Collaborations

Cause For Alarm (I)  - (1977-78)

In the hot summer of 1976,  Ralph was given special project leave from Rose Bruford College in order to appear as Caiaphas in a European Youth tour of Jesus Christ Superstar,  (a role he would later reprise in London).    Shortly after he graduated, Ralph would join forces with Graham Tuffery, the lead guitarist from the tour and Phil Robins, a local bassist to form Cause For Alarm  - a Rock/Punk crossover band.  

Cause For Alarm (II) - (1978-1980)

While Cause For Alarm (I) was comparitively short lived, the second incarnation was a much more agressive beast.

They even managed to get a gig behind proverbial chicken wire where the audience was free to throw bottles at them.

Roger Mee had his own song,  and Ralph's Rod The Ferret character was clealy a musical variation on the comedian. 

When Ralph created "Roger (A Busker)"  for the Causes Theatre Company,  it was Cause For Alarm Mark II that provided the music.    

The Delegation (1980-1984)

Although only together for a comparatively short period, the band were a unique collaboration.   The core of Andy Snelling (bass), Chris Twigg (lead guitar) and Ralph (rhythm guitar and vocals) appear together in the very rare "In View" .  The footage was recorded by local documentary film maker "Pete the Wiz" and features seminal recordings of "The Journeyman"  and "Starfighters Hit Zero"

During this period,  Ralph received some music company interest in his songwriting, but their perceptions for his work and career path did not correspond with his own.  

Edsel Kragg, (the man in the mask), at the Quay Theatre, Sudbury, 2012

It is perhaps fitting that Edsel Kragg should appear as one of the masked protesters in the film "V (for Vendetta).    If people find Ralph's blend of drama, comedy and music an acquired taste, Edsel's performance art takes eccentricity to new heights.  Never seen in public without a disguise and appearing under a whole series of nom de plumes his is one of the strangest stage acts anyone will ever witness.   Johnny Cashbox sometimes occupies the stage with him, and his antics are legendary.   On one occasion,  Edsel asked Johnny to appear in a tuxedo with bow tie in order to accompany a version of "Always My Mind".     When Edsel appeared behind a small lecturn on the stage of the Quay Theatre in Sudbury, he was wearing the largest tuxedo anyone had seen and wearing a Jar Jar Binks mask.   Just as Johnny was playing the introduction to the song, Edsel stopped him, apologised to the audience and asked them if they would mind if he took his jacket off as he was feeling rather hot under the stage lights.  Upon removing his jacket he moved centre stage and the audience could see that he was wearing full diving tanks and flippers on his feet.   This wonderful comic treasure conceives and edits most the videos for Johnny Cashbox & TheDragonflyRising.

U.Uka  Sri Lankan poet and lyricist

In 2019, Ralph began an occasional songwriting collaboration with U.Ukwa.   

U's beautiful and romantic poetry has a unique quality that blends two cultures together.  The melodies and arrangements Ralph creates to accompany these wonderful words generally differ in style from the music created for Johnny Cashbox, although they are performed by him.  Many songs, such as, "Unknown You", "Wisdom" and "Love Never Dies" explore love and relationships, but some like "Lamentation"  have a ecological, humanitarian or other social perspective.    Several of the songs, including all of those named above are to be found on the "JohnnyCashbox" youtube channel.  Each feature engaging and expressive videos, conceived and edited by Ralph's friend and long term collaborator Edsel Kragg,

Red Arizona

A character named Red Arizona first appears, briefly, in "Whose Is Leonard Jones?", where he offers assistance, enabling Leonard to produce a rap record that improves the future of the local day centre.

Shortly before the pandemic,  Ralph was approached to write  and perform some songs, in role, for a  folk/blues based drama being created by a professional East Anglia based theatre company.  Sadly,  due to the restrictions placed on live performance, and the attendant financial challenges at the time, it was not possibly to stage the production,

Towards the end of 2023,  Ralph was approached separately, to revisit the story, with a view to reimaging it as a one-man show,   As at March 2024,  Ralph is in the process of writing both the stage play and the songs that will form part of the narrative.    This is a format that was so successful with "Whose Is Leonard Jones?"