John's lyrical style has been described as "Storytelling with a poetic musical touch".  Whilst definitely residing in the 'English Folk Tradition' - having sang multi-part harmony and wassail songs around the Pubs and Inns of Dorset with his older cousins in the early 60's - John has absorbed many guitar and singer/songwriter techniques over the years. His major influences include undoutably Joni Mitchell, with whom John felt an immediate connection from listening to her early albums. Indeed one of John's earliest songs includes these lines in acknowledgement to Joni  "He found his voice in the spell of her songs"  Acknowledgement also needs to be made to artists such as The Incredible String Band and Bert Jansch,  who John first saw whilst sitting cross-legged in the crowded smoke-filled basement at 'Les Cousins' folk club in Soho as an impressionable 16 year old.

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Other influences came from early works by iconic sixties bands such as Mott The Hoople and Buffalo Springfield. Indeed their powerful song "Hung upside down" was being played endlessly on a beat-up record player at the Mermaid Café in Matala while John was living in the Hippie Caves there in the Summer of 68 and perfectly sums up the angst and confusion of being a teenager in those hedonistic experimental drug days. ( as an historic aside Joni herself later visited Matala in early 1970 - so there was a connection!)