Raymie Wilson

A short, edited biog! Raymie has been playing and writing songs and original music for over 40 years. Starting off jamming with mates in bands whilst at school, and playing in night clubs and bars with his Dad, Joe. (Illegally)! Then playing in full time rock bands by the age of 17. After 9 years of touring and recording with various rock outfits, he took a peripatetic teaching job in the Southside of Glasgow, which lasted for 2 years. After attending a Musicians’ Union branch meeting he got talking to someone who was looking for a guitarist and singer for a cruise ship contract. He jumped at the offer of a gig at sea, and ended up working various contracts over the next few years as well as doing other gigs in-­‐between. A couple of years later he was contacted by Neil McCormack, owner of the legendary Glasgow family-­‐ run music store “McCormack’s”, and was asked if he could play bass for a Hendrix Tribute guy, Jim Dunlop had brought over from the States. This turned out to be another change of direction, and he started playing with The Randy Hansen Band. Mainly playing Hendrix covers at trade shows etc.. On the way back from a trade show, while passing through London, he found out that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines were auditioning musicians for possible positions aboard ships. After a successful audition he found himself at sea once again, working as a guitarist, and backing big Vegas-­‐style shows and cabaret acts such as Al Martino, Tony Bennett, Petula Clark, et al.. After a few years and many ship board contracts he got a call and found himself working at Butlins’ holiday camp in Ayr. “Work’s work”. There he met an agent who asked him if he could do a gig in Singapore with “The Legendary Ladies of Rock ’n’ Roll? So off he went and played with, “the Shirelles”, “the Chrystals” and “the Supremes”. On returning to his native Glasgow, yet again, he took up an offer of resident musician for the Pavilion Theatre. For the next 5 years he would play guitar or bass for all the original in-­‐house productions, and some touring shows. Things turned again and after being contacted by a London-­‐based agency, at short notice, to dep for a guitarist on a ship for a few weeks, he ended up working for the next 6 years as guitarist and Musical Director for the company. After a short spell helping to look after his Father, who had became ill. He got the guitar chair gig on the touring production of “Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat”. Almost 2 and a half thousand shows later, he said goodbye to life on the road...................Well at least for a couple of years! He has, since then, played on a few touring shows, but says he’s definitely done enough of them now. The last show he toured with was the UK and Ireland tour of, “7 Brides for 7 Brothers”, on Banjo, and some guitar. Through all this time, he would be constantly jotting down lyrics in notepads and scribbling down music and recording pieces of songs and other musical ideas on whatever he had at his disposal. A few years ago, he issued the instrumental album, “2012”, followed by the EP, “4x4”. Which contained 4 original songs in the Americana vein. Toward the end of 2014 he issued the album, “Weather Permitting”, a collection of 8 songs, all with a story to tell, initially folky then getting heavier and rockier as the album progresses. As always he performed all the instrumentation and vocals, and recorded, engineered and produced all the tracks. In February 2016 he issued an album of original music selections he had written for the Marc Pye play, “Getting Ahead”. Mid 2016 he was approached by folk singer Charlie Harrigan, to lend a helping hand with a new recording. To, “Raymiefy it”, as Charlie put it. So; a washtub bass, tuba, hurdy-­‐gurdy, vihuela and a Burmese temple bell later, “Morning Train’ was done. At this time, Raymie is writing and recording various projects including; a new country album, a rock guitar album, a few power pop songs, a prog concept album, and a first series of a children’s cartoon. He has also recently self-­‐published a book of Classical Guitar pieces, which were originally written whilst teaching in the 1980s.