Ray Wilson, who according to Classic Rock Magazine is one of the greatest vocalists in Great Britain, is regarded as an exceptional songwriter, renowned across the world for his charismatic presence as an extraordinary entertainer. This native Scotsman founded his first professional band Guaranteed Pure with his brother Steve in the early nineties, releasing three studio albums. In 1994 he joined the Scottish band Stiltskin as their frontman. Their debut single "Inside" was an immediate sensation on the grunge scene reaching number one in many European countries. To this day "Inside" retains an undisputed leading position as an advertising hit ("Levi's"). Thanks to the amazing success of Stiltskin, the musicians from Genesis noticed Ray Wilson and took him on after the resignation of Phil Collins. From 1996 to 1999 he was the singer/songwriter of the legendary pop group and during that time he recorded the fourth best-selling album in the band's history – "Calling All Stations". After the rock legends split up, Wilson got back in touch with his roots and released the album "Millionairhead" with Guaranteed Pure, with the songs being written by him and his brother Steve Wilson. Together with their new musical direction the name of the band was changed from Guaranteed Pure to CUT_. In order to promote the album the group appeared as a stadium support act on tour with the bands Scorpions and Westernhagen, and in 1999 they played in large arenas in Germany and neighboring countries. In 2001 Ray Wilson began his solo career at the world famous Edinburgh International Festival. After countless concerts in Europe, as well as in South and Central America, Wilson released his first solo album "Change" in 2003 and performed, as a special guest, on tour with Joe Jackson and Saga. In the next few years Ray Wilson went on the road with Dolores O'Riordan from the Cranberries as well as with Supertramp frontman Roger Hogdson. In August 2006 Ray Wilson and Stiltskin celebrated a spectacular return with their studio album "She". Together with the new line-up they went on tour for the whole year. In addition, Wilson's current live project Genesis Classic, brings together 12 musicians on European stages, involving musicians from Stilskin and the Berlin Symphony Ensemble. Violins and cellos add a lot to the sound of the numerous classic albums that Genesis created during their career. In September 2011 Ray Wilson & Stiltskin released their long-awaited studio album "Unfulfillment". Ray has combined here the energy of rock music with lyrics of great depth and complex string arrangements. All the songs have been written by Ray Wilson, Uwe Metzler, and Peter Hoff, a number one producer from Stuttgart (Die Fantastischen Vier, Beth Hard, Lou Bega). The first single chosen to promote the album was "American Beauty".
Currently living in Poland, Ray is a founder of the Ray Wilson Foundation that works in Poznan. The aim of the Foundation is to activate and support people from the margins of society. In May 2012 the President of Poznan honored Ray Wilson with the title of an Ambassador of Poznan. His forthcoming new solo album entitled "Chaising Rainbows" will be released later this year.
The special evening at the Theatre will be enriched by two additional concerts. One of the Artists performing that night will be Clive Nolan (Arena, Pendragon, Caamora) who, along with stellar musicians, will perform his latest project "Alchemy". The other one is a German band RPWL and, as they announce, it will be the last complete performance of "Beyond Man and Time" album in Europe.
An Evening at the Theater
Metal Mind Productions
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Progressive Rock & Progressive Metal - E-ZINE
