Gerard Starkie and Ray Chan first met on an art foundation course in Wigan in 1987. They formed Witness in 1998 and signed to Island Records, releasing two albums, ‘Before the Calm‘ (1999) and ‘Under A Sun‘ (2001) to some extraordinary critical acclaim. Support tours with the likes of Wilco, Whiskeytown, dEUS, Gene, Embrace, The Charlatans and The Seahorses along with festival slots including Glastonbury and T in the Park and an appearance on Later With Jools Holland followed but commercial success eluded them.
The band split in 2004, with Chan relocating to Hong Kong.
Starkie went on to release two solo albums whilst touring and recording as guitarist in The Blue Aeroplanes, before quitting in 2017 to form duo The Jesus Bolt with his partner Hazel Winter.
Now back in the UK, Chan and Starkie have started playing together again and are about to bring out an EP of six unreleased Witness tracks in November, with brand new material on its way in 2023.
Links…
Facebook: Gerard Starkie
Twitter: Gerard Starkie
Instagram: Gerard Starkie
