John Taylor - I Taught Myself To Write Songs And Play The Guitar, If The Beatles Didn't Have To Study Music Then I Thought I Could Do The Same (Singer Songwriter From Scotland)

John Taylor

John Taylor is a Scottish singer songwriter born in Glasgow. When his song "Pull you through"​ was used in Golden Globe and Emmy winning show "Californication"​ it sent his song into the itunes singer/songwriter charts around the world including number 1 in Sweden, top five in Canada and no 12 in the USA.

Another song John wrote "Break my bones"​ was used in a few TV shows in the US then in a State Farm Commercial which led to the track charting in the itunes American singer songwriter charts for six months and views of the commercial on youtube reached over five million.

In 2020, he released his eighth album and my song "I will be your friend" was recently played in the Fox show Filthy Rich.

1.Tell us more about your background and journey.

I started my journey in music by playing in rock bands and after ten years I opened for bands such as Iron Maiden, The Melvins and Prong, touring round Germany promoting the album we recorded. 

When the band split up I recorded my folk singer songwriter songs and after three years I got my first number one download on iTunes.

2. When did you first decide that you wanted to pursue music and how did you start?

I started writing songs at 15 years old and never stopped, I also put on my own music festival in Scotland.

I started getting my song placed in TV shows, films and commercials.

3. Who is your favourite artist and why?

My favourite artist that inspired me was Neil Young as he could hold an audience with just a guitar and vocal.

4. Can you throw some light on the opportunities that one gets as a singer?

If you write your own songs it's easier to sell your music to film and TV.

I also work as part of a combat team for TV shows like The Last Kingdom, The Spanish Princess, Outlander and Game of thrones.

5. Is format training required or can one train themselves purely on the basis of talent?

I taught myself how to write songs and play the guitar. 

If the beatles didn't have to study music then I thought I could do the same.

6. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring artists?

Chase your dreams and never give up, you could spend your life doing something you hate so you may as well give it everything to do what you love .

7. Which is your favourite book and why? 

I like to read to read the Jack Reacher series because you're always trying to work out what's going to happen next.

To know more about John Taylor.

Interviewed by - Deepshikha