Bill Ryder-Jones

Born in Warrington and associated with West Kirby, Merseyside, Bill Ryder-Jones first came to prominence as a member of The Coral, the band he co-founded in 1996 and whose guitarist he remained until 2008. After leaving the group, he developed a solo career marked by more introspective songwriting and a taste for narrative forms, ranging from folk and folk rock to indie rock, alternative rock and minimalist composition. His debut album, If... (2011), took the form of an imagined soundtrack recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic around an Italo Calvino novel; he then moved away from that orchestral vein with A Bad Wind Blows in My Heart (2013), which is more stripped-down, and later West Kirby County Primary (2015), where guitars and a denser band dynamic occupy more space. He continued this trajectory with Yawn (2018), its acoustic reworking Yawny Yawn (2019) and Iechyd Da (2024). In parallel, Bill Ryder-Jones composes for film — notably for Piggy in 2013 — performs as a musician with artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Alex Turner, and produces records for UK acts like The Wytches, Hooton Tennis Club, Our Girl and Michael Head.