Ellis was a co-founder of the
pub rock band
Bazooka Joe in 1970 and a founding member of the
punk rock band
The Vibrators. He formed The Vibrators in 1976 while still at art school studying illustration. The Vibrators released two albums with Ellis and toured extensively. Ellis left the Vibrators in 1978 to form the short-lived group Rapid Eye Movement, before embarking on a solo career in 1979, releasing a couple of
singles, one of which, "Babies in Jars" (a live Rapid Eye Movement recording) reached #34 on the
UK Indie Chart. In 1980, Ellis toured with
Peter Gabriel on his "Tour of China 1984", and he appears on the album
Peter Gabriel 4. From 1982 onwards, he recorded a number of albums with
Peter Hammill, and toured with Hammill (off and on) from 1981 until 1989. From 1981 until 1984, he was a member of the K Group with Peter Hammill. Hammill was "K" (on vocals, piano and guitar),
Nic Potter was "Mozart" (on bass guitar),
Guy Evans was "Brain" (on drums), and Ellis was "Fury" (on backing vocals and guitar). The Peter Hammill album
The Margin is a registration of live-concerts by the K group. From 1988 to 1989, Ellis was a member of The Purple Helmets, a five-piece R&B group playing cover versions from the 1960s. The band included
Jean Jacques Burnel and
Dave Greenfield of
The Stranglers, and Ellis subsequently joined the Stranglers from late 1990 to 2000, starting with the album
Stranglers in the Night. During that period he also created music for European Art exhibitions and several short films. Ellis left the Stranglers in 2000. He is an exponent of the
E-bow guitar. Ellis has contributed to the recordings of
Judge Smith, a founding member of
Van der Graaf Generator. In 2005, Ellis formed a community organisation called 'The Luma Group', which delivers arts based training and workshops. In 2009, Ellis started his record label, Chanoyu Records, in order to release his music. The first release was
Wabi Sabi 21©, an album of electronic instrumentals inspired by the
Japanese Tea Ceremony. ==Discography==