Kevin Wilkinson (11 June 1958 - 17 July 1999) was a
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
based in
SwindonSwindon is a large town and unitary borough authority in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in south west England. It is midway between Bristol, west, and Reading, east. London is east....
,
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Career
Born
Kevin Michael Wilkinson in
Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgrove, Stoke forms the The Potteries Urban Area...
, he is credited as a former official member of several successful
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
popPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
groupsRock band redirects here. For the video game series, see Rock Band A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music...
, including
The League of GentlemenThe League of Gentlemen was a band active during March-December 1980 that featured guitarist Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame. Other members included bass guitarist Sara Lee , keyboardist Barry Andrews and percussionist Johnny Toobad, replaced late in the band's tenure by Kevin Wilkinson...
(1980),
The WaterboysThe Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a number of...
(1983-84),
China CrisisChina Crisis are an English pop/rock band. They formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with a core of vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon...
(1985-89) and
SqueezeSqueeze are an English band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the New Wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording successfully in the 1980s and 1990s...
(1995-96). He also appeared in some of his affiliated bands'
music videoA music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the...
s.
Throughout the course of his career, Wilkinson was a highly regarded
session musicianSession musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders...
, performing with other
artistsA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
as diverse as
FishDerek William Dick, better known as Fish , is a Scottish progressive rock singer, lyricist and occasional actor.-Biography:...
and
The ProclaimersThe Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way", and "I'm Gonna Be ".-Career:...
, and
Howard JonesHoward Jones is an English musician. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live Aid"...
. He is not related to Squeeze's
bassThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
player,
Keith WilkinsonKeith Wilkinson was the bassist for Squeeze from 1985 to 1997. Though the band had other bass players before and after him, Wilkinson's tenure with Squeeze was by far the longest. Prior to working with Squeeze, Wilkinson was in the band Nasty Pop, and he has also appeared on albums by Paul Carrack,...
.
Kevin Wilkinson also
drummedA drummer is a person who plays drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays classical or Latin percussion. Most bands for Rock, Pop, Jazz, R&B etc...
for less well known acts - including his friend Paul Griffiths, and
songwritingA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
partner Robbie Wyborn of King Strut, whom benefited hugely from his support and his contributions on their
Sacred Ground albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
.
Wilkinson committed
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
on 17 July 1999, aged 41, by hanging himself at the family home in
BaydonBaydon is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire.-Local government:Baydon is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It falls within the area of Wiltshire Council...
, near Swindon. He is survived by his wife (Marilyn Fitzgerald) and three children (Finn, Josie and Ellie).
External links