Born June 19 in Pontypridd, Wales to a family of musicians. His grandfather being a conductor and mother, Dorothy Lewis an opera singer. He was frequently taken to classical concerts from an early age and studied French horn, church organ and piano.
He had a strange band in school with odd combinations of instruments. Avant garde was normal to him even though he didn't care much for the concerts he went to. He has worked as a session musician for unmentionable acts as well as a recording engineer and spent 8 years working in a psychiatric hospital as a staff nurse. He eventually quit the day job.

As engineer, he met Julian Cope. They got along very well, both being Kraut-rock fans and Cope asked him to join his group. He has been a member of Spiritualized since 1997.

Also in 1997, John Balance met Thighpaulsandra at a concert. Both had been fans of each other and Balance asked him to join Coil. Balance says "He is a wonderful bright Pagan STAR in his own rite and I are very happy he accepted my invitation. Now we are 5 sided.

Pentagrammatical.

Complete."
His involvment with Coil lasted till the death of John Balance in 2004 when the group split up.

He severed connections with Cope in 2004 after Cope's homophobic reaction to the Double Vulgar album covers.
He continues to perform solo shows with the Thighpaulsandra group and is still an active member of Spiritualized