Nigel Stonier

Nigel Stonier is a UK-based rock, roots and pop producer,^[1] songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Biography

He was born in Cheshire, but first relocated to London when, at the age of seventeen he secured a publishing deal with Southern music, and recorded his first demos produced by Dave Cousins of Strawbs, and with arrangements by Robert Kirby, famed for his work with Nick Drake.

Stonier's first official releases were with Northern Sky, with whom he was the rhythm guitarist, and co-writer of their 80s radio hit "I Wanna Be With You". However, it was as a producer/collaborator that he eventually came to major recognition.

He has produced and written material for a long line of UK acts, including Fairport Convention (whose latter-day anthem "The Wood and the Wire" he composed with Chris Leslie), Lindisfarne, Paul Young of Mike + The Mechanics and Sandi Thom. He has also collaborated with such UK roots-rock luminaries as Mike Scott of the Waterboys, Kathryn Tickell, Chris While and Rod Clements.

It was with Rod Clements that Nigel Stonier co-wrote "Can't Do Right For Doing Wrong", a top 40 hit in 2003 for pop singer Erin Rocha. He has produced both of Clements solo albums Stamping Ground and Odd Man Out.^[2]

In the mid-nineties, Stonier met and began working with Oxfordshire-born singer-songwriter Thea Gilmore. He has since become her producer of choice and ongoing musical partner. He produced her first top 40 single "Juliet" and co-wrote its follow-up "Mainstream", he has also produced all sixteen of her albums and toured extensively in the UK and US as her guitarist.^[3]

In 2006 a song composed by Nigel Stonier and award-winning jazz artist Clare Teal ("Messin' With Fire") was featured on the soundtrack of the hit British comedy movie Confetti, performed by Teal.^[4] Stonier further collaborated with Teal on material for her 2007 album Paradisi Carousel.^[5]

Also in 2006, Stonier joined Martha Wainwright onstage at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. One of several UK artists guesting on the show, Stonier hooked up with Martha for a rapturously received performance of her song "Who Was I Kidding".

In 2009 Nigel Stonier co-wrote and produced Thea Gilmore's "That'll Be Christmas" the most heavily played new seasonal song on BBC Radio 2 that year. It was also the first of several tracks Stonier co-wrote with Gilmore over the next 5 years which all made the much coveted 'A' list at Radio 2, others including "You're The Radio", "Live Out Loud", "Start As We Mean To Go On" and "Love Came Looking For Me". The last of these was chosen as Radio 2's single of the week in May 2013 and the spearhead for Thea Gilmore's first ever UK top 40 album Regardless.

Stonier also joined Gilmore on a project commissioned by Island Records to create completed songs from unfinished manuscripts left by the late singer-songwriter, Sandy Denny. The resulting album Don't Stop Singing yielded the song "London" which was adopted by BBCTV for usage during their coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games. On 2015's "Ghosts And Graffiti" collection, Stonier worked with artists including Billy Bragg, The Waterboys and Joan Baez on new versions of Thea Gilmore songs. The album hit the top 40 in May of that year.

Stonier has in recent years also produced debut albums for a number of new artists, and secured the first ever national AirPlay for a diverse range of acts including Yorkshire based band Katy Lied (2008), Cambridge born singer/songwriter Tracey Browne (2013) and award-winning young UK folk singer Kelly Oliver (2014). In 2014 he released his 5th solo album Built For Storms which included the track "I Hope I Always" which received extensive BBC Radio 2 AirPlay and led to Nigel performing a live session on the popular "Good Morning Sunday" show in September 2014.

In 2015 he produced the comeback album from Welsh band Songdog Joy Street; the first single from this "It's Not A Love Thing" received BBC6 Music and BBC Radio 2 AirPlay.

In early 2016 Stonier collaborated with Robert Plant, Gretchen Peters, Rosanne Cash and Mary Gauthier on a track to commemorate the 70th birthday of iconic TV and radio presenter Bob Harris.

Stonier is an artistic director and curator of the annual music, poetry and literature event Words And Music Festival in Nantwich, Cheshire.

Discography

Stonier has released five solo albums and one compilation.^[7]

• Golden Coins for the Holy Kid (1995)
• English Ghosts (2000)
• Brimstone and Blue (2003)
• Don't Sing Love Songs... ...You'll Wake My Mother (2006 compilation)
• Notes from Overground (2010)
• Built for Storms (2014)
• Love and Work (2017)

References