William Edward Graydon (born 8 May 1989), known professionally as 220 Kid (pronounced "two-twenty kid" and stylised in all caps), is an English record producer, DJ and remix artist. On the UK Singles Chart, his collaboration " Don't Need Love" with Gracey peaked at number 9 in 2020, while his remix of Nathan Evans' "

Wellerman "Soon May the Wellerman Come", also known as "Wellerman" or "The Wellerman", is a folk song in ballad style first published in New Zealand in the 1970s. The "wellermen" were supply ships owned by the Weller brothers, three merchant traders in th ...

" with

Billen Ted Billen Ted is a British record production, DJ and songwriting duo based in London, consisting of Tom Hollings and Sam Brennan. History The duo became known for the single "Satisfied" which sampled from the Chaka Khan 1984 hit "I Feel for You". ...

reached the top spot in 2021. He is based in

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

, London.

Early life

William Edward Graydon was born on 8 May 1989 in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. His father Ken, former

music manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...

for

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

member

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successfu ...

, named Graydon after seeing a

number plate A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

ending in WEG from a hospital window. He grew up in

Thame Thame is a market town and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the ...

and attended Magdalen College School, going on to study at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, where he graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in biosciences followed by a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in sustainable development. Following the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

in 2020, he set up a three-year scholarship for a high-achieving

BAME A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...

student studying at his ''alma mater''. He has dyslexia. He has a sister named Charlie working in the healthcare industry. 220 Kid's

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

originated from a charity effort where he ran , a distance corresponding to nine

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

s, over seven days. The run was completed in 2013 on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

in honour of Gibb and supported three medical charities. After moving to London, he initially used the stage name "Willie the Kid" (named after the cowboy) without realising it was already the name of an existing artist. He previously had jobs working for marketing company CPM Group, as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, as a carpenter, and at a

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

grocery store.

Career

Prior to embarking on a solo career, Graydon went by the name "William Edward" and was a member of pop duo OMYO—an acronym for "Our Music Your Opinion"—alongside Tom McCorkell while living in

. The pair met on New Year's Eve in 2014 at the James Figg pub in Thame and made a bet to write a song together. They wrote a few songs over the span of several days, including "Lady", which was used in an advert by clothing retailer New Look. After being dropped by a major record label, they formed their own independent one; their debut single "Days with You" was released on Two Six Records in 2017, with its music video shot in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Their first gig was supporting

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

at the

Wireless Festival ''Wireless'' Festival is an annual rap and hip-hop music festival that takes place in London, England, which is owned and managed by Live Nation Entertainment, Live Nation. Debuting in 2005, the festival's earlier years primarily featured rock an ...

and their debut album was planned for September 2017. Graydon's first song as a solo artist under the moniker "220 Kid" was "Lights" in 2018, which was a shift from OMYO's

urban pop Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary rad ...

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

. Follow-up singles "Pleasure to Love You" and "Let Me Stay" both featured vocalist Chilli Chilton. 220 Kid signed with

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

in 2019. His debut single with the label was " Don't Need Love", a collaboration with English singer Gracey, which was released in December 2019. The song went on to reach the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number nine in July 2020, and received a nomination for British Single at the

2021 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2021, the 41st edition of the annual Brit Awards, was the UK's first major indoor live music event in more than a year. It was held on 11 May 2021 and celebrated the best in British and international music. Usually held in February ...

. His follow-up single, "Too Many Nights" with Northern Irish singer

JC Stewart John Callum Stewart (born 8 February 1997), known professionally as JC Stewart or Callum Stewart, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter. In 2020, he went viral after Jennifer Aniston reposted his parody of the theme song from ''Friends''. He rele ...

, was released in September 2020, peaking at number 74 in the UK. He lists the

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

, and

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

artists as a few of his musical influences.

Discography

DJ mixes

* ''D4 D4NCE: 220 Kid in the Mix'' (2022) * ''Cr2 Live & Direct: 220 Kid (DJ Mix)'' (2024)

Singles

Remixes

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1989 births 21st-century English male musicians 21st-century English musicians Alumni of the University of Exeter Charity fundraisers (people) British dance-pop musicians English male models English male musicians English record producers English male songwriters English electronic dance music DJs Living people Musicians from Herefordshire Musicians from Oxfordshire People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford People from Weobley Musicians with dyslexia Models with dyslexia Polydor Records artists English remixers English people with disabilities British musicians with disabilities Models from Oxfordshire People from Thame