Will Wilde Talks New Album, Musical Instruments And More

Acclaimed blues-rock harmonica virtuoso and singer Will Wilde will release his new album ‘Blues is Still Alive’ on Friday 28th February 2025 via Vizz Tone Records and will also support it with a UK Tour. He chatted to JLTT about the album, musical instruments and more:

When did you begin songwriting?

I’ve been writing songs since around 2010 when my first album “Unleashed” came out. I think I’ve got a lot better at it over the last few years though. I enjoy the process of having the initial idea and then playing around with it and refining it until you arrive at the end result. The best ones happen like magic, sometimes you can sit down and try for hours and nothing happens, and other times you just get lost in it and before you know it you have a finished song.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Dancing around in my living room as a two year old to a Chess records R&B compilation that my Dad used to play. Songs like Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode or Jimmy Rogers’ Walking By Myself. I was quite an unusual kid, I wasn’t so interested in TV or games, I was happy to sit for hours in front of my Dad’s old Technics stereo looking at the silver knobs on the amp with giant over-ear headphones on listening to albums. At a young age I really liked people like Little Richard and Jackie Wilson, they used to give me goosebumps, they still do actually. Aside from the 50’s blues and R&B stuff that my Dad would play I remember being interested in some of the 70’s rock records he had, bands like Thin Lizzy and Free, they’re still two of my favourite bands today.

What was the first song that you played on the harmonica?

The song that made me want to play harmonica was Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help Me”. Something about the feeling of that song has always resonated with me. I picked up my first harmonica at the age of 16. I think I tried to learn “Help Me” then but I couldn’t figure it out. The first song I taught myself was called “Work With Me Annie” by Snooky Pryor, an old Chicago Blues guy. I’d heard it on a Blind Pig compilation my Dad had and it really stood out to me. I thought to myself, he’s not using many notes or doing anything complicated, it was very simple in terms of the notes and the rhythm he was playing but he had this awesome sound and vibrato. So I figured if i could just find the notes he was playing on the instrument all I had to do was make them SOUND good. And that’s what the blues is all about really, it doesn’t have to be complicated, you just have to mean it.

Your single ‘Blues Is Still Alive’ is out now and features Walter Trout. What was the story/inspiration behind the track? How did the collaboration arise?

I first met Walter in 2017 when I opened for him at Worthing Pier. He heard me playing from backstage room and invited me to sit in on his set. He told me I was welcome to sit in with him any time he was playing nearby, so I sat in a couple more times at The1865 in Southampton in 2022 and at the Islington Assembly Hall in London last year. At the end of the song in Islington he came over to me on stage and asked “How would you like to play on my next record?”. Of course, I accepted! The song turned out to be ‘Bleed’ from his latest album “Broken”. Later on that night backstage I mentioned to him that I was working on a new album myself and he offered to play on it, I shook his hand immediately! It was great working with him, aside from being an amazing guitar player, singer and songwriter, he’s a really nice, and very funny guy too. With ‘Blues Is Still Alive’ I wanted to write a song about the legacy of the blues. I am a huge fan of Gary Moore and I love his songwriting, one of my favourite songs of his is ‘Story Of The Blues’, he wrote a lot of songs like that about the blues itself; ‘That’s Why I Play The Blues’, ‘Power Of The Blues’, ‘Still Got The Blues’ for instance, so I wanted to write something a bit like that. People in the music industry have often advised me to stay away from blues cliche’s and not put the word ‘blues’ in the title because it’s not ‘commercial’ but at the end of the day I’m a blues artist and the blues is the reason why I play music, so with this album I just wanted to fully embrace it. This song is a celebration of the blues and it’s rich heritage. The first verse talks about what the blues is and how it’s a universal feeling that we all understand, the second verse refers to the cost of living and the day-to-day struggle that many people have to go through and the third verse basically talks about racism and political divide. So the lyric “Blues Is Still Alive” has a double meaning; on the one hand it’s celebrating the music and it’s enduring legacy, but on the other hand it’s saying that the blues is still alive and still relevant because there is still injustice and poverty in the world.

The single is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?

The video was filmed live in the studio as we recorded by Philip James (Pajama Films) and then he edited in some footage of me playing live with Walter’s band from last year’s Islington Assembly Hall show, that footage was recorded by ‘Best Friends Of Concerts’ on YouTube.

Your new album ‘Blues Is Still Alive’ will be released on Friday 28th February 2025 on VizzTone Records. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

With this album, as I said I just wanted to embrace the genre, it’s all original songs but they are very true to the heart of the blues, mostly twelve bar structures. I said when I set out to write this album that I wanted to make an album of proper blues material, but played with a rock intensity, much like a Walter Trout or Gary Moore blues record. So to have Walter guest on it was a dream come true.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

It was recorded at Brighton Road Studios in Sussex, I produced it myself.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

I don’t know really, we certainly had a laugh though, Steve Rushton (drums) is hilarious, Bobby Harrison (guitar) is the king of puns and one-liners, his dance moves are pretty good too as you will see in the music video.

Who accompanied you on the album in terms of the band?

