Johnny Elichaoff was a British musician, businessman, financial adviser, and television dealer. He was also known as the former husband of British fashion expert Trinny Woodall. Long before that marriage brought him wider public notice, he had built an unusual career that moved from rock music to finance and television.

Elichaoff played drums under the name Johnny Too Bad. He later worked in music management and became a financial adviser. In 2013, he joined the dealer cast of the Channel 4 programme Four Rooms. He and Woodall married in 1999 and had a daughter, Lyla Elichaoff. They divorced in 2009 but stayed close until his death in 2014.

Quick Bio Table

Who Was Johnny Elichaoff?

Johnny Elichaoff was born in London in 1959. He became involved in music when he was young and built his first public career as a drummer. Music reports and later news coverage often referred to him by his stage name, Johnny Too Bad.

His life did not follow one fixed career path. After working as a musician, he moved into music management. He then entered finance and later appeared on television as a dealer. These changes made his professional life quite different from that of many people known mainly as celebrity spouses.

His marriage to Trinny Woodall raised his public profile. Yet Elichaoff already had years of work in the British music world behind him. His connection to Woodall became only one part of a life that also included music, business, television, and fatherhood.

Johnny Elichaoff Started His Career as a Drummer

Music was one of the first major parts of Johnny Elichaoff’s career. He played in British groups including Stark Naked and the Car Thieves and Baby and the Black Spots. He later became part of guitarist Robert Fripp’s League of Gentlemen.

As Johnny Too Bad, he became part of the rock scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Contemporary accounts later noted that he performed on bills connected with major acts such as U2 and Siouxsie Sioux. His work gave him experience both on stage and behind the scenes of the music business.

His time with The League of Gentlemen also linked him to Robert Fripp, best known as the guitarist and leader of King Crimson. Elichaoff played drums during the group’s early period before his career moved in another direction.

Why Did Johnny Elichaoff Leave the Music Stage?

In 1984, Elichaoff stepped away from his normal music career and spent two years in the Israeli army, according to contemporary British press reports. He also worked with the stockbroking firm Bailey Shatkin.

When he returned to the music business, he did not focus only on performing. Instead, he moved into artist and band management. This allowed him to use the knowledge he had gained as a touring musician.

Reports about his career state that he helped manage acts including Tears for Fears and Fairground Attraction. Both became well known in British pop music. It was another clear change in Elichaoff’s career, from playing music to helping manage those who made it.

Johnny Elichaoff’s Career in Finance and Business

Elichaoff later left the rock music world for a more traditional business career. He became a financial adviser and worked in areas such as life insurance and inheritance tax planning.

This move may seem very different from his earlier work as a drummer. Yet Elichaoff continued to have an interest in buying, selling, and business deals. That side of his personality later became visible to television viewers.

Older profiles of Woodall also described her husband as a financial adviser. A 2001 profile in The Independent, for example, noted that he had previously managed bands including Fairground Attraction before moving into finance.

Johnny Elichaoff on Channel 4’s Four Rooms

Elichaoff reached a new television audience through Channel 4’s Four Rooms. The programme placed sellers in front of professional dealers who could make offers for unusual art, antiques, and collectable items.

Channel 4 announced Elichaoff as one of the new dealers for the show’s 2013 daytime series. The broadcaster described him as an entrepreneur. Each dealer used personal funds and had to judge whether an item was worth the price being asked.

His appearance on Four Rooms made sense given his business background. He could negotiate, judge value, and make quick decisions. The programme also gave viewers a chance to see Elichaoff outside the media attention linked to his marriage.

How Did Johnny Elichaoff and Trinny Woodall’s Marriage Begin?

Johnny Elichaoff and Trinny Woodall married in 1999. Their wedding took place at St Columba’s Church in Knightsbridge, London. The church had deep family meaning for Woodall. Her parents had also married there, and she had been christened there.

Woodall was becoming a major name in British fashion television during their marriage. She became especially well known through her work with Susannah Constantine and the BBC programme What Not to Wear.

Elichaoff had his own established career, but Woodall’s growing television fame brought more public attention to their home life. Even so, much of their relationship remained private compared with the constant media coverage of many celebrity couples.

Johnny Elichaoff and Trinny Woodall’s Daughter Lyla

The couple became parents to a daughter, Lyla Elichaoff, in 2003. Woodall has since spoken openly about how difficult the path to motherhood had been.

In a 2023 interview with The Guardian, Woodall said she and Elichaoff went through many rounds of IVF. She also experienced several miscarriages before Lyla was born. The experience took place while Woodall’s television career was becoming highly successful.

Elichaoff was already a father before marrying Woodall. He had an older son named Zak from his first marriage to Camilla St Aubyn. Later accounts show that the different sides of the family stayed connected.

Why Did Johnny Elichaoff and Trinny Woodall Divorce?

