Phil Wilson

English singer and songwriter Phil Wilson launched his musical path by co-founding the June Brides, an influential indie pop outfit that came together in 1983 and issued its initial singles the following year. Although the band’s 1985 mini-album There Are Eight Million Stories reached the top of the U.K. indie charts, the group never secured a lasting label contract and disbanded in 1986. Wilson subsequently pursued a solo path, joining Creation Records and delivering two singles for the imprint in 1987; the Caff Corporation also put out a single by Wilson that same year. When none of these recordings gained traction with buyers, he stepped away from music entirely, accepting a civil-service post that kept him out of the industry for two decades. His reemergence started in 2005 when Cherry Red issued a deluxe two-disc anthology covering both the June Brides’ catalog and Wilson’s solo material. An admiring Guardian piece by author Dave Eggers further elevated his profile by celebrating his work while mourning his long absence. Later that year the tribute album Still Unravished: A Tribute to the June Brides appeared, drawing contributions from admirers including the Manic Street Preachers, the Tyde, and Jeffrey Lewis. Around the same period Wilson left his job, relocated to the countryside, and resumed serious musical activity. Before writing fresh material he experimented with distinctive acoustic renditions of other artists’ songs, an approach documented on the four-track 2008 EP Industrial Strength, released by Slumberland and featuring his interpretations of pieces by Throbbing Gristle, Kraftwerk, Faust, and S/T. In 2010 Slumberland issued the single “I Own It” in October, followed in November by the full-length God Bless Jim Kennedy, which contains only Wilson originals and includes performances by former June Brides members Jon Hunter and Frank Sweeney along with Arash Torabi and Andy Fonda.