Carey Willetts

Last updated

Carey Willetts
BornJanuary 1976 (age 47)
Crewe, Cheshire, England
Genres Indie
Instrument(s)Vocals, bass guitar
Years active1999–present
Labels Fiction Records (UK)
Parlophone (UK)
Astralwerks (US) Bow Music

Carey Willetts (born January 1976 in Crewe, Cheshire, England) is an English musician, songwriter and producer. He has released work under the name "Boxes", and was the bassist [1] in the English indie band Athlete, with whom he has won an Ivor Novello Award for the track "Wires". [2]

Contents

Biography

Carey Willetts and his former band Athlete released four studio albums. These are Vehicles and Animals in 2003, which was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize award; Tourist in 2005, which reached number one in the UK Album Charts in its first week and included the band's highest charting song "Wires" at number four in the UK Singles Chart; Beyond the Neighbourhood in 2007; and Black Swan (2009). In 2012, he released his first solo album Stickers. [3] Athlete split in 2013, but no confirmation of this was made until 2015, when frontman Joel Pott cited that the band had “ended”.

Willetts hinted in 2012 that the band were considering to split, when he noted that it was three years since they last released an album, as previously the band would release a new album every two years instead. Indeed, a year later the band released a singles compilation and then went on tour, before being dormant ever since.

Songwriting and producing

Whilst Athlete and Boxes are both on permanent hiatus, Carey has been writing and producing artists including Ed Struijlaart, [4] Amber Run, Passport To Stockholm, [5] Tom Speight, RedFaces, Lilla Vargen, Dermot Kennedy [6] and Freya Ridings. [7] Carey was shortlisted as Breakthrough Producer Of The Year at the MPG 2020 Awards. [8]

Boxes Blend whisky

In 2012 Carey in partnership with Master of Malt produced a blended malt whisky called 'Boxes Blend' to celebrate the launch of his debut solo album Stickers. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cure</span> English rock band

The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), along with several early singles, placed the band in the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the United Kingdom. Beginning with their second album, Seventeen Seconds (1980), the band adopted a new, increasingly dark and tormented style, which, together with Smith's stage look, had a strong influence on the emerging genre of gothic rock as well as the subculture that eventually formed around the genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Brown</span> English musician; singer of The Stone Roses

Ian George Brown is an English singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the split in 1996, he began a solo career, releasing seven studio albums, a greatest hits compilation, a remix album, an 11-disc box set titled Collection, and 19 singles. He returned to singing for the Stone Roses in 2011, although this did not spell the end of his solo endeavours, releasing First World Problems through Virgin/EMI Records on 25 October 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athlete (band)</span> English indie rock band

Athlete was an English indie rock band formed in Deptford, London, comprising Joel Pott, Carey Willetts, Stephen Roberts, Tim Wanstall (keyboards).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elbow (band)</span> English alternative rock band

Elbow are an English rock band formed in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1997. The band consists of Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter and Pete Turner. They have played together since 1990, adopting the name Elbow in 1997. Drummer Alex Reeves replaced Richard Jupp in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hot Chocolate (band)</span> British soul band

Hot Chocolate are a British soul band popular during the 1970s and 1980s, formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1980.

<i>Tourist</i> (Athlete album) 2005 studio album by Athlete

Tourist is the second studio album by English rock band Athlete. It was released on 31 January 2005 through Parlophone. During the promotional cycle for their debut studio album Vehicles & Animals (2003), the band wrote material for its follow-up. Recording sessions were done at Helioscentric Studios in East Sussex, The Dairy in London, and Athlete's studio in London. Victor Van Vugt produced the majority of the tracks, while John Cornfield did the rest; Athlete is credited with producing all of them. The album is a soft rock release with elements of electronic music, taking influence from the works of Coldplay, Doves and the Flaming Lips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaiser Chiefs</span> English indie rock band

Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1997 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, 22, in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation, the band has consisted of lead vocalist Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew "Whitey" White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick "Peanut" Baines and since 2013 drummer Vijay Mistry, who replaced founding drummer Nick Hodgson following his departure from the band in late 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland Orzabal</span> English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer

