| Terry Slesser | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Terence Arthur Wilson |
| Genres | Blues-rock, hard rock |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | early 1970s– |
| Associated acts | Back Street Crawler, Beckett, Charlie |
Terry Slesser (also known as Terry Wilson-Slesser, born Terence Arthur Wilson) is a blues rock singer from Newcastle, England. He is chiefly known for his role as vocalist in ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff's band Back Street Crawler, renamed Crawler after Kossoff's death in 1976.
In the early 1970s, Slesser joined Beckett, replacing their original singer Rob Turner, who was killed in a hit and run accident after a gig at the La Ronde night club in Billingham, Teesside. Beckett released one self-titled album in 1974. Slesser then joined Back Street Crawler and its successor band, Crawler, for the balance of the 1970s.
In 1980, after his time with Crawler, Slesser was considered by AC/DC when they were looking for a replacement for their much-loved vocalist Bon Scott, who had died in February of that year. Slesser eventually turned down this opportunity, choosing not to join an established music group, but to start a solo career.
Slesser auditioned for Iron Maiden when lead singer Paul Di'Anno left the band in 1981, but Maiden bassist and founder Steve Harris felt that his vocals sounded great with some songs but not with others. Iron Maiden eventually settled on Samson vocalist Bruce Dickinson. Slesser is also known to fans of Iron Maiden as the co-writer of "A Rainbow's Gold", which Maiden recorded as a B-side for their single "Two Minutes to Midnight" in 1984. The song was originally recorded by Slesser's first band Beckett, and featured on their 1974 album.
In 1983, Slesser was featured as lead vocalist with Charlie on their US hit single "It's Inevitable", and the related album. The related video was quite popular on MTV. . Also in 1983, Slesser was featured on backing vocals on the Def Leppard album Pyromania. In 1984, he toured Europe, Japan and the USA as a backing vocalist with the Michael Schenker Group.
As of 2009, Slesser is still touring as a solo act or with Freeway, with ex-Free drummer Simon Kirke.
Terry has two sons who are twins called Simon and Adam.