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Jon Camp

Jon Camp
Renaissance in 1979 Jon Camp is seated in the bottom left
Renaissance in 1979 Jon Camp is seated in the bottom left
Background information
Born(1949-10-09)9 October 1949
Winchmore Hill, London, England
Died13 December 2024(2024-12-13) (aged 75)
Instrument(s)Bass, guitar, vocals
Years active1967–2024
Formerly ofRenaissance

Jon Camp (9 October 1949 — 13 December 2024) was an English musician. He was the bassist for Renaissance from 1972 to 1985.[1] He, along with Chris Squire, have been quoted as pioneers of the Rickenbacker bass sound.[2][3]

Early life

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Jon Camp, born in Winchmore Hill, London, went to Edmonton County Grammar School until he was eighteen.[4] Camp's parents bought him his first guitar, a Selmer 555 acoustic guitar, for his tenth birthday.[5] After leaving school his father, who worked in insurance, gave him three months to make a living as a musician or work in insurance.[4]

Career

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His main influences were instrumental groups such as The Shadows, The Outlaws, The Ventures and The Tornados.[5] Jon's first group, which had him on lead guitar, was called 7th Dimension.[5] He soon joined another group, Pepper, who were looking for a bassist; Camp stole his friends bass, auditioned, and got the part, despite the fact Jon could not play the bass.[5] Pepper became known for backing American soul artists who toured in the UK, including Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, the Drifters, the Three Degrees, Gary U.S. Bonds and Four Tops.[4][5] He was also in The Nocturnes, which featured Lyn Paul and Eve Graham of The New Seekers.[5]

In 1972, Camp answered an ad in an issue of Melody Maker about a band looking for a bass player. This band was Renaissance, who had already had a rotation of different bass players since forming in 1969.[4] Camp played in Renaissance from 1972 to 1985, during which he played on nine albums, performed both bass and guitar, and was a primary songwriter in the bands later half of the 70s. Camp was the male lead on the song "Song of Scheherazade" from the album Scheherazade and Other Stories.[6] Camp left Renaissance in 1985.

For many years, Camp was the touring bassist for Roy Wood and played in a band with him called Helicopters.[2] Through Wood, Camp met Robin George, who he toured with on a world tour featuring REO Speedwagon.[5][4] Camp moved to Shropshire where he built a home studio.[4][7] There he met keyboardist John Young and they formed the band Cathedrale with guitarist Brett Wilde, drummer Tony Bodene and vocalist Mark Goddard-Parker.[7] Their only album was released in 2017.[8]

He joined forces with Maurice Douglas to form the duo Mojo, whose album was released in 2017.

Personal life and death

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Jon was close friends with Roy Wood, who is the godfather to Camp's daughters.[4] Camp died on 13 December 2024 at the age of 75.[9] A cause of death was not revealed but he did have Huntington's disease at the time of his death.

Discography

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Renaissance

Others

  • Annie in Wonderland — Annie Haslam (1977)[10]
  • Live Under Brazilian — Annie Haslam (1998)[10]
  • Things Are Getting Stranger on the Shore — Mordecai Smyth[10]
  • J2-B2 (Cathedrale) - recorded 1989-1991, released by Angel Air Records 2017
  • Urgent Delivery (Mojo) released by Repertoire Records 2017

References

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  1. ^ "RENAISSANCE bassist Jon Camp passes away at 75". lambgoat.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  2. ^ a b November 1997 Interview
  3. ^ The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock - Charles Snider 2007 - page 233 - ISBN 978-0-615-17566-9.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Jon Camp Interview 2012". renaissance-fanfare.net. Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Band of Rain - Jon Camp - Bass/Keys". bandofrain.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  6. ^ Ewingpublished, Jerry (2024-12-19). "Renaissance bassist Jon Camp has died, aged 75". Louder. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  7. ^ a b "Jon Camp Interview by Martin Kinch". cherryblossomclinic.x10.mx. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  8. ^ "Renaissance bassist Jon Camp overleden". Progwereld (in Dutch). 2024-12-24. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  9. ^ "Jon Camp Passed Away". DMME.net. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  10. ^ a b c "Jon Camp Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | ..." AllMusic. Retrieved 2025-08-05.