John Otway plays his Christmas show 'Christmas Knees Up' at FaceBar in Reading.
John Otway is playing FaceBar on Thursday 3 December, part of the Future Transmissions series. It's a Christmas Knees Up, so it's a bit of a festive one. If you've never come across him, Otway is an English singer-songwriter who's spent decades building a cult following on the back of relentless touring, a surreal sense of humour, and a self-deprecating underdog persona. He's wanted to be a pop star since he was nine, taught himself guitar after his sister gave him a Bob Dylan album, and later teamed up with Wild Willy Barrett on the advice of a fortune teller. Their 1972 single 'Gypsy/Misty Mountain' caught the attention of The Who's Pete Townshend.
Fame arrived in 1977 when he tumbled off an amplifier on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test, sending the half-spoken love song 'Really Free' to number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. He later wrote the autobiographies Cor Baby, That's Really Me and I Did it Otway, both subtitled Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure — books that ended up outselling his records ten to one. He's since sold out the London Astoria for his 2,000th gig in 1993 and filled the Royal Albert Hall in 1998, so he's well used to playing for a crowd.
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On the night, it's just Otway on the bill, bringing that same blend of music and humour he's known for. The show is at FaceBar on Ambrose Place in Reading, doors open at 7:30pm and it gets going at 7:45pm. Tickets are £17.60, which includes the booking fee.
