Alan Wills (12 June 1961 – 11 May 2014) was a British record label owner and drummer. He was known for founding

Deltasonic Deltasonic is a British record label based in Liverpool, England. Previously joint ventured with Sony Music, it is now independent. It was formed by Alan Wills, the former drummer with Liverpool bands Shack and Top, and associated with the ' ...

, a record label based in Liverpool that signed bands including

The Coral The Coral are an English rock band, formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside. The band emerged during the early 2000s. Their 2002 debut album ''The Coral (album), The Coral'', from which came the single "Dreaming of You (T ...

and

The Zutons The Zutons are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool, in 2002. The band currently consists of Dave McCabe (vocals, guitar), Abi Harding (saxophone), Jay Lewis (guitar), Neil Bradley (keyboards) and Tim Cunningham (bass). The band's ...

. As a musician he played in

The Wild Swans "The Wild Swans" () is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who rescues her 11 brothers from a spell cast by an evil queen. The tale was first published on 2 October 1838 in Andersen's '' Fairy Tales Told for C ...

Shack A shack (or, in some areas, shanty) is a type of small shelter or dwelling, often primitive or rudimentary in design and construction. Unlike huts, shacks are constructed by hand using available materials; however, whereas huts are usually r ...

Top Top most commonly refers to: * Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides * Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy * Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso * Mountain top, a moun ...

, and the Lotus Eaters. For his work with The Coral he was named one of the Managers of the Year in 2003 by the Music Managers Forum.

Early life

Wills was born in

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, Wales on 12 June 1961, and grew up in the

Cemaes Cemaes () is a village on the north coast of Anglesey in Wales, sited on Cemaes Bay, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which is partly owned by the National Trust. It is the most northerly village in Wales (excluding the nearby hamlet of ...

area of the county. According to ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'', Will's father was "in charge of the UK's nuclear early warning system". Wills later said that he learned about management from his father: "He told me it's not about doing everything yourself, but about building teams, finding the best people and letting them get on with it".

Career

In 1981, Wills went to Liverpool to audition as drummer for Pete Wylie's band Wah!. According to Wylie, "I told him he'd 'failed the audition' but I liked him, so I found another band for him to play with so he stayed here." He suggested Wills to another Liverpool band,

, whom Wills went on to join as drummer. Wills also played drums for

and the Lotus Eaters. On 1 January 2000, Wills launched EVA, a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

record label inspired by

Mo' Wax Mo' Wax was a British record label founded by James Lavelle in 1992. The label was not co-founded by Tim Goldsworthy, as is often reported. Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after. Mo' Wax came to recognition for being at the forefront of t ...

that released 10 inch vinyl singles for acts including Paracruisers and the Futurists. A year to the day from founding EVA, the label signed

and its named was changed to

, in reference to

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

. Wills said that at the time, "there hadn't been any great guitar bands for a while. I knew it was going to change", and "I just wanted to do more guitars". Wills printed 1000 copies of the band's first single, "Shadows Fall", and that December the label signed a joint venture licensing deal with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. Wills managed The Coral for 18 months as part of a management company owned by the band, Skeleton Key. Also part of the management company were concert promoter

Simon Moran Simon James Moran is a concert promoter in the United Kingdom, managing director of SJM Concerts, director of the Academy Music Group of venues and owner of the Warrington Wolves Rugby League team. He is in charge of major London venues inclu ...

and Wills' girlfriend Ann Heston. In 2003, Moran and Wills were named Managers of the Year by the Music Managers Forum. As well as signing

, other acts Wills worked with included

Candie Payne Candice "Candie" Payne (born 19 December 1981) is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, '' I Wish I Could Have Loved You More'', on Deltasonic in May 2007. She is the sister of singer/songwriter Howie Payne, former f ...

the Dead 60s The Dead 60s were an English ska punk band from Liverpool. The band's sound is a mixture of punk rock, ska, dub and reggae. They have taken influences from artists such as King Tubby, Jackie Mittoo, Gang of Four and A Certain Ratio. Hist ...

the Longcut The Longcut are an English rock band, formed in 2002 in Manchester. Career The Longcut formed in Manchester in 2002, while attending the University of Manchester. Originally a four-piece, their vocalist left soon after the band started and th ...

the Rascals The Rascals (originally known as the Young Rascals) are an American rock band, formed in Garfield, New Jersey, southeast of Paterson in 1965. The original lineup featured lead vocalist and keyboardist Felix Cavaliere, vocalist and percussion ...

Miles Kane Miles Peter Kane (born 17 March 1986) is an English singer and musician, best known as a solo artist and the co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets. He was also the former frontman of the Rascals, before the band announced their break-up in Au ...

, and

the Last Shadow Puppets The Last Shadow Puppets are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Miles Kane ( the Little Flames, the Rascals), James Ford (Simian, Simian Mobile Disco), and Zach Dawes ( Mini Mansions). The Last Shadow Puppe ...

Death and legacy

On 8 May 2014, Wills was admitted to Aintree University Hospital with critical head injuries after a bicycle crash in the

Page Moss Page Moss is an area in the borough of Knowsley, Merseyside. It borders the city of Liverpool to the east. Previously known as "The Horns" due to the crime and previous people using guns naming them horns. The population of the Knowsley ward tak ...

area of Liverpool. He died three days later. Deputy Liverpool coroner Anita Bhardwaj said in a narrative verdict that the reason for his crash is not known. His funeral was attended by members of

The Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan (band), Big in Japan, Care (band), Care, and Ori ...

, The Farm,

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

, Shack, and

Cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

, among others. Outside a bar at the site of the former Deltasonic office in the

Mossley Hill Mossley Hill is a suburb of Liverpool and ward of Liverpool City Council. Located 3.5 miles southeast of the city centre, it is bordered by the suburbs of Aigburth, Allerton, Childwall, Garston, and Wavertree. At the 2001 Census, the popul ...

area of Liverpool is a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

commemorating Wills. Inside the bar is memorabilia from the label, including a gold record awarded for The Zutons' record sales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Alan British music industry executives People from Anglesey 2014 deaths 1961 births Shack (band) members English rock drummers Musicians from Liverpool Road incident deaths in England Cycling road incident deaths