His varied
career began in the late 1970's at the tender age of 17 when he was invited
into a recording studio with the Strawbs and simultaneously signed a deal
with their publishing company. Since then he has never looked back, building
an impressive portfolio of groundbreaking albums with many leading artists
of the UK roots/rock scene including Fairport Convention, Lindisfarne,
Rod Clements and Chris While.
During the 1980's
he enjoyed success with the band Northern Sky, but it was in the early
1990's that Nigel's star began to rise significantly and his profile
became firmly established.
Nigel played a significant
part in the rise of one of the UK's most acclaimed younger singer/songwriters,
Thea Gilmore, having produced all six of her albums and co-written her
2004 hit single 'Mainstream'. For the last five years Nigel has regularly
performed live with Thea around the world as both her musical director
and guitarist. During five US and Canada tours and countless European
gigs, they have shared stages with a huge range of artists including
Joan Baez, John Prine, Steve Earle, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, the Waterboys
Ryan Adams, Josh Ritter, Eliza Carthy, Kathryn Williams and Martha Wainwright.
Nigel's co-writing
partnership with Lindisfarne co-founder Rod Clements yielded two albums
of outstanding new material for the band, including 'Can't Do Right
For Doing Wrong' which was a Top 40 hit single when covered by Erin
Rocha in 2004. Nigel has also produced two solo albums for Rod, including
the latest album 'Odd Man Out' which was released in 2006.
With fiddle and
mandolin player Chris Leslie, Nigel wrote a number of songs recorded
by Fairport Convention, including 'The Wood And The Wire', a song which
in recent years has become one of the band's signature tunes.
Straying a little
further outside the roots world, Nigel has also collaborated with a
wide variety of artists ranging from pop/rock vocalist Paul Young to
contemporary jazz diva Clare Teal. One of his most successful co-writes
with Clare was 'Messin' With Fire', which was recently featured in the
smash hit feature film 'Confetti' starring Martin Freeman and Jessica
Stevenson and which reached No 2 in the UK Box Office Chart in May 2006.
Alongside his career
as a producer and songwriter, Nigel has continued to develop his solo
performing career. His first solo album 'Golden Coins For The Holy Kid'
was released in 1995 to excellent reviews, including Rock'n'Reel Magazine,
who described Nigel as " a real find" and the album as "stunning".
Nigel started touring as a solo artiste in his own right, not only headlining
his own shows but also doing a number of memorable support slots for
a wide (and occasionally unlikely) selection of acts from John Martyn
to the Troggs.
In 2000 Nigel's
second solo album 'English Ghosts' was released, featuring contributions
from Fairport Convention's Chris Leslie and Maartin Alcock. The album
received rave reviews including Q and Folk Roots, and this was followed
in 2002 by 'Brimstone And Blue' with popular tracks such as 'Love And
Love And That Sort Of Thing' and 'Me And St. Jude' both receiving regular
national airplay. Nigel again took to the stage, performing in arts
centres and folk clubs throughout the UK, both solo and in a two-man
show with Rod Clements, as well as being the guest support act for the
Oyster Band, Fairport Convention and jazz singer-songwriter Gordon Haskell.
Nigel Stonier is
a live performer of great energy and wit. He is also a brilliant guitarist,
a fine singer, an effortlessly witty showman and an outstanding songwriter
with "an endless store of memorable hooks and melodies to die for"
(Traditional Music Maker).
A typical Stonier
show will involve not only a varied selection of material from all avenues
of his career but also any number of eclectic, often spontaneous cover
versions from
unlikely sources. He is also an inveterate involver and charmer of audiences,
guaranteed to entertain with the "solid gold performances"
(Rock 'n' Reel) he has become noted for.
"Superior
songwriting."
Top Magazine
"...direct highly crafted lyrics‚ crowd pleasing '60s pop
melodies and flashes of something darker beneath the surface."
Q Magazine
"...here's a store house for any band needing decent material."
fROOTS
"...an endless store of memorable hooks and melodies to die for."
Traditional Music Maker
"...adds dashes of panache‚ vision‚ and consistently
reaches a standard rare."
Rock'n'Reel
"...really top songs...highly recommended."
City Life Magazine
