1. John Gerard "Jez" Lowe was born on 14 July 1955 and is an English folk singer-songwriter.
13 Facts About Jez Lowe
2.
Jez Lowe is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery.
3.
John Gerard Jez Lowe grew up witnessing the decline of the coal-mining industry that had defined the region's economic profile for generations.
4.
Amongst those who have recorded Jez Lowe songs are Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, The Unthanks, The Tannahill Weavers, The Young Uns, Bob Fox, Megson, The McCalmans, Liam Clancy, Cherish The Ladies, The Black Family, Tom McConville, Enda Kenny, Men of the Deeps and many more.
5.
In 2006, Jez Lowe contributed to the BBC Radio 2 Radio Ballads documentary series broadcast on Radio 2 as a homage to the original series of the same title, pioneered by Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
6.
Jez Lowe was commissioned to write 22 new songs for the documentary-folk series, which were not all performed by Lowe but featured guest vocals from the likes of Barry Coope, Bob Fox and many more.
7.
In 2008, Jez Lowe was nominated as 'Folksinger of the Year' in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, but ultimately lost the category to young Scottish singer and instrumentalist Julie Fowlis.
8.
In 2015, Jez Lowe received two nominations for the BBC Folk Awards, as Folksinger of the Year and for Song of the Year, but again failed to win in either category.
9.
Jez Lowe was on tour in Canada at the time of the ceremony, with James Keelaghan and Archie Fisher, under the trio-name "Men At Words".
10.
In January 2018, Jez Lowe published his first novel, The Dillen Doll, through the independent publisher Badapple Books.
11.
Jez Lowe provided the lyrics to John Tams's theme music for this series, entitled "The Cherry-Cheeked Optimists", from episodes two to five.
12.
Jez Lowe has been guest presenter on the BBC Radio 4 series Open Country, for a programme about Tynemouth in 2017, a Hallowe'en special in 2021, a programme to commemorate the 1932 "mass-trespass" on Kinder Scout, a mountain in the Peak District, in January 2023, and a programme about a journey taken by 18th century Northumbrian piper Jamie Allen across North Yorkshire.
13.
Note: All of Jez Lowe's albums have been released on CD with the exception of his self-titled debut album from 1980.