We are currently migrating our data. We expect the process to take 24 to 48 hours before everything is back to normal.

Data may be outdated

Last updated: 1 month ago — Click refresh to get the latest statistics.

Britain's Wil Malone has led an impressive and long-lasting career from his early days as a member of '60s psychedelic groups like <a href="spotify:artist:402ndP5t1fKcS2if8Vw3lD">Orange Bicycle</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3d0APVc87ntQ1bC8B1tx8m">Fickle Pickle</a> on through his prolific work as a producer and arranger for widely varied acts including <a href="spotify:artist:5odf7hjI7hyvAw66tmxhGF">Roger Daltrey</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5M52tdBnJaKSvOpJGz8mfZ">Black Sabbath</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0Lpr5wXzWLtDWm1SjNbpPb">Todd Rundgren</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6mdiAmATAx73kdxrNrnlao">Iron Maiden</a>. Malone experienced a career revival in the '90s when his distinctive string arrangements adorned hits like <a href="spotify:artist:6FXMGgJwohJLUSr5nVlf9X">Massive Attack</a>'s "Unfinished Sympathy" and <a href="spotify:artist:2cGwlqi3k18jFpUyTrsR84">the Verve</a>'s "Bittersweet Symphony." Since then, he has continued to amass hundreds of credits across pop and rock with artists ranging from <a href="spotify:artist:7C4sUpWGlTy7IANjruj02I">Peter Gabriel</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:762310PdDnwsDxAQxzQkfX">Depeche Mode</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:5WUlDfRSoLAfcVSX1WnrxN">Sia</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4RVnAU35WRWra6OZ3CbbMA">Kylie Minogue</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0h0p7RkMjCUMdcf0nXmHjX">Gianna Nannini</a>. Additionally, Malone has composed for film and television, conducted major symphonies, and served as a multi-instrumentalist on countless recordings. In 2023, the compilation Old Feet, New Socks celebrated his early work in British music with three discs' worth of psych-pop rarities and collectible tracks recorded between 1965 and 1972.

Born July 29, 1942 in Hornsey, North London, Wilson Malone started his career amid the capital's thriving mid-'60s music scene, playing in Robb Storme's group that later became <a href="spotify:artist:402ndP5t1fKcS2if8Vw3lD">Orange Bicycle</a>. A multi-instrumentalist and singer with an emerging talent for production, Malone became attached to a small late-'60s psych-pop scene centered around Morgan Sound Studios in Willesden, Northwest London. In addition to his work with Storme's various groups, Malone was a member of bands like <a href="spotify:artist:3d0APVc87ntQ1bC8B1tx8m">Fickle Pickle</a>, Barnaby Rudge, and the trio <a href="spotify:artist:4EYb2lnkKPDumMW28X0SWo">Bobak, Jons, Malone</a>. He also released an eponymous 1970 solo album that later become a highly collectible cult classic.

By the early '70s, Malone had largely shifted away from playing in bands and begun his career as a producer, orchestral arranger, and composer. He scored the <a href="spotify:artist:5yxyJsFanEAuwSM5kOuZKc">London Symphony Orchestra</a>'s version of <a href="spotify:artist:67ea9eGLXYMsO2eYQRui3w">the Who</a>'s Tommy, then worked with <a href="spotify:artist:5odf7hjI7hyvAw66tmxhGF">Roger Daltrey</a> in the same year. He also composed and recorded the soundtrack for the 1972 U.K. horror classic Death Line. From the start, Malone established himself as a prolific and seemingly tireless collaborator, working on singles and albums for artists like <a href="spotify:artist:5M52tdBnJaKSvOpJGz8mfZ">Black Sabbath</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0mkcYaXUbJUs5mJointuzB">Rick Wakeman</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2nvKpWcP8etYTq4JrRiUiy">Cliff Richard</a>, Ronnie Charles, and many more. Comfortable in a range of styles, he began the '80s by producing <a href="spotify:artist:6mdiAmATAx73kdxrNrnlao">Iron Maiden</a>'s debut album, then worked throughout the decade with <a href="spotify:artist:7tjbDPvrdvDshcpEMXKRVb">Gerry Rafferty</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2DppeCnNtvrLfEobq9Pw5r">Adam and the Ants</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0SD4eZCN4Kr0wQk56hCdh2">Bonnie Tyler</a>.

Heading into the '90s, Malone's career enjoyed a resurgence, thanks in part to his involvement with trip-hop collective <a href="spotify:artist:6FXMGgJwohJLUSr5nVlf9X">Massive Attack</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:1c0cMDwT4BWUYPBFVAJm0G">Robert "3D" Del Naja</a> had worked with Malone a few years prior on <a href="spotify:artist:3JxCEqL9zjKnDJgUhRuRJD">Neneh Cherry</a>'s "Manchild" single and hired him to arrange the strings for <a href="spotify:artist:6FXMGgJwohJLUSr5nVlf9X">Massive Attack</a>'s 1991 acclaimed breakout single, "Unfinished Sympathy." Following the song's success, Malone became a go-to arranger in British pop music, working with <a href="spotify:artist:5GtMEZEeFFsuHY8ad4kOxv">Seal</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6hN9F0iuULZYWXppob22Aj">Simple Minds</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7C4sUpWGlTy7IANjruj02I">Peter Gabriel</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4w3QqrcmBv8dasemwBXmxf">Prefab Sprout</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:762310PdDnwsDxAQxzQkfX">Depeche Mode</a>, and many others. In 1995, <a href="spotify:artist:2cGwlqi3k18jFpUyTrsR84">the Verve</a> hired him to arrange the strings on "Bittersweet Symphony," a song they had based on Andrew Oldham's orchestral version of <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Rolling Stones</a>' "The Last Time." With Malone's strident arrangement front and center, "Bittersweet Symphony" became a massive hit and one of the defining songs of the Britpop era. He remained busy heading into the new millennium, working with pop acts like <a href="spotify:artist:73ZPfpfg1LBVvDEArK4l5B">Des'ree</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4RVnAU35WRWra6OZ3CbbMA">Kylie Minogue</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2mpeljBig2IXLXRAFO9AAs">Dido</a>. Malone also forged a relationship with Italian star <a href="spotify:artist:0h0p7RkMjCUMdcf0nXmHjX">Gianna Nannini</a>, with whom he collaborated on numerous albums.

Malone's work in the 21st century has been typically diverse and prodigious. He has applied his versatile touch to pop, rock, electronica, R&B, and country songs, racking up a huge amount of industry credits with little fanfare and a workmanlike humility. Amid jobs with more contemporary acts like <a href="spotify:artist:3whuHq0yGx60atvA2RCVRW">Olly Murs</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2WX2uTcsvV5OnS0inACecP">Birdy</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3Bd1cgCjtCI32PYvDC3ynO">London Grammar</a>, his early work as an artist has been reissued a handful of times, and his production and arrangement work has appeared on various compilations. A comprehensive anthology of his late-'60s and early-'70s psych-pop recordings titled Old Feet New Socks: The Many Faces Of Wil Malone 1965-1972 was released in 2023. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi

Monthly Listeners

99,183

Followers

844

Top Cities

2,670 listeners
2,069 listeners
1,804 listeners
1,611 listeners
1,517 listeners

Links