Early life

Etheridge began playing at 13, his early influences being Hank Marvin of The Shadows and Django Reinhardt. Although his father was a jazz pianist, he was primarily self-taught. In the mid 1960s he formed his first notable band, Rush Release, with Robert Lipson (the future drummer of Gracious!). The band was formed at the height of the British 'blues boom', with the emergence of guitarists such as Peter Green, Jeff Beck and, later, Jimi Hendrix. Etheridge played with Rush Release at London's Speakeasy Club in 1966, and on occasion would jam with other guitarists on the scene such as Eric Clapton.

In 1967, Etheridge left London to study History of Art at Essex University.^[1] While he continued to play during this period, he did not take up guitar professionally again until 1970. It was during this period that Etheridge further developed his interest in jazz and fusion, an important influence at this time being John McLaughlin's debut album, Extrapolation.

1970s

Upon returning to the London scene in the early 1970s, Etheridge briefly worked with the Deep Purple offshoot Warhorse, followed by a stint with Icarus during the final stages of recording their album The Marvel World of Icarus. He recalled: "I'd been on the fringes of the London rock scene for a couple of years, and one of the musicians I came across was [Icarus woodwinds player] Norrie Devine. I desperately needed somewhere to live, and he put me in touch with Peter Curtain."^[2] Curtain, the drummer for Icarus, set Etheridge up with a flat and offered him a spot in the band after their guitarist left. Though the album sleeve credited Etheridge for all the guitar parts, only one track featured him as the sole guitarist (though he did overdubs on several other tracks).^[2] He stayed with Icarus for their subsequent tour of Romania, which ended abruptly when President Nicolae Ceaușescu ordered the band to be deported. The Romanian tour marked their final public appearance.^[2]

In late 1972, Etheridge joined Curved Air violinist Darryl Way's band Wolf, which went on to record three albums in the progressive rock canon for the Deram label: Canis Lupus (1973), Saturation Point (1973), and Night Music (1974). It also provided an outlet for his first compositions, at a rate of one or two tracks per album.

Following Wolf's break-up, Etheridge briefly played in the Global Village Trucking Company for a UK tour supporting Gong in early 1975, before a recommendation from fellow guitarist Allan Holdsworth led to him joining Soft Machine, now in full fusion mode having just released Bundles.^[1] Etheridge went on to record two albums with the band, Softs (1976) and Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris (1978).^[1] He also played on the more recent release, British Tour '75 (2005).

With Soft Machine's activities slowing down in the late 1970s, Etheridge began to develop parallel ventures. It was at this time that he began what would become a long-term collaboration with French violinist Stéphane Grappelli, with whom he performed on numerous world tours between 1976 and 1981.^[1] The late 1970s also saw Etheridge form the band 2nd Vision,^[1] with fellow Soft Machine member, violinist Ric Sanders. Though the band released an album in 1980, they struggled to achieve broader recognition in the hostile post-punk environment and broke up in 1981.^[1]

1980–present

Etheridge (right) at the launch of the Stéphane Grappelli DVD "A Life in the Jazz Century", London, 2002, with Martin Taylor (left), Coleridge Goode (bass) and Jack Emblow (accordion)

The 1980s saw Etheridge remain very active on the live front - including a reunion with Soft Machine for the band's final series of concerts at Ronnie Scott's club in 1984 - but much less productive in the studio. "1981 was a sort of watershed year for me... there's sort of before and after 1981. Since then I've mostly played on my own or led bands, playing alongside other people but not in settled formations. That was partly because I liked to do that, and partly because, frankly, I didn't really know what to do with myself at that point. I'd always enjoyed playing sort of jazz-type gigs, so I started doing it..."^[3]

In 1982, Etheridge played solo concerts in Australia and duo dates with bassist Brian Torff in the US.^[1] In 1983, he toured England with his own trio,^[1] and the following year joined forces with ex-Isotope guitarist Gary Boyle.^[1] Between 1989 and 1993, he was a member of Danny Thompson's group Whatever, playing on the album Elemental (1990).^[1] Between 1988-94, he did a lot of touring in Germany with Dick Heckstall-Smith, recording two albums as the Dick Heckstall-Smith / John Etheridge Band, Live in Erlangen and Obsession Fees. Also in 1988, he made a duo record with New York guitarist Vic Juris, Bohemia, toured with Biréli Lagrène, and played in the Elton Dean/John Etheridge Quartet with Fred Baker (bass) and Mark Fletcher (drums).

In 1992, he joined violinist Nigel Kennedy's live band, playing on his albums Kafka (1996) and The Kennedy Experience - The Music of Jimi Hendrix (1998).

In 1994, he released a duo album, Invisible Threads, with longtime friend Andy Summers (a former Soft Machine guitarist, albeit in a much earlier incarnation of the group), and did a world tour with him. The duo recorded the album using only acoustic guitars and acoustic bass. The same year, Etheridge released his first solo album, Ash, mostly featuring his regular band at the time - Steve Franklin on keyboards, Henry Thomas on bass and Mark Fletcher on drums - as well as duets with bassist Dudley Phillips. Subsequent solo albums included Chasing Shadows (2001), I Didn't Know (2004), Stitched Up (2006, with his Trio North), In House - Live In London (2007, with Arild Andersen and John Marshall), Alone - Live ! (2008) and Break Even (2008, with Liane Carroll).

Etheridge has been nominated for 'Musician of the Year' at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards three times (in 2005, 2006, and 2011).

As leader

• 1994 Ash
• 2003 Chasing Shadows (Dyad)
• 2006 Places in Between with John Williams (Sony Classical)

As member

With Icarus

• 1972 Marvel World of Icarus

With Darryl Way's Wolf

• 1973 Canis Lupus
• 1973 Saturation Point
• 1974 Night Music

With Soft Machine

• 1976 Softs
• 1977 Triple Echo
• 1978 Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris
• 1994 Rubber Riff
• 2005 British Tour '75
• 2018 Hidden Details
• 2023 Other Doors

With Soft Machine Legacy

• 2005 Live in Zaandam
• 2006 Soft Machine Legacy
• 2006 New Morning: The Paris Concert
• 2007 Steam
• 2010 Live Adventures
• 2013 Burden of Proof

With Second Vision

• 1980 First Steps

Collaborations

With Stéphane Grappelli

• 1978 Tea for Two with Yehudi Menuhin
• 1980 Strictly for the Birds with Yehudi Menuhin
• 1983 Live at Carnegie Hall
• 1981 At the Winery
• 1988 Menuhin & Grappelli Play "Jealousy" and Other Great Standards with Yehudi Menuhin

With Nigel Kennedy

• 1996 Kafka
• 1999 The Kennedy Experience

With others

• 1992 Obsession Fees, Dick Heckstall-Smith
• 1992 Hear My Song, John Altman
• 1993 Invisible Threads, Andy Summers
• 1995 Two's & Three's, Elton Dean
• 1996 Secret Island, Theo Travis
• 1998 Whatever's Best, Danny Thompson
• 2002 Fairport Unconventional, Fairport Convention
• 2001 The Music of Frank Zappa - Absolutely Live, Zappatistas
• 2002 Unhinged Take No. 2, Mark Latimer
• 2006 Bohemia, Vic Juris
• 2008 Still Waters, Ric Sanders
• 2009 The Ridge, Chris Jagger
• 2015 Space Fusion Odyssey, Nik Turner
• 2015 Space Ritual Live 2014, Hawkwind
• 2017 From the Half House, Pye Hastings