Ray Wilson (musician)
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| Ray Wilson | |
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 Ray Wilson at Leamington Spa 2006
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| Background information | |
| Born | September 8, 1968 Dumfries, Scotland |
| Genre(s) | Progressive rock Pop-rock Grunge |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Harmonica |
| Years active | 1993 – present |
| Label(s) | Independent |
| Associated acts | Stiltskin, Genesis, Cut_, Guaranteed Pure, RPWL, Scorpions |
| Website | raywilson.co.uk |
Ray Wilson (born 8 September 1968 in Dumfries) is a Scottish rock musician, who got his start in the grunge band Stiltskin; they released one album and had a number one hit in the UK with the single "Inside". He is the cousin of Ian Wilson, better known as Ian Catskilkin, of UK Indie band Art Brut.
Ray started off in a band called Guaranteed Pure in the early 1990s. They released an album called Swing Your Bag, the title track of which was included on a compilation album on the label of Fish entitled 'The Funny Farm Project : Outpatients '93'.
In 1997, Wilson joined Genesis following the departure of former vocalist and drummer Phil Collins. The arrival of Ray Wilson marked the decline in Genesis record sales, which had been phenomenal during the era of Phil Collins. The band went on hiatus after one album, Calling All Stations, and a tour with Wilson.
Wilson went on to record a solo project called "Cut_", which he has described as sounding the way the next Genesis album might have sounded had the band continued with him. The album Millionairhead was released under this name. It was re-released in 2007 (remastered) including three additional songs.
In 2003 he released a solo album under his own name titled Change. The next year he released another studio album entitled The Next Best Thing, which included a cover of "Inside". In 2006 he released another Stiltskin album called She and in 2007 a Stiltskin live CD featuring below others 8 out of 12 songs from She. This live CD was recorded October 25, 2006, at Harmonie, Bonn, Germany. Currently he is touring Europe together with Stiltskin lead guitarist Ali Ferguson playing two-guitar acoustic sets. In summer 2008 a new solo album is supposed to be released.
DJ and trance producer Armin van Buuren has produced remixes of the songs "Another Day" (retitled "Yet Another Day") and "Gypsy" from Millionairhead. Both remixes have been released on van Buuren's own albums, and "Yet Another Day" was also released as a single.
Contents |
[edit] Solo Albums
- 2001 Unplugged (renamed Live and Acoustic)
- 2003 Change (album) - #88 Germany
- Change (single)
- Goodbye Baby Blue (single)
- 2004 The Next Best Thing
- These Are The Changes (single)
- 2005 Ray Wilson Live
- 2006 An Audience and Ray Wilson (limited edition CD and download)
[edit] Guaranteed Pure
- 1993 Swing Your Bag
[edit] Stiltskin
- 1994 The Mind's Eye - #12 UK, #11 Germany, #10 Austria, #76 Netherlands, #13 Sweden, #13 Switzerland,
- Inside (single) - #1 UK, #5 Germany, #2 Austria, #9 France, #7 Netherlands, #5 Norway, #4 Sweden, #5 Switzerland, #40 Australia, #20 New Zealand
- Footsteps (single) - #34 UK, #34 Switzerland, #36 New Zealand
- Rest In Peace (single) - #47UK
- 2006 She (album) did not chart anywhere
- She (single) did not chart anywhere
- Lemon Yellow Sun (single) did not chart anywhere
- 2007 Stiltskin Live did not chart anywhere
[edit] Genesis
- 1997 Calling All Stations - #2 UK, #2 Germany, #6 Austria, #19 Finland, #5 France, #9 Netherlands, #2 Norway, #11 Sweden, #3 Switzerland,
- Congo (single) - #29 UK, #31 Germany, #35 Austria, #35 Switzerland
- Shipwrecked (single) - #54 UK, #82 Germany
- 1998 Not About Us (single) - #66 UK, #81 Germany
- 2007 Calling All Stations - SACD
- 1983-98 (boxset)
Although Wilson would frequently perform Genesis songs as a solo artist following his departure from the band, he is now openly regretful for joining the band. In an interview with The Living Scotsman in April 2007, he said he felt out of place with the rest of the band, describing them as a "horse-riding, polo playing set" while describing himself as "working class". Further, he described his dismissal from the band as being "like death by silence" and thought it was handled improperly.[1]
[edit] Cut_
- 1999 Millionairhead
- Another Day (Germany-only single)
- Millionairhead/Sarah (radio promo)
- 2007 Millionairhead (UK Edition 2007)
[edit] Other collaborations
- 2000 "Big City Nights" (with Scorpions) (Moment of Glory)
- 2002 "Love Supreme" Turntablerocker (Smile)
- 2003 "Yet Another Day" (with Armin Van Buuren) (76) - #70 UK, #34 Netherlands
- 2005 "Gypsy" (with Armin Van Buuren) (Shivers) did not chart anywhere
- 2005 "Roses" (with RPWL) (World Through My Eyes) did not chart anywhere
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The band Genesis was formed in 1967. Ray Wilson was born a year later in 1968. Other musicians who have joined bands that were formed before they were born include Jonathan Noyce of Jethro Tull and Jerome Froese of Tangerine Dream.
- The only studio-album cover songs Ray has done is "Space Oddity" by David Bowie on the Cut_ album, Millionairhead and "Inside" (many many times) from Stiltskin (10 years after it became a hit) on the 2004 solo The Next Best Thing. During his live shows, he does a variety of cover songs from Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Stiltskin, The Eagles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, U2 and Mike & the Mechanics
[edit] External links
- Ray Wilson Online
- Ray Wilson at MySpace
- picture gallery - Ray Wilson & Stiltskin live in Poznan © Jacek Bakutis
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