Jak Housden (born John Paul Housden 12 June 1969) is an Australian guitarist, singer, and composer. Best known as a long-standing member of or The Whitlams, he is also a founding member of The Badloves, appearing on all their classic 1990s releases. A revered session guitarist, Jak has performed and recorded with Barry Gibb, Olivia Newton-John, Richard Clapton, Steve Kilbey, Kate Ceberano, Jimmy Barnes, Daryl Braithwaite, and Steve Balbi. Since 2015, Jak has been involved with Tim Minchin, touring extensively and recording on the album Apart Together. Early life and career Jak Housden has played guitar since he was 11 years old. He joined Melbourne band, Show of Hands, at 16, performing regularly around Melbourne, even flying to Tokyo to represent Australia in Yamaha's Band Explosion at the Budokan Stadium. In 1988, Housden began a spell of touring with Daryl Braithwaite. Also in the band, at the time, was Stephen O'Prey on bass guitar (also ex-Show of Hands) and Michael Spiby on lead guitar and backing vocals (ex-Screen Idols). Housden, O'Prey, and Spiby (now on lead vocals) founded the Badloves in Melbourne with Chris Tabone on drums and initially Spiby's brother, John, on keyboards and saxophone. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, they "became a popular live attraction courtesy of regular gigs and a fine set of laid-back, 1970s-styled blues, Memphis soul and New Orleans R&B material. The band's sound was simple, soulful and very funky. The Badloves were immediately labelled as 'organic', 'neo-hippies' and 'retro', which may have been the case, but at least it showed a band working within a rich musical tradition." The group released two studio albums, Get on Board (June 1993) and Holy Roadside (September 1995), before disbanding in 1997. In 1999, Jak was one of the session musicians on the Whitlams fourth studio album, Love This City. In 2001, he became a permanent band member, touring and recording the albums Torch the Moon (2002) and Little Cloud (2006), alongside founding mainstay lead vocalist and pianist, Tim Freedman, bass guitarist, Warwick Hornby and drummer, Terepai Richmond. In February 2022, The Whitlams released their first album in 16 years, Sancho. Housden has remained a member of the Whitlams. Solo material and other projects Housden released his self-produced debut solo album, Mad About Disco, in 2004 through Boffin Records, which included the single, "To Die For" (2005). In 2020, Housden released the single Bombs on Triplespeak. Strong