Chris Wilson (Australian musician)
Christopher John Wilson (2 December 1956 – 16 January 2019) was an Australian blues musician who sang and played harmonica, saxophone and guitar. He performed as part of the Sole Twisters, Harem Scarem and Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, and fronted his band Crown of Thorns. Wilson's solo albums are Landlocked (June 1992), The Long Weekend (March 1998), Spiderman (2000), King for a Day (July 2002), Flying Fish (2012) and the self titled Chris Wilson (2018).
Chris Wilson | |
|---|---|
Wilson performing at the East Brunswick Social Club, Melbourne, April 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher John Wilson |
| Born | 2 December 1956 Alphington, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 16 January 2019 (aged 62) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Blues-rock, rock, country, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, teacher |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, harmonica, saxophone |
| Years active | 1984–2018 |
| Labels | Crawdaddy, Aurora/Mushroom, Black Market, Forge |
| Website | chriswilson |
In March 1996, Wilson collaborated with Johnny Diesel in a blues project, Wilson Diesel, which issued an album, Short Cool Ones, composed mostly of "soul and R&B standards". It peaked at No. 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Outside of his music career Wilson taught English at various secondary schools in Melbourne for about 20 years.
On 24 July 2018, Wilson's management announced that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was unlikely to perform again. A fundraising concert at the Corner Hotel was announced and quickly sold out. Fellow musician and friend Suzannah Espie set up a GoFundMe page which raised over AU$100,000 in just a few days before ceasing to accept further donations.
In 2020, Wilson was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.