"The Most Potent Slide Player in the UK"

Johnny Dickinson's music career got off to a dream start with his Northumbrian band Splitcrow when Kerrang magazine said that their first album Rockstorm, which reached no. 19 in the Gallup Rock Charts, was "the best album from a Brit band in 10 years" with critic Xavier Russell stating that Johnny Dickinson was "the most potent slide player in the UK". Unfortunately, like so many other bands, they split up prematurely in 1986.
After a spell playing pedal-steel with London's Western Swing outfit, The Moonshine Boys, in 1988 Johnny became a founder member of Paul Lamb and the Kingsnakes, playing and singing alongside Jim McCarty, Top Topham, Rod Demmick and Johnny Whitehill, who remains a member of the band. During Johnny's two years with the band they were winners of many British and International Blues awards. After giving his all to the Kingsnakes, John treaded the boards as a solo artist for a while. He was offered a recording contract with Demon Records but as he thought they were looking for a 'blues' album he declined, having decided to move in a different direction - back north to his native Northumberland.