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Jona Lewie

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (March 14, 1947- )
    Born in Southampton, England, United Kingdom
    Birth name was John Lewis
    Member of the bands Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts and Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs
    Recorded the singles ‘You’ll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties’ (1980) and ‘Stop the Cavalry’ (1980)

Why he might be annoying:

    He changed his name to be ‘more snazzy sounding.’
    After the success of the ‘Terry Dactyl’ single ‘Seaside Shuffle,’ Jonathan King offered him a recording deal, but he turned it down, feeling he was not ready for a solo career.
    He intended for ‘Stop the Cavalry’ to be an anti-war protest song; because one of the lines was ‘Wish I was home at Christmas,’ the label promoted it as a holiday song instead.
    ‘You’ll Always Find Me in the Kitchen...’ was used in an IKEA ad – with Lewie appearing in the commercial as the party host (2010).
    The photos page of his website includes a ‘Jona smoking’ section.

Why he might not be annoying:

    While a part-time musician, he also worked as an ice cream vendor at Wimbledon. (‘It was a great way to see the tennis.’)
    He started as a blues musician and got to play piano on an album by one of his musical heroes, Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup.
    After becoming interested in Cajun music, he taught himself accordion. (‘[It] was quite easy, really, because I was already a piano and keyboard player.’)
    He was signed to the Stiff Records label longer than any other artist.
    ’Stop the Cavalry’ became a holiday perennial in the British Isles, with Lewie noting that the royalties from the song made up half his income most years.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 62 Votes: 69.35% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying