Gary “Gazza” Johnson, the bassist who helped define China Crisis during the Liverpool band’s most successful 1980s period, has died peacefully at the age of 61.
by Paul Cashmere
Gary “Gazza” Johnson, the longtime bassist of China Crisis, died peacefully on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, aged 61. His death was confirmed by his younger sister Jan Hughes, who said Johnson died at 12:05 with his wife Jopie by his side. No cause of death has been disclosed. Johnson was a central member of China Crisis during the band’s defining 1980s period, playing on albums including Working With Fire And Steel, Flaunt The Imperfection, What Price Paradise and Diary Of A Hollow Horse.
Hughes remembered her brother as a musician whose interest in playing began in his teenage years.
“Gazza was my elder brother. He passed peacefully today at 12:05 with his wife Jopie by his side,” Hughes wrote in a message confirming his death. She recalled Johnson getting his first guitar and learning to play in his bedroom.
Johnson was part of the Liverpool music community before joining China Crisis. He had previously played with Hambi & The Dance, appearing on the band’s 1982 album Heartache.
His arrival at China Crisis coincided with the expansion of the group from the original partnership of Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon into the full band that would establish its strongest commercial identity. Johnson joined alongside drummer Kevin Wilkinson, forming the rhythm section that underpinned China Crisis through its major run of 1980s recordings.
The band had been formed in Kirkby, Merseyside, in 1979 by Daly and Lundon. Their early music drew on post-punk, synth-pop and the atmospheric influence of Brian Eno, while their musical references also included Steely Dan, David Bowie, Talking Heads and Magazine. The addition of Johnson and Wilkinson brought a more substantial live and rhythmic dimension to the group.
Johnson’s first major China Crisis album was Working With Fire And Steel: Possible Pop Songs Volume Two, released in 1983. The record represented a significant development from the band’s more electronic beginnings, incorporating brass, woodwind and strings alongside synthesizers and rhythm section instrumentation.
That period produced “Wishful Thinking”, which became China Crisis’ only UK Top 10 single, reaching No. 9 in 1984. The song also became an international success. China Crisis ultimately placed 10 singles in the UK Top 50 during the 1980s, with five reaching the Top 40.
The group reached an even more sophisticated phase with Flaunt The Imperfection in 1985. Produced by Steely Dan’s Walter Becker, the album reached No. 9 in the UK and established China Crisis at the height of their commercial profile.
Johnson was credited as a co-writer on the album, alongside Daly and Lundon, and his bass playing became an important part of the band’s increasingly detailed sound.
The album’s most enduring singles included “Black Man Ray”, which reached No. 14 in the UK and became a significant international hit. In Australia, “Black Man Ray” remains one of China Crisis’ best-known songs and reached the Australian Top 40. “King In A Catholic Style” followed, reaching No. 19 in the UK.
The band continued with What Price Paradise in 1986, working with producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. “Arizona Sky” became another international success and a notable Australian hit, while “Best Kept Secret” reached No. 36 in the UK in 1987.
Johnson remained with China Crisis through the 1980s, including the 1989 album Diary Of A Hollow Horse. Although the record received less commercial attention than Flaunt The Imperfection, it marked another collaboration with Becker and represented the final studio album of the classic five-piece period.
After China Crisis parted ways with Virgin Records, the band returned as a reduced lineup. Johnson was involved with the recording of Warped By Success in 1994 as a session musician and returned to the live lineup for the 1995 acoustic project Acoustically Yours, which included a live performance of “Black Man Ray”.
Johnson subsequently remained active as a musician and session player in Liverpool. He also continued his association with China Crisis members, appearing on Gary Daly’s 2019 solo album Gone From Here.
His death leaves another significant loss from the classic China Crisis lineup. Wilkinson died in 1999, aged 41, while Walter Becker, whose production and musical contribution were closely associated with Flaunt The Imperfection and later Diary Of A Hollow Horse, died in 2017.
For China Crisis, Johnson’s contribution belongs to the period in which the band moved from Liverpool’s post-punk and synth-pop underground into sophisticated international pop. The catalogue from that era continues to define the group, from “Wishful Thinking” and “Black Man Ray” to “King In A Catholic Style” and “Arizona Sky”.
Noise11 previously reported China Crisis’ first Australian and New Zealand tour in 2020, when the band’s connection with Australian audiences was highlighted through the enduring popularity of “Black Man Ray”.
Johnson’s legacy is therefore contained not only in the credits of the albums he played on, but in the bass-driven architecture of a band that successfully bridged electronic new wave, sophisticated pop and musicianship during one of British music’s most competitive periods.
Gary “Gazza” Johnson was 61.
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