Pip Williams
Encyclopedia
Pip Williams, is a record producer
, arranger
and guitarist
, best known for producing album
s for Status Quo and The Moody Blues
.
after listening to records
by The Shadows
and Buddy Holly
. He started his musical career as guitarist for The Fantastics and Jimmy James and the Vagabonds
. Progressing from performer to session musician
in the early 1970s under the patronage of Sweet
producer Phil Wainman
, he became one of the most in-demand session guitarists of the era, playing on early hit record
s for Sweet including "Funny Funny", "Co-Co", "Poppa Joe" and "Little Willy", and on The Walker Brothers
' hit "No Regrets
".
He moved into production in the late 1970s; his work for Graham Bonnet
attracted the attention of Status Quo, who hired him to produce their album
, Rockin' All Over the World. He would produce a further nine albums for the group, the most recent being their 2007 effort, In Search of the Fourth Chord
. He is also known for producing The Moody Blues albums Long Distance Voyager
and The Present
, the former being a United States
Billboard 200
chart
topper. In 1984 he produced "I Should Have Known Better
" for Jim Diamond
, which topped the UK Singles Chart
. Other collaborators include Shirley Bassey
, Richard O'Brien
, Dr. Feelgood
, Barclay James Harvest
, Bucks Fizz
, Kevin Ayers
, Geordie
and Uriah Heep
(Sonic Origami
). He also produced and co-wrote a number of tracks on Sweet's 1980 album, Waters Edge, and worked with their singer
, Brian Connolly
, on a number of his solo
efforts.
Some of his most creative work has come out of his ability as an arranger. From the string
arrangements for the Moody Blues and Colin Blunstone
, to the oriental ostinato
patterns on Carl Douglas
' "Kung Fu Fighting
". Other collaborators in this field include Barbara Dickson
, Ringo Starr
, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and The Kinks
. His most recent work in this field has been with the Finnish
symphonic metal
group Nightwish
, having composed
orchestra
l arrangements for their 2004 album, Once
, its 2007 follow up Dark Passion Play
, and Imaginaerum, their newest album. Williams also has recorded
, produced and mixed
a live album
for the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
. More recently, Williams orchestrated several songs for Indica
on their 2010 album A Way Away
.
Williams is currently a course leader teaching music technology
at University of West London, Ealing
. He now lives in Slough
, Berkshire
and has two children, Samantha (born 1971) and Joe (born 1984).
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...
, arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, best known for producing 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...
s for Status Quo and The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
.
Career
Williams became inspired to play the guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
after listening to records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
by The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
and Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
. He started his musical career as guitarist for The Fantastics and Jimmy James and the Vagabonds
Jimmy James (Singer)
Jimmy James is a soul music singer, known for songs like Come To Me Softly, Now Is the Time and I'll Go Where the Music Takes Me.-The Vagabonds:...
. Progressing from performer to session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
in the early 1970s under the patronage of Sweet
Sweet (band)
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
producer Phil Wainman
Phil Wainman
Phil Wainman is a British record producer and songwriter, primarily active in the 1970s. He is noted for his work with Sweet, XTC, Dollar, Mud, and the Bay City Rollers...
, he became one of the most in-demand session guitarists of the era, playing on early hit record
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
s for Sweet including "Funny Funny", "Co-Co", "Poppa Joe" and "Little Willy", and on The Walker Brothers
The Walker Brothers
The Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel , John Walker , and Gary Leeds...
' hit "No Regrets
No Regrets (Tom Rush song)
"No Regrets" is a song by folk and blues singer/songwriter Tom Rush. It is the final song on his 1968 album The Circle Game.His 1968 composition has become an acknowledged standard, with numerous cover versions having been recorded...
".
He moved into production in the late 1970s; his work for Graham Bonnet
Graham Bonnet
Graham Bonnet is an English rock vocalist, and songwriter. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist, and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, the Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri.-Early days:Bonnet was born in Skegness in 1947...
attracted the attention of Status Quo, who hired him to produce their 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...
, Rockin' All Over the World. He would produce a further nine albums for the group, the most recent being their 2007 effort, In Search of the Fourth Chord
In Search of the Fourth Chord
In Search of the Fourth Chord is the twenty-eighth studio album by English rock band Status Quo, released September 17, 2007. The title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the rumour that the group always plays the same three chords, and a reference to the album In Search of the Lost Chord by British...
