Johnathan Kneath, known professionally as Sharkey, was born on 25 July 1974 in Germany and later relocated to Plymouth, United Kingdom. He first appeared as an MC at UK hardcore rave events in 1993 before moving into production in 1995, collaborating with DJ Hixxy on the single "Toytown", which helped define the British happy hardcore sound of the decade. In 1996 Sharkey released the Bonkers EP and the Revolutions EP, both under React Music, and the duo founded the Bonkers compilation series, the first of which became the most commercially successful in the genre. Over the next decade Sharkey issued a steady stream of albums—including Bonkers 2 (1997), Bonkers 3 (1997), Hard Life (1998), Bonkers 4 (1998), Bonkers 5 (1998)—and singles such as "Feel The Heat" (1996). He toured internationally, performed on BBC Radio 1 in 2003, and helped pioneer the freeform hardcore subgenre with collaborators like Kevin Energy. Sharkey announced his retirement from music production in January 2011 and completed a final world tour with Lenny Dee before officially retiring in September 2011.
