Person · Male
John McKay
UK guitarist & singer-songwriter
- From
- United Kingdom
- Since
- 1958–present
- Releases
- 1
About
John McKay (born 6 June 1958) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He was the guitarist of Siouxsie and the Banshees, playing with the group from July 1977 until September 1979. He played a "jagged unorthodox chording", and created a "metal-shard roar" with his guitar. Q magazine included McKay's work on "Hong Kong Garden" in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever". He recorded two studio albums with the band, their debut album The Scream in 1978 and Join Hands in 1979.
Read more
McKay has been cited as an influence by guitarists such as Geordie Walker (of Killing Joke), Robert Smith (of the Cure), The Edge (of U2), Steve Albini (of Big Black), Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth), Jim Reid (of the Jesus and Mary Chain) and Kevin Shields (of My Bloody Valentine). He has been qualified as the "innovator" by producer Steve Lillywhite.
After staying away from the music business for 35 years, he returned to the stage in the mid-2020s and released a solo album Sixes and Sevens (2025), a collection of unreleased material recorded in the 1980s.
Member of
-
Siouxsie and the Banshees guitar
Discography
Albums
Links
Also known as
John Gareth Mc Kay
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- a696a8ff-736b-459f-9f2a-197c56bf96a2
- ISNI
- 0000000367398060
- IPI
- 00047106204
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 11 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.