Born in London, Soca Johnny (John David) migrated to Dominica at an early age. His village upbringing, subtle references to which can be heard in his music to this day, had a significant influence, as did Dominican bands WCK and First Serenade, and Jamaican dancehall artist Buju Banton.
As a youngster, Johnny displayed a passionate interest in music. He would spend hours every day playing along on the keyboard to live CDs. At 11, he started learning the guitar, then the bass guitar; before long, he was invited to be the bass guitarist in a small band. Moving back to the UK at the age of 17, Johnny joined Mangrove Steel Orchestra, where he was dubbed ‘Soca Johnny’, and rose to become Captain.
He took the first steps to becoming a recording artist, initially of dancehall music – but his passion for Bouyon and Soca soon forced him to start writing and recording such music. He won a Soca Music Award in 2008 and has also written many ‘vocal’ tunes which can usually be heard during his live sets. Johnny is also establishing himself as a songwriter for a range of artistes.