Born on August 11: Jah Wobble, the bassist who invades your heart

Born in Stepney, East London, in 1958, John Joseph Wardle is best known (and acclaimed) for his distinctive bass playing and countless collaborations.

While Johnny Rotten, now Lydon, obviously attracted most of the media attention when he formed Public Image Ltd (PIL for short) in 1979, the post-punk project of the turbulent ex-Sex Pistols would not have had the same flavor without the initial presence of Jah Wobble, notably on the album "Metal Box" (1979), which was initially offered for sale in a round aluminum box like those that housed film. The two artists certainly shared the same interest in reggae and especially dub, but Lydon's rather volatile personality (as well as drug use) quickly fueled tensions and frustrations. Wobble therefore threw in the towel. Although he always collaborated with Lydon during the short time they collaborated, he was officially fired for borrowing snippets of PIL melodies on his debut album, "The Legend Lives On..." (1980).

He owes his stage name, Jah Wobble, to his childhood friend Sid Vicious, who enjoyed the alliteration and probably felt that the definition of the word (to oscillate) better suited his personality. A self-taught musician influenced by Jamaican dub (he has collaborated with Don Letts and Keith Levene), he developed a rumbling, hypnotic style early on, which can be found on countless versions of "How Much Are They?" (1981), still a cornerstone of his repertoire.

After leaving PIL, Jah Wobble embarked on a prolific solo career, exploring a wide variety of genres: dub, world music, ambient, jazz, and even industrial music, defying all labels. He formed the project The Invaders of the Heart, which blends world music (Africa, the Middle East, Asia), dub rhythms, and sometimes obscure sonic experiments. Their album "Rising Above Bedlam" (1991) was nominated for the Mercury Prize in their native country.

Wobble has also collaborated with numerous artists over the decades, including Brian Eno, Holger Czukay (Can), Sinead O'Connor, Bill Laswell, and many others.

Wobble's style is unique: he combines a heavy, repetitive bass with diverse cultural influences, creating meditative yet powerful music. The titles of some of his albums leave no doubt as to the soil in which he chooses to plant his bass lines: "Chinese Dub" (1997), "Elevator Music Vol. 1a" (1997), whose follow-up is still awaited, "Car Ad Music" (2005), "Maghrebi Jazz" (2018), and the recent "Dub Vol. 1" (2025).

Like many artists of his generation, he wrote an autobiography entitled "Memoirs of a Geezer" (2009) in which he obviously shares memories and anecdotes from his winding musical journey but also opens up about the mantras that guide him spiritually.

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Jan Wobble on stage at the Mallemunt Festival in Brussels, Belgium, on August 5, 1983