Soulful star of Madchester era
Denise Johnson Singer BORN JULY 31, 1963 – DIED JULY 27, 2020, AGED 56
DENISE Johnson’s rich, soaring vocals added the soul to Primal Scream’s psychedelic sound during the 1990s.
She arrived ahead of the Glaswegian band’s electronica-infused Screamadelica album, recruited by guitarist Andrew Innes who saw her singing at London’s Shroom Club.
“There was a song [frontman] Bobby Gillespie couldn’t sing, which turned out to be Don’t Fight It, Feel It,” she later said.
It may have taken eight attempts to get her on board – at that point Primal Scream had failed to break into the mainstream with their jangly guitars – but she became a mainstay of the band, and was also one of the most sought-after singers of the Madchester era.
Johnson was born and raised in Hulme, Manchester, by her Jamaican mother who influenced her love of music through Motown and reggae records.
She had a soft spot for Hollywood musicals, reserving a special love for The Sound Of Music.After starting out singing covers, she joined soul outfit Fifth Of Heaven in her early 20s and was a vocalist for Just A Little More in 1989.
Two weeks after her arrival, she was on stage at Wembley Arena, as the group supported US act Maze.
During the Primal Scream years, she worked with an enviable list of names including New Order, Michael Hutchence, Stone Roses, The Pet Shop Boys, Johnny Marr, Bernard Sumner and Ian Brown.
At the time of her death she was preparing to release her debut acoustic albumWhere Does It Go. Bernard Butler tweeted: “I invited her to sing on my album because I heard her voice when I wrote the songs. I didn’t ask for a backing singer; I wanted Denise Johnson.”
Her cause of death is not known, but a family statement said she was found “holding her inhaler”.