Doug Walker (musician)
Encyclopedia
Doug Walker is a Manchester
based singer-songwriter
. After years of getting nowhere with his musical career, his planned self-released debut single
, "The Mystery" was played by BBC Radio 1
DJ Chris Moyles
after Walker turned up outside the Radio 1 studio on 28 August 2007 at 5.30am. He gave a copy of the recording
to Moyles as he arrived for work. It was played at 7.20am, and the radio station
was inundated with emails and SMS texts, resulting in Moyles playing the song seven more times that week. As a result Walker met with eleven record label
s and signed with Warner Bros. Records
on 12 October 2007.
Walker's debut album
was produced
by Danton Supple who was responsible for X&Y
by Coldplay
and Silence Is Easy
by Starsailor
. After recording, Walker flew to New York
to mix his album with Michael Brauer
, and had completed his album nine weeks to the day from when he signed his recording contract
with Warner Bros. Records.
At the end of 2007 Walker was featured in Q magazine, The Guardian
, The Sun
, The Mirror, The Daily Star and The Red Pages - each publication tipping him for success in 2008.
"The Mystery" was released on 3 March 2008 as a download, and it entered the UK Singles Chart
at #36 on 9 March. Walker has since featured in major articles in national newspapers including The Times
, The Independent
and The Mail On Sunday
. The album was due to be released in June 2008, however it remains unreleased with no explanation so far as to the reason. Walker toured extensively throughout 2007 and 2008 supporting artists including The Wombats
, Kate Nash
, Craig David
, Amy MacDonald
, The Enemy
, The Subways
and Sam Beeton
.
His musical influences include ELO
, Jeff Buckley
, U2
, Sting, Radiohead
, Sergei Rachmaninov, The Divine Comedy
, Coldplay
, Aqualung
and Regina Spektor
.
Walker's songs seem to be often influenced by his faith, dealing in themes of hope and reconciliation. Walker has stated that his songs all have links to the faith of Christianity
, to which he belongs.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
based singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. After years of getting nowhere with his musical career, his planned self-released debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "The Mystery" was played by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
after Walker turned up outside the Radio 1 studio on 28 August 2007 at 5.30am. He gave a copy of the recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
to Moyles as he arrived for work. It was played at 7.20am, and the radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
was inundated with emails and SMS texts, resulting in Moyles playing the song seven more times that week. As a result Walker met with eleven record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s and signed with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
on 12 October 2007.
Walker's debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Danton Supple who was responsible for X&Y
X&Y
X&Y is the third studio album by English rock band Coldplay, released 6 June 2005 in the United Kingdom via the record label Parlophone. The album, which features influences of electronic music, was produced by the band and British record producer Danton Supple...
by Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
and Silence Is Easy
Silence Is Easy
Silence Is Easy is the second studio album by indie rock group Starsailor, released in September 2003. The album cover is loosely based on Echo & the Bunnymen's Heaven Up Here. The song Some of Us was featured in an episode of Bones entitled A Boy in a Bush and in the closing credits of the Belgian...
by Starsailor
Starsailor (band)
Starsailor is an English post-britpop band, formed in Leigh, Warrington and Greater Manchester. By 2009, they had four charting albums and ten Top 40 singles in the UK since 2001.-Early history:...
. After recording, Walker flew to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to mix his album with Michael Brauer
Michael Brauer
Michael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer whose credits encompass a wide range of genres, and include The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, John Mayer, Ash, My Morning Jacket, Ben Folds, Dream Theater, The New Radicals, Change, Fountains of Wayne, David Poe, Wilco, Alpha...
, and had completed his album nine weeks to the day from when he signed his recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Warner Bros. Records.
At the end of 2007 Walker was featured in Q magazine, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, The Mirror, The Daily Star and The Red Pages - each publication tipping him for success in 2008.
"The Mystery" was released on 3 March 2008 as a download, and it entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #36 on 9 March. Walker has since featured in major articles in national newspapers including The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
and The Mail On Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
. The album was due to be released in June 2008, however it remains unreleased with no explanation so far as to the reason. Walker toured extensively throughout 2007 and 2008 supporting artists including The Wombats
The Wombats
The Wombats are an indie rock band formed in Liverpool, England. The band comprises native Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy and Dan Haggis , alongside Norwegian-born Tord Øverland-Knudsen...
, Kate Nash
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. She had a UK no. 2 hit "Foundations" in 2007, followed by the platinum selling UK number 1 album Made of Bricks. She was named Best Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards....
, Craig David
Craig David
Craig Ashley David is an English singer and songwriter. He has released five studio albums: Born to Do It, Slicker Than Your Average, The Story Goes..., Trust Me, Signed Sealed Delivered and a Greatest Hits album...
, Amy MacDonald
Amy Macdonald (singer)
Amy Macdonald is a Scottish recording artist. Macdonald rose to fame in 2007 with her debut album, This Is the Life and its fourth single, "This Is the Life". The single charted at number one in six different countries worldwide, and charted inside the top ten in another eleven countries worldwide...
, The Enemy
The Enemy (UK band)
The Enemy are an English rock band formed in Coventry in 2006, signed to Warner Music Group . In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, first in the 'Guardian Lounge' on Saturday and then the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T in...
, The Subways
The Subways
The Subways are an English alternative rock / indie rock band. Their debut album, Young For Eternity, was released on 4 July 2005 in the UK and February 14, 2006 in the U.S. Their second album, All or Nothing, was released on 30 June 2008 and their third album Money and Celebrity debuted on the...
and Sam Beeton
Sam Beeton
Sam Beeton is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He released his debut single "What You Look For" in September 2008, which reached number 41 in the UK charts in the week up to 20 September 2008. His first album, No Definite Answer, was released on iTunes in 2008...
.
His musical influences include ELO
ELO
- Music :* Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group** The Electric Light Orchestra , the group's debut album** ELO 2, the group's second album* ELO Part II, an offshoot band of Electric Light Orchestra- Sports and games :...
, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Sting, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Sergei Rachmaninov, The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
, Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, Aqualung
Aqualung (musician)
Matthew "Matt" Hales , better known as Aqualung, is an English singer and songwriter best known in the UK for his song "Strange and Beautiful", which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen New Beetle during the summer of 2002 and went on to become a Top 10 hit in the UK...
and Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor
Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.-Early life:...
.
Walker's songs seem to be often influenced by his faith, dealing in themes of hope and reconciliation. Walker has stated that his songs all have links to the faith of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, to which he belongs.
Singles
| Date of release | Title | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|---|---|---|
| 3 March 2008 | "The Mystery" | #36 |