The marriage ended in divorce in 2009, ten years after the couple married. Reliable sources describe their separation as amicable and show that they continued to have a close relationship after the marriage ended.

Their divorce did not end their role as a family. Woodall later said that she and Elichaoff remained in frequent contact. She told The Guardian that they sometimes spoke twice a day. Their wider family also spent time together.

Elichaoff was seen with Woodall and Lyla even after their divorce. Reports from 2014 noted that the three had been photographed together only months before his death. Their ability to remain close after divorce became an important part of how Woodall later described their relationship.

Johnny Elichaoff’s Health Problems

Elichaoff faced serious health problems during his adult life. He suffered a major leg injury in a motorbike accident. Reports stated that he needed many operations as a result.

He also struggled with dependence on prescription pain medication. Elichaoff spoke publicly about this problem. In 2006, he received treatment at a rehabilitation clinic in California.

Later testimony at an inquest also described his long term physical pain. Woodall said after his death that the pain had become debilitating. These details help explain some of the difficult health issues he faced during his later years.

What Happened to Johnny Elichaoff?

Johnny Elichaoff died in November 2014 at the age of 55. His death took place in Bayswater, west London. Police initially said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

A later inquest concluded that Elichaoff had died by suicide. Evidence presented to the court described serious emotional distress, chronic pain, problems linked to prescription medication, and financial losses during the period before his death.

His death had a major effect on his family. Woodall later spoke about the difficulty of telling their young daughter that her father had died. Years later, she continued to discuss how the loss changed her outlook on life and risk.

How Trinny Woodall Remembered Johnny Elichaoff

Woodall has continued to speak about Elichaoff with affection. In interviews, she has remembered his intelligence and strong sense of humour. She has also been open about the difficulties he faced.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2023, Woodall described a family structure in which she, Elichaoff, Lyla, Zak, and Zak’s mother could still spend time together. She called their family life very blended.

In 2024, Woodall said that the loss had changed the way she thought about fear. After his death, she felt ready to take greater business risks. She later sold her home to help fund the beauty company Trinny London, which became a major part of her career.

Fact About Johnny Elichaoff

• Johnny Elichaoff was born in London in 1959 and was British.
• He started his career in music and became known by the stage name Johnny Too Bad.
• He worked as a drummer and played with The League of Gentlemen, the band linked with guitarist Robert Fripp.
• After performing, he moved into music management and worked with acts including Tears for Fears and Fairground Attraction.
• Elichaoff later changed careers again and became a financial adviser and businessman.
• He also appeared on television as a dealer on Channel 4’s Four Rooms, which brought him wider public attention.
• Johnny Elichaoff married Trinny Woodall in 1999. Woodall later became well known as a fashion expert, TV presenter, and beauty entrepreneur.
• The couple had a daughter, Lyla Elichaoff, in 2003. Johnny also had an older son, Zak Elichaoff, from an earlier marriage.
• Johnny Elichaoff and Trinny Woodall divorced in 2009, but they stayed close and continued to share family life after the separation.
• Johnny Elichaoff died in November 2014 at the age of 55. A later inquest concluded that he died by suicide after a period marked by chronic pain and personal difficulties.

Johnny Elichaoff’s Legacy

It would be too simple to describe Johnny Elichaoff only as Trinny Woodall’s ex-husband. His life included several very different careers.

He was a drummer in the British rock scene. He worked with musicians and later managed successful bands. He moved into finance and business. Then, near the end of his life, he became familiar to television viewers through Four Rooms.

His strongest personal legacy remains his family. He was the father of Zak Elichaoff and Lyla Elichaoff. Woodall’s later interviews show that divorce did not remove him from her life. They remained friends and continued to raise their daughter as a close family.

FAQs

Who was Johnny Elichaoff?

Johnny Elichaoff was a British drummer, music manager, financial adviser, entrepreneur, and television dealer. He was also known as the former husband of Trinny Woodall and appeared on Channel 4’s Four Rooms.

Was Johnny Elichaoff married to Trinny Woodall?

Yes. Johnny Elichaoff and Trinny Woodall married in 1999 at St Columba’s Church in Knightsbridge. They divorced in 2009 but remained close after their marriage ended.

Did Johnny Elichaoff have children?

Yes. Johnny Elichaoff had two children. His older son, Zak, was from his first marriage. He and Trinny Woodall had a daughter named Lyla, who was born during their marriage.

What did Johnny Elichaoff do for a living?

Elichaoff had several careers. He worked as a drummer, music manager, financial adviser, businessman, and television dealer. He also appeared on the Channel 4 programme Four Rooms.

When did Johnny Elichaoff die?

Johnny Elichaoff died in November 2014 at age 55. A later inquest concluded that his death was suicide. His former wife Trinny Woodall has spoken several times about the effect his death had on their family.