Ray Wilson (musician)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Ray Wilson


Img_capt = Ray Wilson at Leamington Spa 2006
Background = solo_singer
Born = birth date and age|df=yes|1968|9|08
Dumfries, Scotland
Genre = Progressive rock
Pop-rock
Grunge >Rock
Instrument = Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Harmonica
Occupation =
Years_active = 1993 – present
Label = InsideOut Music
Virgin Records
Associated_acts = Stiltskin, Genesis, Cut_, Guaranteed Pure, RPWL, Scorpions
URL = [http://www.raywilson.co.uk/ raywilson.co.uk]

Ray Wilson (born 8 September 1968 in Dumfries) is a Scottish musician, best known as vocalist in the grunge band Stiltskin and in Genesis for their 1997/1998 album and tour.

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'. He then joined Stiltskin; they released one album and had a number one hit in the UK with the single "Inside".

In 1997, Wilson joined Genesis following the departure of former vocalist and drummer Phil Collins. Interestingly, Genesis was formed in 1967 but 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 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 bad. 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 25 October 2006, at Harmonie, Bonn, Germany.

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.

olo 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)
*2008 "Propaganda Man"

The only studio-album cover songs Ray has done is "Space Oddity" by David Bowie on the Cut_ album, "Millionairhead" and "Inside" from Stiltskin on the 2004 solo "The Next Best Thing".

Guaranteed Pure

*1993 "Swing Your Bag"Album cover design and graphics by Philip Paterson

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)
**"She" (single)
**"Lemon Yellow Sun" (single)
*2007 "Stiltskin Live"

=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. [http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=602912007]

=Cut_=

*1999 "Millionairhead"
**"Another Day" (Germany-only single)
**"Millionairhead/Sarah" (radio promo)
*2007 "Millionairhead (UK Edition 2007)"

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)
*2005 "Roses" (with RPWL) (World Through My Eyes)

External links

* [http://www.raywilson.co.uk Ray Wilson Online]
*MySpace|raywilsonmusic|Ray Wilson
* [http://foto.poznan4u.com.pl/reportaze/wilson picture gallery - Ray Wilson & Stiltskin live in Poznan © Jacek Bakutis]