Johnny Thirkell: Jamiroquai, Spice Girls, BTS, 38 Number One Records - A Charmed Life! Ep. 149

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring trumpeter performer and recording artist Johnny Thirkell, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass.

This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here:

"Johnny Thirkell trumpet interview"

 

Find the expanded show notes, transcript and more photos here:

https://bobreeves.com/blog/johnny-thirkell-trumpet-interview-the-other-side-of-the-bell-149

 

About Johnny Thirkell:

In a long and varied career, Johnny Thirkell has an impressive record of achievements and unparalleled experience as a trumpet player, producer and latterly as a tech entrepreneur. 

Upon leaving Leeds College of Music, he studied trumpet in New York with the great Carmine Caruso before embarking on a playing career which would see him perform in many genres of music at the highest level. From the B.B.C. Radio Orchestra through the Buddy Rich & Gil Evans Orchestras, and on in to the Rock & Pop industry, Johnny established himself as a versatile and adaptable musician of the highest calibre.​

A measure of his success lies in the fact that his trumpet playing featured on at least 1 album in the UK album chart, continuously, without a break for over 13 years, and at one point he was playing on 11 of the top 50 albums in a single week. 

He has performed on over 6000 recordings, more than 100 top ten albums and 38 US & UK No.1 records, including the recent BTS global smash "Dynamite."
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A natural progression along the way was into record production, and he has produced (or co-produced) over 250 commercial releases, and co-written many of the songs. Indeed, he has had over 500 songs published, including songs for artists as diverse as The Spice Girls (he co-wrote their early songs), Odyssey & The Three Degrees. 

In recent years he has focused on building and selling a number of businesses in the music and technology space. Johnny also enjoys employing his communication skills and experience through writing and speaking, and is the Founder of Elite Music Camps - offering week-long residential music courses taught by some of the finest musicians in the world.

 

Episode Links:

• Buy the book, Blown It, Johnny's stories from his amazing life!
• Website: johnnythirkell.com
• Elite Music Camps: 
  elitemusiccamps.com
• Instagram: (@johnnythirkell)
• Facebook: (@johnnythirkell)

 

Bob Reeves Brass Upcoming Events and Appearances:

• Texas Music Educators Association Conference, Feb. 11-14, San Antonio, Texas
  https://trumpetmouthpiece.com/products/tmea-valve-alignment-special
• Dillon Music, Feb. 26-28, Woodbridge, New Jersey
  [e-mail]
• National Trumpet Festival, March 20-22, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
  https://trumpetmouthpiece.com/products/national-trumpet-competition-valve-alignment-special
• Metropolitan Music, April 10-11, Seattle, WA
  https://metropolitan-music.com
• Arkansas Trumpet Day, April 18th, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR

 

Podcast Credits:

• “A Room with a View“ - composed and performed by Howie Shear
• Podcast Host - John Snell
• Cover Photo Credit - Johnny Thirkell
• Blog Photo Credits - David Harrison
• Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg