Marty Willson-Piper
| Marty Willson-Piper | |
|---|---|
| Born |
7 May 1958 , Greater Manchester, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, bass guitar |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | Um & Ah Records Survival Records Festival Records Rykodisc Heyday Records |
| Associated acts |
The Church All About Eve Noctorum Moat Sweet Gum Tree Anekdoten |
Marty Willson-Piper is an English guitarist and singer best known as a long-time member of the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church. While he was not a founding member of the band, he joined in 1980 after seeing an early gig where they were performing as a three-piece. He was an integral member of the band for over 30 years. He was also the guitarist for the English alternative rock band All About Eve from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1999 to 2002. He is currently working with Swedish progressive rock band Anekdoten.
Marty was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, 6 miles from the city centre on the 7th May 1958 and grew up as a teenager in Thingwall on The Wirral about 7 miles from Liverpool’s city centre. He has a brother who is 7 years older and his mother had another child in between who died soon after birth who was named Robin. Marty also has a sister.
When he was 3 years old the family moved from Compstall, where his parents had a pub called The Commercial, to a house just outside Marple Bridge near Glossop.
Sometime around 1970 the family moved again to Birch Vale in Derbyshire, a small village between New Mills and Hayfield where his parents took on another pub after his father lost his job when the company he worked for went bankrupt. The pub was called The Grouse Hotel.
Unfortunately this period of his life was short-lived, as his dad got a job in Liverpool and the family packed up from this old pub in the country and moved into a small flat in Thingwall on the Wirral Peninsula between Heswall and Arrowe Park.
At 14 he was taught the guitar by his brother who was a member of a cabaret band called The Hiltons. Marty soon started his own band with school friends Dare and David Mason.
After leaving school at 18, Marty worked various jobs including stints at Walls ice cream factory and being a door to door salesman. He soon travelled to mainland Europe ( France, Spain and Germany) busking outside train stations and working odd jobs such as grape collecting.
Moving to London and still busking he was persuaded to go to Australia and arrived in Sydney in April 1980 aged 21.
Marty went along to see an early performance of The Church (then a three-piece) and was asked to join the band a few days before his 22nd birthday in May 1980.
On May 6 1980, Willson-Piper joined The Church on guitar, vocals and bass guitar, alongside Steve Kilbey, Peter Koppes and Nick Ward. Willson-Piper's sound was influenced by guitarists such as Tom Verlaine and Bill Nelson.
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