Ray Wilson
Ray Wilson (born September 8, 1968 in Dumfries , Scotland ) is a Scottish rock singer .
First successes with Stiltskin
After some time in school bands, Ray Wilson moved to Edinburgh , where he founded Guaranteed Pure with his brother Steve as well as Paul Holmes, John Haimes and Chris Cavanagh . The band only produced the album Swing Your Bag , but did not achieve any notable success with it. Due to the resulting financial difficulties, Ray Wilson accepted the offer of the Scottish band Stiltskin in 1994 to join her as a singer. Their debut single Inside was used for the commercial for the jeans company Levi's 501 and quickly became a hit in most European countries. When the next two single releases Footsteps and Rest in Peace from their debut album The Mind's Eye failed to achieve commercial success, the band broke up primarily because of internal conflicts.
Wilson at Genesis
Ray Wilson worked again with the people of Guaranteed Pure on a new album in the following time, but he was hired for Genesis after the departure of lead singer Phil Collins in 1996 . Together with the two remaining Genesis band members Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks , the album Calling All Stations (1997) was created, which, however, was not very successful. As a result, the Genesis project was quasi-officially buried by Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, and other planned albums were no longer realized.
At the start of the new Genesis tour in 2007, Wilson clearly distanced himself from Genesis in an interview with a Scottish newspaper. Phil Collins allegedly was reluctant to see Genesis continue with him. He also continued to speak of “irreconcilable class differences ”. The request to appear at least in the opening act of the Turn-It-On-Again world tour had been consistently prevented by Genesis management. Thus from his point of view the chapter Genesis / Wilson is done for all time.
Solo career
Ray Wilson then released the album Millionairhead under the band name "cut_" in 1999 with his brother Steve Wilson, Paul Holmes and John Haimes (the former Guaranteed Pure) and drummer Nir Zidkyahu , who had already played with Calling All Stations .
Ray Wilson has been a solo artist under his own name since 2001, currently being supported by Ali Ferguson (guitar), Ashley MacMillan (drums) and Lawrie MacMillan (bass).
At the same time, a new album She was released in April 2006 under the name "Ray Wilson & Stiltskin ", although only Ray Wilson is left of the original line-up of the band.
In November 2008 a new solo album called Propaganda Man was released , which was initially only sold on the homepage and at concerts and was available in regular stores from spring 2009.
Wilson tours with different projects:
- Ray Wilson & Stiltskin
- Genesis unplugged
- Genesis Klassik - Pop meets Symphony (in different line-ups)
Collaboration with Steve Hackett
Steve Hackett invited Ray Wilson as a guest singer for his Genesis Revisited Tour (2013/2014). Concerts took place in Milan, Glasgow, Munich, London and Berlin, in which Wilson took over the vocal part for some pieces on stage. He also sang the title Carpet Crawlers for an alternate version of Hackett's Genesis Revisited II album [Genesis Revisited II: Selection] . Hackett's concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, including a guest appearance by Ray Wilson, was released on CD / DVD / BD.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
|||
| 2003 | Change |
DE88 (1 week) DE |
First published: April 2003
Producer: Ray Wilson |
| 2011 | Genesis vs. Stiltskin |
DE21 (3 weeks) DE |
|
| 2013 | Chasing rainbows |
DE57 (1 week) DE |
First published: April 2013
Producers: Peter Hoff, Ray Wilson |
| 2016 | Makes Me Think of Home |
DE88 (1 week) DE |
First published: October 7, 2016
|
| 2019 | Upon My Life | - |
First published: November 1st, 2019
|
more albums
- 1993: Swing Your Bag (Ray Wilson & Guaranteed Pure)
- 1999: Millionairhead (with cut_)
- 2004: The Next Best Thing
- 2006: She (with Stiltskin)
- 2009: Propaganda Man
- 2011: Unfulfillment (with Stiltskin)
- 2015: The Studio Albums 1993–2013 (compilation, box with 8 CDs)
- 2016: Song for a Friend
Live albums
- 2001: Unplugged (UK) / Live and Acoustic (DE)
- 2005: Live (2 CDs)
- 2006: An Audience and Ray Wilson: Limited Edition Live Solo Album
- 2007: Live (with Stiltskin)
- 2009: Genesis Klassik (with The Berlin Symphony Ensemble; recording: Radio Berlin 88.8 , August 13, 2009)
- 2011: Genesis Classic: Live in Poznan (with The Berlin Symphony Ensemble; 2 CDs + DVD)
- 2014: Genesis vs. Stiltskin: 20 Years and More (2 CDs + DVD)
- 2014: Up Close and Personal: Live at SWR1 (2 CDs)
- 2017: Ray Wilson - Time & Distance (2 CDs)
- 2018: Ray Wilson - ZDF @ Bauhaus
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
|||
| 2003 | Yet Another Day 76 |
UK70 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: April 28, 2003
Armin van Buuren feat. Ray Wilson |
more singles
- 2003: Goodbye Baby Blue
- 2003: Change
- 2004: These Are the Changes
- 2005: Roses ( RPWL feat. Ray Wilson)
- 2006: Lemon Yellow Sun (with Stiltskin)
- 2006: She (with Stiltskin)
- 2009: Show Me the Way (DJ Cosmo feat. Ray Wilson)
- 2011: First Day of Change (with Stiltskin)
- 2015: Here Comes the Rain Again ( Tune Brothers feat. Ray Wilson; release: April 24th)
- 2015: Walking in Memphis (Tune Brothers feat. Ray Wilson; release: July 28th)
swell
Web links
- Official website
- Ray Wilson at Allmusic (English)
- Ray Wilson at Discogs (English)
- German-language fan page
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilson, Ray |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British rock singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 8, 1968 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dumfries , Scotland |