"John Banks is one of the UK's most prolific audiobook narrators, working for the likes of Big Finish, Audible, Random House and Games Workshop.

He is a true multi-voice, creating everything from monsters to marauding aliens.

He is also an accomplished stage and TV actor."

audible.co.uk 2018

Hello...

...I'm John Banks - welcome to my website.

The majority of my working life has been spent in the theatre with companies including
York Theatre Royal, Cheltenham Everyman, Sheffield Crucible, Bristol Old Vic, Manchester Royal Exchange and the National Theatre in London.

Television work includes Emmerdale, Coronation Street, and 'Allo, Allo!'. I have also worked on a number of radio drama and comedy productions with the BBC.

Since March 2009, I have enjoyed playing a huge variety of characters in more than 270* audio-drama stories with Big Finish Productions, together with The Black Library/Games Workshop, details of which can be found in the postings below.


There are also details listed here of the 214* audio books & stories I've recorded since March 2013,
including the unabridged New Revised Standard Version of The Bible, for companies including audible.co.uk, Hachette, Audible Studios, Podium Audio Publishing, HarperCollins, RNIB, W.F. Howes, Little Brown Group, Penguin Random House, Games Workshop, Orion, Fantom Films & Ladbroke Audio.

(*figures at April 2021)

I hope you find something of interest here and come back soon for further updates.


For all posts, reviews and audio samples, please scroll down...

The Runewar Saga: Book 2

The Runewar Saga: Book 2
The Crown of Fire & Fury

The Botanist

The Botanist
Washington Poe Series: Book 5

Skaven Deathmaster

The Babel Books

The Babel Books
The Fall of Babel - click image above for link to audible

Doctor Who: Back To Earth

Throne of Light: Dawn of Fire Book 4

Throne of Light: Dawn of Fire Book 4
Release Date: 13th November 2021

Soul Wars

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Saturday 22 August 2015

From Genesis to Revelation...

Yet another long blogging break - apologies and thanks for coming back! My usual excuse for longer than expected blogging breaks (bit of a tongue twister...) is that I've been on the go somewhere and doing something else, something akin to 'work'. That's true once again, but it's also true that despite there being a number of audio releases 'in the pipeline', not many, i.e. none, were scheduled for August, at least with me in them, with the exception of a 'sneeze and you'll miss it' role buried somewhere deep in Return To Telos. 

Big Finish scheduling is also part of the reason, as is the fact that this time last year, I'd just finished working for a couple of months in the theatre, which largely took me out of the recording loop. I am of course thrilled to be once more consumed by the loop in it's many forms and thrilled again that next month, there are a couple of potentially very interesting releases - well, I'm looking forward to them at any rate. Further details to follow in September, but the stories I'm thinking of are Terror of The Sontarans with Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford together with the first box set of Third Doctor adventures, featuring Tim Treloar as The Doctor, Katy Manning as Jo Grant and Richard Franklin as Mike Yates - should be fun to give them a listen.



 So what's all this 'Genesis to Revelation' stuff in the post title? Good question. I am indeed a life-long fan of Genesis the band and the individual members of it, who have done some amazing and fantastically creative original solo work. But no, that's not it. The eagle eyed and observant dipper into this blog, will probably know by now that I've been recording audio books fairly regularly for the past two and a half years. Steep learning curve, quite challenging but generally, really good fun and a pleasing thing to do. There are currently three audio books in my 'yet to be released' pipeline and yesterday, we started recording the next audio book; the 'we' refers to Producer Neil Gardner and me.

Preparatory work has been going on for a few weeks already, test recordings have been made and a not inconsiderable amount of time has been spent in getting my tongue around the text and my head around the very idea of the project itself. So far, the overall project has been in the planning stages for over a year, although until Neil offered me the job a few weeks ago and my participation as narrator was finally approved, I knew nothing of it. But what a great challenge it is and although somewhat overawed, I'm beyond excited to say that yesterday, we began recording... The Bible, from beginning to end, unabridged, from Genesis to Revelation.


Sooooo, that'll take a few weeks to complete, but in the meantime, I'm off to Nottingham tomorrow, to record more audio drama next week for Games Workshop, which is also very exciting - I love playing Space Marines!

