Ben Watt

Ben Watt first gained widespread recognition through his role as one half of Everything But the Girl, the partnership that began performing in 1982. During the same period, fellow member Tracey Thorn issued her initial solo outing A Distant Shore under the EBTG banner, while Watt followed with his own North Marine Drive the next year. That album topped the U.K. indie listings and featured his interpretation of Bob Dylan’s “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.” Although the duo’s earliest recordings leaned toward lite-jazz, their decisive global breakthrough arrived via dance music when Todd Terry delivered a 1995 remix of “Missing,” a track first heard on Amplified Heart; the single reached number two on Billboard’s Hot 100 the following year. Everything But the Girl then pivoted successfully toward the emerging “new jazz” fusion of techno, house, and trip-hop, an evolution that marked both an artistic and personal renewal.

Following completion of the 1992 album Acoustic, Watt was diagnosed with the uncommon autoimmune disorder Churg-Strauss syndrome, an illness that brought him close to death. Hospitalized for eight weeks after reporting chest pains, he shed more than 40 pounds and 85 percent of his small intestine. The extended convalescence remained uncertain for a considerable time. Drawing on that ordeal, Watt composed the memoir Patient: The History of a Rare Illness, issued by Grove Press. Looking back with detachment, he observed of the condition, “To paraphrase Joseph Heller, You know it’s something serious when they name it after two guys.” The book also records his reflections on the psychological and physical obstacles encountered during recovery, underscoring how such trauma compels an individual to emerge transformed.

After his recovery, Watt developed a keen interest in technology, taking charge of the EBTG website and exploring the World Wide Web. This fascination soon shaped the duo’s sound as he incorporated sequencers and computers into his writing. Encouraged by producer and DJ Howie B, he began performing as an underground selector. Combined with his dissatisfaction with conventional arranging methods, a growing distance from younger listeners, and the aftermath of illness, these experiences prepared the ground for a reimagined Everything But the Girl. Having already touched on soul and bossa nova in the early ’80s, the pair now ventured into downtempo funk, deep house, and jazzy drum’n’bass. Under the alias Little Joey, Watt even supplied a remix of “Missing,” and by 1994 he had fully immersed himself in the U.K. drum’n’bass milieu. The resulting electronic direction surfaced fully on Walking Wounded, the duo’s Virgin Records debut; both the title track and “Wrong” reached the U.K. Top Ten. Watt’s deepening involvement in club culture delayed the follow-up Temperamental for three years, yet the record preserved much of the same aesthetic. Over time he contributed production, vocals, piano, and guitar to projects by Chicane, Deep Dish, Adam F., Beth Orton, Roni Size, and Massive Attack, among others.

Watt credits his continued vitality to his remix projects and to the long-running club night Lazy Dog, which he co-hosts regularly in London alongside DJ Hannan. The pair issued a two-disc compilation featuring the U.K. hit “Tracey in My Room” on Astralwerks in autumn 2000. The arrival of Watt and Thorn’s third child kept the duo occupied and out of the studio for a stretch, though Watt gradually returned through remixes for Sade, Sunshine Anderson, and Maxwell. In 2003 he launched the Buzzin’ Fly label and club, issuing a run of deep house singles. A year later Buzzin’ Fly, Vol. 1 inaugurated a series of mixed CDs drawn from the imprint. He sustained activity through the sister label Strange Feeling, radio DJ slots, and live appearances until announcing the closure of both labels in 2013, citing the challenges facing small independents amid digital oversaturation. In April 2014 he released his second solo album Hendra—his first in roughly three decades—recorded with David Gilmour, Bernard Butler, and Ewan Pearson; the set and its accompanying tour earned widespread praise and secured an AIM Independent Music Award for Best Second Album.

In 2015 Watt entered London’s RAK Studio II alongside Butler, drummer Martin Ditchman, bassist Rex Horan, and engineer Bruno Ellingham, later adding guest vocals from M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger and Marissa Nadler. The resulting Fever Dream appeared on his Unmade Road imprint in April 2016, preceded by video singles for “Gradually” and “Between Two Fires.” Watt resurfaced in 2020 with Storm Damage, an album shaped by personal loss and captured with a stripped-down piano, bass, and drums trio.