Roland Orzabal is a British musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and author. He is best known as a co-founder of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint vocalist. Orzabal has been the only constant member of the band, having appeared on every Tears for Fears studio album. He has also achieved success as a producer of artists such as Oleta Adams. In 2014, Orzabal published his first novel, a romantic comedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben's Brother</span> English band

Ben's Brother are a five-piece English band, headed by founder Jamie Hartman. The band was named after Jamie's big brother Ben, whose shadow he lived in as a teenager. Their album Beta Male Fairytales reached number 14 on the UK album charts and their single Let Me Out was nominated for an Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2007 - the other nominee was Love Is Losing Game, by Amy Winehouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser T. Smith</span> English record producer and musician

Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith, known professionally as Fraser T. Smith, is an English record producer, songwriter and musician. Some of the singles he collaborated on include Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain", James Morrison's "Broken Strings", Tinchy Stryder's "Number 1" and Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart". In 2016, Smith teamed up with Stormzy to produce his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, which won Best Album at the 2018 Brit Awards. Earlier that year he produced seven tracks on Kano's Made in the Manor album and co-produced the debut EP from South London rapper Dave. Smith has also worked with Sam Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Pott</span> British musician

Joel Laslett Pott is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie band Athlete between 2000 and their split in 2013 and a songwriter.

TMS are an English songwriting and record production team composed of Tom 'Froe' Barnes, Benjamin Kohn and Pete 'Merf' Kelleher. The trio have co-written records for a host of artists including Lewis Capaldi, Dua Lipa, John Legend, Maroon 5, G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha. They have collectively had twenty top 10 singles, sold over 15 million records, accumulated over 5 billion streams and have contributed to over fifty top 40 albums. They co-wrote and produced Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved" which spent seven consecutive weeks at number one and was the best selling single of 2019 in the UK. The song was nominated for Song of the Year at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards and won Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Grammar</span> British indie pop band

London Grammar are an English indie pop band formed in Nottingham in 2009. The band consists of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic “Dot” Major. Their debut extended play, Metal & Dust, was released in February 2013 by Metal & Dust Recordings, while their debut album, If You Wait, was released a few months later in September. The album reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Double Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The band's second studio album, Truth Is a Beautiful Thing, was released in June 2017, reaching No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. The latest album, Californian Soil, was released on 16 April 2021 and became their second-consecutive No. 1 album in the United Kingdom.

Jamie Hartman is an English songwriter and producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, and the former lead singer of the indie-pop band Ben's Brother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game On (song)</span> 1998 single by Catatonia

"Game On" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Catatonia, released as the fifth and final single from their second studio album, International Velvet (1998), in October 1998. It was written by band members Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts and produced by TommyD and the band. Commercially, the song charted on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 33.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Go Home Together</span> 2021 single by Ella Henderson and Tom Grennan

"Let's Go Home Together" is a song by English singer and songwriter Ella Henderson and English singer and songwriter Tom Grennan. It was released as a digital download and for streaming on 19 February 2021. The song was released as the lead single from Henderson's second studio album Everything I Didn't Say and is also featured on the deluxe edition of Grennan's second studio album Evering Road.

Dean Josiah Cover, professionally known as Inflo, is an English record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He helms the R&B music collective project Sault, which foregrounds black-centric issues.

References

  1. "Athlete / Band". Athlete.mu.
  2. NME – Ivor Novello 2006 Winners, Nme.com
  3. "Boxes interview". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  4. "Home". Kasteeldehaere.nl. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. "Passport to Stockholm - 'All at Once' | New Music | the 405". www.thefourohfive.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  6. "MEET SPOTIFY'S IRISH STAR". Independent.ie.
  7. "CAREY WILLETTS". Jaxmanagement.com.
  8. "MPG AWARDS 2020". Mpg.org.uk.
  9. "Athlete bassist creates own whisky Boxes Blend". Thespiritsbusiness.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  10. "Boxes Blend". Masterofmalt.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.