Wes Dolan
Encyclopedia
Wes Dolan, born Wesley Joseph Free Dolan, Oct 31st 1980, is a British songwriter, musician and actor. He is most notably recognised for songs such as "Land Of Fear" and "Blue Moon Inn". Written for Phillip Gardiner's "The Stone - No Soul Unturned" movie and "Paranormal Haunting - The Curse Of The Blue Moon Inn". Both of these songs featured in his debut album "Reason To Exist", which reached number 3 in the Amazon blues download charts. Wes also appeared as a guest musician on Mindscape a Sky TV
series for 2 seasons, Performing live with artists such as No Redemption, Arthur Brown
, China Soul
and Steve Hackett
.
His lyrics are themed on political, social and philosophical issues. Inspired by artists such as Bob Dylan
, Woodie Guthrie, Shane McGowan, Bob Marley
as well as his father and uncle, Liam and Joe Dolan. His music spans a variety of genres, including blues
, folk
, rock
and Irish folk music.
Dolan performs vocals with guitar and harmonica. Backed by a variety of musicians, he has performed for TV and films since April 2010 and at festivals and concerts since 2006. "The Stone - No Soul Unturned", which wes also starred in, won an award for "Best foriegn film" at the Mountain Film Festival in 2011.He has grown in popularity over the past year or so due to his film and TV work as well as his debut album being released by Reality Entertainment.
Life and career
Wesley Joseph Free Dolan was born at Kings Mill Hospital on Oct 31st 1980 in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire and was raised in this area. His father and uncle emigrated from Ireland
when they were 2 years old and both became singer/songwriters. Wes began writing, singing songs and playing guitar
in the late 90s. He was a busker as well as a performer at various festivals and pubs learning his trade with his father and uncle, Liam and Joe Dolan who had been performing for about 30 years. At this time, Wes was also studying at The University of Derby, where he gained a degree majoring in Creative Writing
and minoring in Theatre
, Film
and Television
Studies.
Wes was known by most locals as a busker on the streets of Mansfield
. This was where he got his first chance to become involved in acting as well as writing and performing music for film and television when he was invited to work on “The Plague”, a futuristic British horror film, created and produced by Nik Spencer. Nik spotted Wes busking and also asked him to write a number of songs for the soundtrack of the film. Whilst working on “The Plague” , Wes met Phil Gardiner who was impressed with his work and asked him to play a leading roll in the award winning film, “The Stone - No Soul Unturned”. Wes also wrote and produced a song called “Land of Fear”, which featured in the film.
In 2011, Wes also performed on several occasions as a resident musician on Mindscape for Sky TV. He wrote and recorded "Blue Moon Inn" for "Paranormal Haunting - The Curse Of The Blue Moon Inn" and signed a deal with Reality Entertainment, a major independent record label who released his debut album on Sep 8th 2011. "Reason To Exist" reached number 3 in the Amazon blues charts.
'Dolan has also released music videos for his songs "Blue Moon Inn” and "Land Of Fear". The "Blue Moon Inn" also features his fiance, Laura Wilcockson playing violin. His future projects are relatively unknown although he signed a 2 album deal with Reality Entertainment, so more matereal should be released in the future.
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
series for 2 seasons, Performing live with artists such as No Redemption, Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
, China Soul
China Soul
China Soul is an American-British singer/songwriter. Her debut album Secrets & Words was released in the UK on 25 October 2010 through AS:Music. She is the daughter of actor/singer David Soul and actress Julia Nickson-Soul.-Career:...
and Steve Hackett
Steve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
.
His lyrics are themed on political, social and philosophical issues. Inspired by artists such as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Woodie Guthrie, Shane McGowan, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
as well as his father and uncle, Liam and Joe Dolan. His music spans a variety of genres, including blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and Irish folk music.
Dolan performs vocals with guitar and harmonica. Backed by a variety of musicians, he has performed for TV and films since April 2010 and at festivals and concerts since 2006. "The Stone - No Soul Unturned", which wes also starred in, won an award for "Best foriegn film" at the Mountain Film Festival in 2011.He has grown in popularity over the past year or so due to his film and TV work as well as his debut album being released by Reality Entertainment.
Life and career
Wesley Joseph Free Dolan was born at Kings Mill Hospital on Oct 31st 1980 in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire and was raised in this area. His father and uncle emigrated from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
when they were 2 years old and both became singer/songwriters. Wes began writing, singing songs and playing guitar
Guitar
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...
in the late 90s. He was a busker as well as a performer at various festivals and pubs learning his trade with his father and uncle, Liam and Joe Dolan who had been performing for about 30 years. At this time, Wes was also studying at The University of Derby, where he gained a degree majoring in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
and minoring in Theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
Studies.
Wes was known by most locals as a busker on the streets of Mansfield
Mansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
. This was where he got his first chance to become involved in acting as well as writing and performing music for film and television when he was invited to work on “The Plague”, a futuristic British horror film, created and produced by Nik Spencer. Nik spotted Wes busking and also asked him to write a number of songs for the soundtrack of the film. Whilst working on “The Plague” , Wes met Phil Gardiner who was impressed with his work and asked him to play a leading roll in the award winning film, “The Stone - No Soul Unturned”. Wes also wrote and produced a song called “Land of Fear”, which featured in the film.
In 2011, Wes also performed on several occasions as a resident musician on Mindscape for Sky TV. He wrote and recorded "Blue Moon Inn" for "Paranormal Haunting - The Curse Of The Blue Moon Inn" and signed a deal with Reality Entertainment, a major independent record label who released his debut album on Sep 8th 2011. "Reason To Exist" reached number 3 in the Amazon blues charts.
'Dolan has also released music videos for his songs "Blue Moon Inn” and "Land Of Fear". The "Blue Moon Inn" also features his fiance, Laura Wilcockson playing violin. His future projects are relatively unknown although he signed a 2 album deal with Reality Entertainment, so more matereal should be released in the future.
External links
- http://www.thestonefilm.blogspot.com/
- http://www.wesdolan.com/
- http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005JO8C8E/ref=dm_sp_alb?ie=UTF8&qid=1315745574&sr=8-1
- http://www.gardinersworld.com/?p=426
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1786724/
- http://www.maximumink.com/index.php/articles/permalink/wes_dolan
- http://www.thedamnedinterviews.com/2011/07/singersongwriter-wes-dolan/