Steve Rushton on drums, he played in Imelda May’s band for years and has played with loads of great artists. There’s a video on Youtube of him playing ‘Walking In The Sand’ with Imelda May and Jeff Beck that’s one of my favourite live performances of all time, largely because of Steve, so it’s a real honour to have him on board. He’s an incredible drummer, he understands the nuances and dynamics of the blues, so he can really swing, but he’s got great energy as well. I have Bobby Harrison on guitar, I found him on Youtube because he posts a lot of blues tutorials, I know a lot of great blues guitarists but they are all front men with their own bands, I wanted someone primarily to play rhythm for me, so I just started searching blues guitar players on Youtube and that’s how I found him, he’s a great rhythm player and an awesome lead player too, he’s got an Albert King/ Stevie Ray Vaughan vibe. He also plays in Cliff Richard’s live band, and he used to play guitar in Brit Floyd. Greg Coulson is on keys, another amazing player with great feel, he’s one of those guys that can play anything. He’s a brilliant Hammond player too. Greg has his own blues band, The Greg Coulson Band and has toured with several bands over the years including The Selecter and Spiritualized. Russell Carr is on bass, I’ve known Russell for years, we first worked together in my sister Dani Wilde’s band, he’s got a great feel and great tone, it turns out he can play upright too which came in handy for the song Gypsy woman. On backing vocals I had my sister Dani, and my friends Chloe and Lindesy from Brave Rival who are making waves on the UK blues rock scene right now!

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

I play my own tuning of harmonica, it’s called Wilde Tuning. It allows me to do things in the upper octave that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. I also have a signature overdrive pedal that I use, the Wilde Drive by Lone Wolf Blues Company, which is how I get that overdriven guitar-like sound.

Was it a difficult album to write?

Not really, all the songs came very easily actually, so it was just a case of getting the right feel when we came to record.

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

I would say ‘Wild Man’ is probably the happiest, it’s not too serious “They call me the wild man, I’ve come to play here in your town, all the women they go crazy, when the wild man comes around…” it’s just a bit of fun, kind of tongue in cheek bragging song like ‘Mannish Boy’ or ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’. I suppose ‘Don’t Play With Fire’ is probably the angriest, about a cheating woman, another common blues theme. Most reflective would be ‘Blues Is Still Alive’ or ‘Gypsy Woman’.

Who created/designed the album artwork?

The album art was designed by the photographer Rob Blackham.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

I hope that everyone in the audience has had a good time and forgotten about their troubles for a while. I would like to think that I make them feel excited or moved in the same way that I feel when I listen to my favourite artists.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

I love my Shure KSM-8 mic on stage for vocals. For the harp my current live rig is a Shure 545 microphone, like Paul Butterfield used to use, but modified with a volume control by ‘BlowsMeAway Productions’, I run that through my Lone Wolf Wilde Drive pedal, in to a Fender Custom Vibrlolux Reverb amp. The harps I play are all Wilde-Tuned Seydel 1847 Classics.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Brighton, I would describe it as hip, vibrant, cosmopolitan, I can’t think of another two words!

How do you look after your voice?

I do a lot of vocal warmups. I’ve had a bit of vocal training over the last few years from Nikki Lamborn and Chris Liepe.

Who is in your touring band and what do they play?

The current touring band is the same as the record; Steve Rushton on drums, Russell Carr on bass, Bobby Harrison on guitar and Greg Coulson on keys.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

I don’t know, I don’t tend to read novels, which is ironic because my girlfriend is an author and book editor! When I read I tend to read music biographies or autobiographies.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

For the harmonica, all of the old Chicago blues guys: Sonny Boy, Little Walter, Big Walter, James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, also Charlie Musselwhite and Paul Butterfield, Al Wilson from Canned Heat. In the last few years the biggest influences on my harmonica playing have been guitar players though, people like Gary Moore, Walter Trout, Jeff Healey, Buddy Guy, Albert, Freddie and BB King, and rock guys like Angus Young and Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2024/2025?

We had a couple of UK dates in December; Friday Night Blues Club in Reading on Dec 6th and Bournemouth Blues Weekend on the 8th. The official album launch show is at the 100 Club in London on 4th March, we’ve got Portsmouth Guildhall on 5th March, Eel Pie Club in Twickenham on 6th March, Library Theatre in Leighton Buzzard on 7th March, Login Lounge in Camberley on 13th March, Coolham Live Music Club on the 15th and The Carlisle in Hastings on the 21st. We’ve got a few gigs in Norway in April; Bergen, Haugesund and Odda. We’ve got a few more UK dates later in April and May, Kwadendamme Blues Festival in The Netherlands on 10th May, we’ve got a festival in Romania just confirmed for next August and we’ll be touring Germany in September/October 2025. You can find all our dates on my website www.willharmonicawilde.com

What makes Will Wilde happy and what makes you unhappy?

What makes me the most happy is being in the studio or on stage making music with great musicians around me. What makes me unhappy is all the war and division going on around the world right now, can’t we all just get along?

Feature Image Photo Credit: Rob Blackham/Blackham Images

Will Wilde’s new album ‘Blues Is Alive’ is released on Friday 28th February 2025 via Vizztone Records.

Download/ Stream single  https://lnk.to/WillWBISA
 
Album Pre-Save Link: https://lnk.to/WillWBISAalbum
 
CD/ Vinyl Pre-Order Link: https://willwilde.shop/

For tour dates and more information visit: https://www.willharmonicawilde.com/

In addition, Will Wilde will tour the UK at the following venues:

1st March – Blues At Barleylands, Billericay
4th March – 100 Club London, OFFICIAL ALBUM LAUNCH SHOW
5th March – Guildhall Studio, Portsmouth
6th March – Eel Pie Club, Twickenham
7th March – Library Theatre, Leighton Buzzard
13th March – Login Lounge, Camberley
15th March – Coolham Live Music Club, West Sussex
21st March – The Carlisle, Hastings
22nd April – Tuesday Night Music Club, Coulsdon
23rd April – Temperance, Leamington Spa
24th April – The Tree House, Frome
25th April – The Bear Club, Luton
9th May – Emsworth Live Music Club, Emsworth
16th May – Crookham Memorial Hall, Crookham