Incidentally, I'm hoping that next month will also see Games Workshop starting to release some of the audio drama recordings, which, as you may remember, I've been working on over the last few months. I'm really looking forward to posting more about them at the time of release and to seeing the accompanying artwork for the CDs, which is usually quite stunning.




...all for now, more just as soon as it happens!

Saturday 1 August 2015

...appetite whet, or dry?

...although the opposite of whet, isn't actually dry  - as we all know.

In any case, Big Finish have released information about a new four episode box set, which is scheduled for release in 2016, not all that far away in time.

 And here it is; a little appetite whetter:


" Doctor Who: The Churchill Years is a box set of four stories starring Ian McNeice as the legendary war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Ian first took on the role in the Eleventh Doctor story Victory of the Daleks, and the new set details his further adventures with the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. Each story is narrated from Churchill's viewpoint and is ably supported by a full guest cast of actors."


...all for now, more just as soon as it happens!

Dalek Universe 2

Kragnos Broken Realms

Age of Sigmar Dominion

The Moggotkin of Nurgle

Kragnos Broken Realms

Dawn of Fire Book 1: Avenging Son

The Lore of Direchasm

Direchasm

A C'tan Shard Rises 3

Indomitus: Necrons 2

A Lord Among the Stars 1

Angels of Death Preview

Ultramarines

Psychic Awakening

Warcry: Death or Glory

Warhammer 40,000

Flight. Redefined.

Reviews & comments:

The Malazan Empire

Over the course of this 8 book series, the amazing John Banks has had to create and voice 648 distinct characters!

Neil Gardner - producer

The Door In The Wall & War of The Worlds

Not often I buy another version of an audiobook I own, but after hearing John Banks' narration of The Door in the Wall by Ladbroke Audio, I had to buy their version of The War of the Worlds. Banks has a great reading voice.

Andy Frankham-Allen - writer

The Books of Babel: Senlin Ascends, Arm of The Sphinx & The Hod King

Mr. Banks does superb work, and I recommend the audiobooks wholeheartedly!

Josiah Bancroft - writer

Mervyn Stone: The Axeman Cometh

John Banks is a voice genius...

Nev Fountain - writer

Mervyn Stone... played by the note-perfect John Banks.

Matt Hills - Reviews in Time and Space

Dr. Who: The Sleeping City

I also must draw attention to John Banks who is an exceptional voice artist and in this one story performs more characters that I can count. ... it is listening to episodes like this one that really do let his talents shine through.

Tony Jones - Red Rocket Rising

Highlander:

...playing several parts, was the brilliant Big Finish regular John Banks - it was as if there were about 40 different actors in the other booth.

James Moran - writer

I went for the best of the best and brought in voice artiste extraordinaire John Banks.

Paul Spragg - producer

Vienna:

...also features the mind - bogglingly versatile and reliable John Banks

Jonathan Morris - writer

Dead Funny:

The acting is first rate… wonderfully played by John Banks as Richard – his impersonation of Eric Morecambe is worth the admission money alone.

Beverly Greenberg: Bolton Evening News

Mr. Happiness:

This early and unfamiliar play by David Mamet is a character study of a 1930s radio counsellor, dispensing suave advice to his devoted listeners. John Banks brings out the wry comedy of this – comedy quite unappreciated by the character – with a clever range of gesture and vocal tone.

Jeremy Kingston: The Times


All My Sons:

This is a beautifully crafted piece ...and it affords a wonderful opportunity for John Readman* to do his All-American Boy act as Chris Keller. This most polished and well observed performance as the blighted son of a blighted father must rank as one of his finest accomplishments yet. ( * see Profile)

The Stage

The Ordeals of Sherlock Holmes

Kudos should also go to John Banks. Lestrade can be a thankless part, but Banks rose to the challenge, playing a pivotal role in this decades long arc.

Raissa Devereux - SciFiPulse

The Judgement of Sherlock Holmes

John Banks is multi-tasking, both as the superb Lestrade and also the villainous and no doubt moustache twirling Sebastian Moran. They sound completely different and I bow to his talent.

Sue Davies - SFcrowsnest


Further reviews and comments are included with specific postings throughout the site.

The War Doctor

The War Doctor
December 2015