“The Ian Dury of the 21st Century” – The Sunday Times
Scuffed Knees is the fantastic first single to be taken from the forthcoming Wills & The Willing album Another Long Week (out 5th July).
“Recalling my early childhood living in the slums of Finsbury Park, moving to the new Roundshaw estate which was a south London concrete jungle, playing runouts on the blocks, falling over, knees scuffed, torn and bruised, sitting on a strangers doorstep looking at the blood trickling down your legs, trying to be 8 years old and tough, sharing your dreams about what we was going to do with our lives when we grew up.” – Ian Wills on Scuffed Knees
Another Long Week is the album that will define Ian Wills. It is the zenith of a life’s journey that you would believe to be fiction were it not for the man himself. From biting poverty and abuse on the grimmest London council estates of the 1970s to the top-flight of British business, battles with politicians and his own demons, and finally to his much longed for career as a writer and performer from spoken word to a vocal sound that is unmistakable. Ian has had to fight for everything he has achieved, most often, and most tellingly, with himself.
Described by the Sunday Times as “The Ian Dury of the 21st Century”, Wills continues to craft his open, honest lyrics which remain at times stark, brutal and confrontational. On this his fifth outing, he further confirms himself as one of the UK’s most interesting and thoughtful lyricists.
Another Long Week comprises 13 new songs. Written with a heavy Americana/Country influence that sits in juxtaposition to Wills’ unmistakable South London-tinged vocals. The songs are cinematic, confessional, at times apocalyptic and reflect Wills’ current life darting between England and Arizona, where he now calls home. Wills never shies away from bringing his own deeply personal vulnerabilities to life in his songs and the current stable of musicians he is working with, bring a depth of interesting colours to the overall sound of this new recording.
Another Long Week also includes the track Do You Dream an Ordinary Life, a co-write between Bruce Springsteen and Wills. The song sees Wills reworking some of his musical hero’s words and this brave and unusual collaboration adds another layer and point of interest to The Willing history.
As part of the promotion for Another Long Week, Ian Wills takes Wills & The Wiling back on the road for a series of festival appearances and more intimate gigs, to show the different sides of his twenty-year career. Wills & The Willing have always received praise for their live performances, most notably from their lovely supporter the late, great Janice Long and legendary guitarist Les Paul, who discovered the band while they promoted their first album in New York.
The album has been produced by Sean Genockey, Ruadhri Cushnan, Charlie Morton, & Adj and features a host of esteemed musicians moonlighting as part of The Willing.
Guitars – Sean Genockey (The Who /Manic Street Preachers, Kula Shaker, Richard Ashcroft
Piano & Keyboards – Andy May (Albert Hammond, Lou Reed, Marianne Faithful)
Guitars – Donnie Little (Paulo Nuttini, Imelda May, Ronnie Wood)
Guitars – Adam Chetwood (Mark Ronson, Imelda May, Paolo Nuttini, White Denim)
Pedal steel – Melvyn Duffy (First Aid Kit, Squeeze, Robbie Williams, Ray Davies, Mark Knopfler)
Drums – Simon Hanson (Squeeze, Death In Vegas, The Quire Boys, Dogs D’Amour, Iggy Pop, Liam Gallagher)
Bass – Mo Pleasure (Earth, Wind & Fire, Bette Midler, Ray Charles, George Duke, Natalie Cole, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Roberta Flack)
Additional Vocals – Galia Arad (Jools Holland, Shane Macgowan)
ABOUT IAN WILLS
Ian grew up in South London in the most impoverished circumstances imaginable. His dad was incredibly violent and gave out regular severe beatings. His mother was distant and harsh. By the age of 13 he was a heroin addict. He would inject straight into a vein in his ankle so his school socks would hide the evidence, resulting in damage to his legs which continues to this day, he managed to kick the habit following an attempted suicide when he was just 15 years old.
By the mid-1980s Ian was the consummate wheeler dealer and when Margaret Thatcher banned Spycatcher, the memoirs of former MI5 agent Peter Wright, Ian promptly flew to America, where the book was printed, and bought a job lot. Selling them on the roadside dressed as Uncle Sam he gained some notoriety as he enjoyed the profits of those who would pay ‘stupid money’ to have a copy on their coffee tables. Thatcher was not impressed!
Having built a successful pharmaceutical consultancy in Libya, Ian caught wind of James Hewitt hawking around his personal letters from Princess Diana, he offered him $1,000,000 of his own money to purchase them, take them out of circulation and return them to her family. Hewitt signed a contract which Ian still has, but then backed out and the letters went to a higher bidder, subsequently ending up on the front pages of every tabloid newspaper across the world.
Health problems have dogged Ian for much of his life, primarily due to his early addictions. He is immune suppressed, a condition which requires him to be administered Infliximab every 8 weeks via intravenous infusion. He has high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Last year he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. And yet he is still the most positive and cheerful person you are ever likely to meet, even in the current climate being in a high-risk group during the Coronavirus outbreak.
High Violet PR
