Cheersquad Records & Tapes have launched the first ever vinyl edition and long-awaited re-release on CD of legendary Australian singer-songwriter and bluesman Chris Wilson’s acclaimed 2002 album King For A Day, which was produced by Kerryn Tolhurst of The Dingoes and Country Radio fame. The LP, which is released TODAY in black and a 100-copies only yellow & black pizza pie editions as well as on CD, is available now from all good record stores and
https://chriswilson2.bandcamp.com/album/king-for-a-day
To celebrate the release, Cheersquad, as part of the Northcote Social Club’s 20th Anniversary celebrations is presenting a special tribute to the late, great Australian singer/songwriter and bluesman Chris Wilson. And having already sold out one night (Wednesday August 13), a second show, on Thursday August 14, has just been announced.
THE CHRIS WILSON CHEERSQUAD will feature an incredible ensemble of artists coming together to celebrate & perform the music of the man who was, and who remains, a figure synonymous with Melbourne’s internationally renowned live music scene. With a band led by long time Chris Wilson guitarist Shane O’Mara, alongside seasoned Wilson veterans Chris ‘Dodgy’ Rogers and Ashley Davies, the event will feature a long list of amazing vocalists to pay homage to the great man,, including his singer-songwriter wife Sarah Carroll and son George Carroll Wilson, as well as Crown of Thorns bandmate Barb Waters, Van Walker, Freya Josephine Hollick, Meghan Maike, Lisa Miller, David M Western, Jodi Phillis, Joyce Prescher, Patrick Wilson, Queenie, Shannon Bourne, Carl Pannuzzo, Sime Nugent, Jack Meredith & Tim Rogers. Much-loved singer songwriter Queenie has just been added to both shows. DJ Max Crawdaddy from 3RRR will also be on the wheels of steel both nights.
Known for his work with Paul Kelly & the Messengers and with Diesel in Wilson Diesel, and his involvement with the likes of Hunters & Collectors, Harem Scarem and punk legends X as well his own bands the Crown of Thorns, The Spidermen and Skronkadoodledoo and his brilliant solo work, Chris Wilson passed away on January 16, 2019 .
Cheersquad’s 2021 reissue of Wilson’s classic Live at the Continental album debuted at #19 on the ARIA album chart and came in at #20 on the Year End ARIA Blues & Roots chart. Ahead of the reissue, in December 2020, Wilson was inducted to the Music Victoria Hall of Fame by his old friend Paul Kelly.
Arriving in 2002 off the back of the 2000’s Rhythms Magazine’s “Best Blues Album” Spiderman (2000), King For A Day was the first fully original Chris Wilson album since the ARIA-nominated classic Long Weekend in 1998. The eagerly awaited album was the first on Wilson’s newly established Forge label (named after his two boys Fenn and George) and again featured long-time guitarist Shannon Bourne & drummer Dave Folley, along with Chris Rogers on bass, Kerryn Tolhurst, Cindi Boste, Sarah Carroll and Skip Sail.
Tickets available to The Chris Wilson Cheersquad at the Northcotre Social Club, Thursday August 14 are available here. (The Wednesday August 13 show has sold out.)
Following its original release in 2002, Wilson spoke to The Music about King For A Day, having just appeared at the Gympie Muster.
“I guess there was a good litmus test on the weekend (Gympie Muster): it seemed to go down just fine. I think there’s a lot of people who are quite open-minded. I think it’s a minority that needs music in a box.
“Spiderman was just a pure blues record that we sort of banged down in a day. King For A Day is all original for a start; it was the first time I ever had a producer; it was more a mixture of influences—blues and country and rock ‘n’ roll.
“I recorded the album twice. The first time I recorded it was just after I’d had a car accident, there was something missing in the songs. There was nothing wrong with the playing; it was the songs and me, because I had a bit of difficulty singing properly. I just thought I needed someone who would go through the stuff with me and tighten it up a bit. Kerryn Tolhurst has been with the Dingoes and stuff, and he knew a lot about songwriting, but jeez he was happy to sit down with me. I’d play him a song and he’d say, ‘That’s all right’ or ‘that should be different, try this’.”
At the time of the chat with The Music, Wilson had been performing with the line-up on the album for about two years. He explained how they came together: “I just heard Shannon playing in a guitar factory. He was only 21 at the time. I didn’t even see him; I just heard him and I thought, ‘That guitar is fantastic.’ I looked around the corner and there was this cherub sitting there with a guitar in his hands. I asked him if he wanted to do some gigs, and we just started playing acoustically, with a little electric. Dave Folley the drummer, he just sort of drifted in. We used to have this Tuesday night residency in a pub, in the corner, and he just drifted in and brought his kit in piece by piece. Then we went electric and played as a three-piece for quite a while. Then Chris Rodgers, he’s played bass with me for about 20 years, I rang him up and said, ‘Do you wanna do some gigs?’ He completed the band.”