. He is also known for producing The Moody Blues albums Long Distance Voyager
Long Distance Voyager
Long Distance Voyager is the tenth album by the British rock band The Moody Blues, first released in May 1981. on the group's Threshold record label...
and The Present
The Present
The Present is the eleventh album by The Moody Blues. It is the second album of the Patrick Moraz era. It had three minor hit singles, "Blue World" , "Sitting at the Wheel" and "Running Water"....
, the former being a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
topper. In 1984 he produced "I Should Have Known Better
I Should Have Known Better (Jim Diamond song)
"I Should Have Known Better" was a UK number one single for one week in December 1984 for Jim Diamond. The song was displaced after one week by Frankie Goes to Hollywood's song "The Power of Love"...
" for Jim Diamond
Jim Diamond (Scottish musician)
James "Jim" Diamond is a Scottish singer-songwriter. Diamond is best known for his three Top 5 hits. The first was "I Won't Let You Down" , as the lead singer in the trio Ph.D., with Tony Hymas and Simon Phillips. His solo performance, "I Should Have Known Better", was a United Kingdom number one...
, which topped 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 ...
. Other collaborators include Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Richard O'Brien
Richard O'Brien
Richard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...
, Dr. Feelgood
Dr. Feelgood (band)
Dr. Feelgood are a British pub rock band formed in 1971. The band's name derives from a slang term for heroin or for a doctor who is willing to overprescribe drugs. It is also a reference to a 1962 record by the American blues pianist and singer Willie Perryman called "Dr Feel-Good", which...
, Barclay James Harvest
Barclay James Harvest
Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Saddleworth, Lancashire, in September 1966 by John Lees, Les Holroyd, Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme , and Mel Pritchard .-History:...
, Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
, Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
, Geordie
Geordie (band)
Geordie were a British rock band from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, most notably active in the 1970s.-History:The original line-up included: Vic Malcolm , Tom Hill , Brian Gibson and Brian Johnson .Their...
and Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
(Sonic Origami
Sonic Origami
Sonic Origami is the 20th studio album by Uriah Heep and was released in September 1998.The limited edition version of the CD contains one additional track....
). He also produced and co-wrote a number of tracks on Sweet's 1980 album, Waters Edge, and worked with their singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, Brian Connolly
Brian Connolly
Brian Francis Connolly was a Scottish musician, best known as the lead singer of the British rock band, Sweet.-Early life:...
, on a number of his solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
efforts.
Some of his most creative work has come out of his ability as an arranger. From the string
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
arrangements for the Moody Blues and Colin Blunstone
Colin Blunstone
Colin Blunstone is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.-Biography:...
, to the oriental ostinato
Ostinato
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
patterns on Carl Douglas
Carl Douglas
Carl Douglas is a former Jamaican-born, UK-based, singer, best known for his song "Kung Fu Fighting", which hit number one in both the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The R.I.A.A. awarded gold disc status on 27 November, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Selling Single...
' "Kung Fu Fighting
Kung Fu Fighting
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song written by Jim Brusatto and Vivian Hawke performed by Carl Douglas, and composed and produced by Biddu. It was released as a single in 1974, at the cusp of a chopsocky film craze, and eventually rose to the top of the British and American charts, in addition to...
". Other collaborators in this field include Barbara Dickson
Barbara Dickson
Barbara Ruth Dickson, OBE is a Scottish singer whose hits include "I Know Him So Well" and "January February"...
, Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
. His most recent work in this field has been with the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
group Nightwish
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...
, having composed
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l arrangements for their 2004 album, Once
Once (Nightwish album)
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
, its 2007 follow up Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
, and Imaginaerum, their newest album. Williams also has recorded
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...
, produced and mixed
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
a live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
for the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...
. More recently, Williams orchestrated several songs for Indica
Indica (Finnish band)
Indica is a Finnish pop rock group founded in 2001. Jani Jalonen of Sony Music became interested in the group, and a recording contract was signed 2003. Indica's first album, Ikuinen virta was released in 2004. It has since sold platinum in Finland....
on their 2010 album A Way Away
A Way Away
A Way Away is the fifth album from Finnish pop rock band Indica. This is the band's first English album and it contains English versions of songs from previous albums. The album is released in many editions such as CD, CD + DVD, Deluxe Edition, Diary Edition and Suitcase Edition...
.
Williams is currently a course leader teaching music technology
Music technology
Music technology is a term that refers to all forms of technology involved with the musical arts, particularly the use of electronic devices and computer software to facilitate playback, recording, composition, storage and performance. This subject is taught at many different educational levels,...
at University of West London, Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
. He now lives in Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and has two children, Samantha (born 1971) and Joe (born 1984).