John Lees is best known as guitarist and vocalist with Barclay James Harvest. Born in Oldham in the north of England in 1947, he began playing guitar at the age of 14. He met Stuart "Wooly" Wolstenholme at Oldham School of Art in 1964, and the pair went on to play in a band called The Sorcerers. In 1966, they joined up with Les Holroyd and Mel Prichard plus two others to form The Blues Keepers. The band became a four piece and changed their name to Barclay James Harvest.