Dan Willson (born 23 July 1974), also known by his stage name Withered Hand, is an Edinburgh-based indie rock musician. His first studio album, '' Good News'', was released in 2009 in Scotland, and re-released in 2011 on Absolutely Kosher Records in the United States. His second album, titled ''

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

'', was released in March 2014 through Fortuna Pop Records in the UK and Slumberland Records in the USA. He performed at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

in 2011 and 2014 as part of the Scottish Showcase. His third solo album, ''How To Love'', was released in 2023.

Early life

Willson was raised as a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

in Scotland and in

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

in England, where he played guitar for local band Tin Foil Circus. As a child, he was not permitted to attend school assemblies, birthday parties or Christmas celebrations. Willson was worried throughout his childhood that his voice was too high so he didn't begin singing until his late twenties, and he originally wanted to be a visual artist. He has been based in Edinburgh since 1996.

Musical career

Willson studied at Art College in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

with his then-girlfriend, now-wife, in 1996. Shortly thereafter, he tried his hand at being a visual artist, but eventually abandoned his work in the field. He attributed this in part to his "lack of success in expressing myself visually". He was guitarist in Edinburgh band Barrichello, which he joined in 1999. This band broke up amicably in 2002. His second band was known as Squits, and later became a short-lived art rock group named Peanut. He was also a member of the short-lived anti-folk group The Love Gestures alongside Cammy Watt of Enfant Bastard and Neil Pennycook of

Meursault Meursault () is a Communes of France, commune in the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Etymology The oldest attested form of the toponym Meursault dates from 1094, as ''Mura ...

. Willson began his solo musical career at age 30, after a close friend died and Willson's wife bought him a guitar for his 30th birthday. Willson has said that his upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness "gave isfledgling artistic temperament a lot to think about", and that since he was taught that the world would end very soon, he began to "read everything as a sign". The first song he ever wrote as Withered Hand was "Cornflake". He has cited

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (Scottish musician), Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), al ...

and

Eugenius Eugenius (died 6 September 394) was a Western Roman emperor from 392 to 394, unrecognized by the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I. While Christian himself, Eugenius capitalized on the discontent in the West caused by Theodosius' religious p ...

as two of the bands he listened to most often growing up, and as the reason why he was so glad that the Eugenius frontman Eugene Kelly appeared on ''New Gods''. Willson, in fact, named his son after Kelly. Withered Hand was an active member of the Fence Collective and its offshoot the Alter Ego Trading Company, making appearances at their Fife based events The World Tour of Crail and Bunfight at the OK Karail. He has toured with the likes of

James Yorkston James Yorkston (born James Patrick Yorkston Wright; 21 December 1971) is a Scottish folk musician, singer-songwriter and author from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife. He has been releasing music since 2001. As well as recording as a solo artist ...

Frightened Rabbit Frightened Rabbit were a Scottish indie rock band from Selkirk, formed in 2003. Initially a solo project for vocalist and guitarist Scott Hutchison, the final lineup of the band consisted of Hutchison, his brother Grant (drums), Billy Kenned ...

(as well as

Scott Hutchison Scott John Hutchison (20 November 1981 – 9 May 2018) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, guitarist and artist. He was the founding member and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, with whom he recorded five studio albums ...

Rozi Plain Rozi Plain is a London-based musician originally from Winchester, England. Biography Rozi Plain was born Rosalind Leyden in Winchester, England, in 1986. In 2006 she moved to Bristol to study art, and she participated in the Cleaner Records gro ...

King Creosote Kenny Anderson (born January 1967), known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest full length, '' I DES'', released in ...

and Samantha Crain. Willson provided backing vocals on Hamish Hawk's 2021 album ''Heavy Elevator'', and appears in the video for the single "The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973". Willson's most recent band consists of, in addition to him, Malcolm Benzie of Edinburgh band eagleowl (guitar & mandolin), Fraser Hughes (bass) and Alun Thomas of The Leg (drums). They are also occasionally joined by Pam Berry of 90s US band Black Tambourine and various former members of the Second Hand Marching Band. Previous members include Hannah Shepherd (cello) and Neil Pennycook of

(banjo). In February 2023 Willson released "Waking Up", a single and music video from his first new album in nine years, ''How to Love''. The album was released in April on Reveal Records, supported by a full-band UK tour. In January 2024 it was announced that Willson and

Kathryn Williams Kathryn Williams (born 15 February 1974, Liverpool, England) is an English singer-songwriter who to date has released 14 studio albums, written and arranged for a multitude of artists, and was nominated for the 2000 Mercury Prize, Mercury Mus ...

will release a collaborative album in April on the One Little Independent label. The album was recorded and produced by Rod Jones and features contributions from fellow musicians including

, Kris Drever, Chris Geddes and Louis Abbott. The first single, "Shelf", was released with a video made by Marry Waterson.

Reception

Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Tape, and also w ...

has named Withered Hand as one of his favourite artists, and has had him perform sessions on his show,

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

has also written favourable reviews of both his albums, naming ''Good News'' the 14th best album of 2011 and ''New Gods'' the third best album of 2014.

Discography

Albums

*'' Good News'' (2009) *''

'' (2014) *''How To Love'' (2023) *''Willson Williams'', collaboration with

(2024)

EPs

*''Religious Songs'' (2008) *''You're Not Alone'' (2009) *''Heart Heart'' (2012) *''Inbetweens'' (2012) *''Among Horses I'' (2017) *''Ten Years'' (2019, reworkings of tracks from '' Good News'' for its tenth anniversary) *''My Days'' (2023, digital-only release of extra tracks recorded during the ''How To Love'' album sessions)

Live

*''Could Ya Do The Woo Woos?'' (2020, recording of a 2017 Newcastle gig)

Singles

*"King of Hollywood" (2013, split single with "Next to Nothing Blues" by Charles Latham) *"Horseshoe" (2014, gold vinyl limited to 500)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Withered Hand Living people 1974 births Scottish indie rock groups People from Bishop's Stortford Absolutely Kosher Records artists Musical groups from Edinburgh Musical groups established in 2009 British indie folk groups