesley Harding: the 2018 covers set Greatest Other People’s Hits.
Albums
