John David Prior is an Australian musician, composer and producer recognized for his work with Matt Finish, Adrian Belew (King Crimson), Mick Taylor (The Rolling Stones), Roy Buchanan, Champion Jack Dupree, New Theatre, Coca-Cola, The Great Outdoors, Iota, Wicked Beat Sound System, Kevin Borich and Dale Barlow.
He also composed and produced music, dialogue and sound effects for film, television, theater and advertising including soundtracks for MTV, The World Around Us, AFTRS, Australian Federal Government, NSW Tourism, Australia Today Indonesia Tomorrow, Jesus Christ Superstar, feature film This Won't Hurt A Bit, award-winning short film The Red Dress,[27] The Great Outdoors, Paradise Beach, Art of Stone, Barnardos, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, KFC, Levi's, Sun Alliance, Sky-Garden, Andronicus, Toyota, Slazenger, Buttercup, Just Jeans, Frutti, Hi-C, Milo, Sydney Turf Club, Deloitte, BA Insurance and Price Waterhouse.
[citation needed] In 2003, he produced Leave Nothing Untouched with dance troupe Astral Taxi and composed 20 albums of commercial library music that appeared in soundtracks around the world.
[citation needed] In 2004, he composed an orchestral score for the Deloitte advertising campaign Out For Glory and formed the world/fusion band Newtown Beats with Eddie Quansah (Osibisa, Bob Marley, King Cobra).
[citation needed] In 2006, he composed and produced an orchestral score for the short film A Fairytale of the City featuring Sam Worthington, produced recordings with Newtown Beats, Robot Productions, guitarist Bob Spencer and singer Meryl Leppard, performed live with Sydney bands Newtown Beats, The Lovely Sons and Swing Thing; and toured Australia with King Crimson singer/guitarist Adrian Belew and bassist Al Slavik.
[34] During 2007, he managed, promoted and performed on a 35-show Matt Finish tour featuring vocalist David Adams, bassist Harry Brus and a number of guest guitarists including Guy Le Claire, Eliot Reynolds,[35] Steve Edmonds, Les Rankin and Kevin Borich and Dale Barlow.
[38] During 2008, he produced Steve Lockyer's debut Sticks & Stones and David Kingdom's Tattoo, and managed a Matt Finish tour with special guest musicians Dale Barlow and Guy Le Claire, both childhood friends.
In 2010, Prior composed, produced and released an album of original Arabic music entitled The Red Sea, produced an album of Russian folk music with Sydney composer and pianist Tatyana, and performed drums live with Matt Finish, Newtown Beats, JFK, The Erskinevillains, Bulli Lama, The Swingers, Ray Husband's band and Mysterious Travellers, a tribute to Weather Report featuring acclaimed jazz musicians Dale Barlow (sax), Bill Risby (piano), Phil Scorgie (bass), Fabian Hevia and David Fester (percussion).
[citation needed] In 2011, he formed the band Stone and the Sky with Swedish vocalist Pontus Duvsjo, which recorded and performed a number of live shows including a benefit concert that raised $50,000 for the Prince of Wales Foundation.
[citation needed] In February 2012, he promoted a tour with Matt Finish and a series of performances at the Marrickville Bowling & Recreation Club entitled The Do featuring local soul and groove artists.
[citation needed] Between 2014 and 2018, Prior produced and played on albums and soundtracks for Farooq Haider, Love Child, Deloitte Australia, Sacred Cow, Heavily Made Up Boy, Shanghaied Project, Warren McLean from Divinyls, Placebo Cure, Magnus, Trevor Rowe, Music Box, Ray Husband, Travis Masters, Samantha Cartwright, Paul Kougias, Eddie Brown, Jacquie McGill, Martin Nickson, The Final Word, Craig Leermont, Mi-Sex guitarist Kevin Stanton and The Good Life.
[citation needed] Between 2017 and 2020, Prior taught music and produced student recordings at Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design sponsored by Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club; and Matt Finish performed at 'Sunset Sounds', 'Classic Hits' and 'Pure Gold' shows for Empire Touring, featuring other popular Australian artists such as Ian Moss, Eurogliders, The Models, Jon Stevens, Dragon, Radiators, Ross Wilson, Mi-Sex, Real Life, Wendy Matthews and GANGgajang, with sold-out shows at Enmore Theatre Sydney, WIN Entertainment Centre Wollongong, Sandstone Point, Wagga Racecourse, Gosford Racecourse, Roche Estate Hunter Valley, and Australia Day Parramatta Park in Sydney with 20,000 people.
In 1995, Prior won an Expert Determination commissioned by APRA and conducted by Davis Catterns QC regarding authorship of the theme and underscore music for the television series Great Outdoors created in 1992.