Ricky Wilson
Wilson performing with Kaiser Chiefs in 2014
Wilson performing with Kaiser Chiefs in 2014
Background information
Birth nameCharles Richard Wilson
Born (1978-01-17) 17 January 1978
Keighley, West Yorkshire, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • television personality
  • radio presenter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • percussion
Years active1999–present
Member ofKaiser Chiefs
Spouse(s)
Grace Zito
​
(m. 2021)​

Charles Richard Wilson (born 17 January 1978) is an English singer and the frontman of five-piece rock band Kaiser Chiefs. Before the formation of the band, in 2003, Wilson was a member of the band Runston Parva (later known as Parva), which consisted of members of Kaiser Chiefs. In September 2013, Wilson was confirmed as a coach on The Voice UK.[1] He was the winning coach for both the fourth[2] and fifth series of the show,[3] being the first coach to win two years consecutively. Wilson left the show after three series,[4][5] following the show's move to ITV.[6][7]

Early life

Wilson was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire to Glynne and TV producer, Geoff Wilson.[8] He has one brother, James.

He attended Leeds Grammar School after Ghyll Royd primary school, and later attended Leeds Metropolitan University and completed his BA (Hons) degree in Graphic Arts and Design in 2000 before undertaking his master's degree in Art and Design.[9][10] He then taught at Leeds College of Art and Design for a year before the band's big break.[11]

Career

Wilson, with Nick Hodgson and Andrew White, formed the band Runston Parva. After the group failed to land a record deal, the band re-formed as Parva, with their old friends, Simon Rix and Nick Baines, joining the group, following their return from university. The band landed a record deal; they were later dropped following the closure of Mantra Recordings. They had just recently released their debut album 22 and their first three singles.

Following this, the group decided to reform for the third time, with intentions to sign a new long-term record label and release new musical material, now named Kaiser Chiefs. Their name was adapted from the South African football team Kaizer Chiefs. James Sandom became their new manager and they soon signed a recording contract with B-Unique Records.

In 2023, Wilson took place on series 4 of The Masked Singer as "Phoenix", where he finished in second place.

Outside music

The Voice UK

On 19 September 2013, Wilson confirmed he would replace Danny O'Donoghue as a coach on the third series of The Voice UK alongside will.i.am, Tom Jones, and fellow new coach Kylie Minogue, who replaced Jessie J.[12][13] During the series, Katy B appeared as Wilson's team mentor.[14] For the fourth series, Wilson appeared alongside Tom Jones, will.i.am and Rita Ora. He was named the winning coach during the 4 April 2015 live final when Stevie McCrorie won the public vote. The following year, he again appeared alongside will.i.am with new coaches, Boy George and Paloma Faith.[15] On 9 April 2016, he became winning coach for the second time when Kevin Simm won the fifth series.[16] The final pitted Team Ricky against Team Ricky with both of Wilson's acts knocking the other coaches out of the live final.[17] The win made him the Voice UK coach with the most wins. He left the show prior to its move to ITV.[18]

Media work

Wilson performing with Kaiser Chiefs in July 2013

Wilson has twice been a guest on the BBC Two television show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, firstly in 2005 as a panellist and then as a guest host in 2006. He also featured on the panel of the BBC Television comedy series, Shooting Stars, in 2009. In 2008, he appeared in Peter Kay's talent show parody, Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice, in a duet with the show's protagonist, Geraldine McQueen.[19] Wilson had a minor role in St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, as the rock star boyfriend of Sarah Harding's character, Roxy. Wilson stated on his Radio X show that he was cast to appear in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 fronting a wizard band made up of actual musicians. When the band was replaced with CGI instruments, he was invited instead to appear in a background role. It is popularly believed that he had a cameo as Dirk Cresswell, but Wilson himself has denied this, saying the character identified as Dirk is in fact played by an unnamed actor.[20] Between November 2012 and January 2013, Wilson took on the role of the Artilleryman in the staged musical, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation. Wilson and Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix wrote and performed the theme tune for Zig and Zag.[21] Wilson joined new radio station Radio X in September 2015 where he presented the Sunday morning show from 11 am to 2 pm. He left in 2017 due to other commitments[22]

In October 2015, Wilson became the host of Sky 1's music and comedy panel show Bring the Noise.[23] He appeared on the show opposite former The X Factor judge and the Pussy Cat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, stand-up comedian Joel Dommett, rapper Tinie Tempah and comedian Katherine Ryan.[24] However, in April 2016, it was announced that the show had been cancelled after just one series due to declining ratings.[25]

In 2017, he appeared as a guest on The Grand Tour, a motoring programme presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

In 2018, Ricky became patron of MAS Records, part of Kidderminster College, alongside Robert Plant.

In 2020, Wilson launched a new series of podcasts with veteran English DJ Tony Blackburn entitled Ricky and Tony's Pop Detectives. In the series Wilson and Blackburn try to ascertain whether or not long rumoured myths and claims surrounding pop stars lives and their music are true. The series launched to positive reviews and a second series was released later in the year.

In 2020, Wilson used his art skills to present an art episode of CBBC series Celebrity Supply Teacher.

In 2021, he went on to host his own series on CBBC, Ricky Wilson’s Art Jam. The same year Wilson was also cast as the narrator in the UK animated show Dodo. Also in this year, BBC Radio 2 gave him his own series called Ricky Wilson's Rock And Roll Classics, which ran for two series in 2021 and 2022, and which featured Wilson playing his favourite songs from the 1950s and early 60s.[26][27]

In 2022, making use of his art background further he co-presented CBBC series Britain’s Best Young Artist alongside Vick Hope.

He became the host of the Virgin Radio UK Drivetime show on 9th January 2023.[28]

Personal life

During the early days of Kaiser Chiefs, Wilson was well known for wearing stripy blazers, waistcoats, turn-up jeans, and winkle picker shoes, a style that won him the Shockwaves NME Award For Best Dressed Person in 2006.[29] Lately, he has adopted a more casual dress code. Wilson is well known for his energetic stage presence, climbing scaffolding, standing on the safety barrier, and at times crowd surfing. Of crowd surfing, Wilson says he likes to "get out and see the crowd, see what they smell like".[30] Such exploits have occasionally resulted in injury, such as torn ankle ligaments after jumping off stage during a concert in Portugal.[31]

In May 2006, Wilson was involved in a hit-and-run accident in Leeds. He was hit by a car while attempting to walk on a pedestrian crossing, suffering bruising and a broken toe owing to a 'Ricky trademark jump' which resulted in him hitting the windscreen and being flipped over the top of the vehicle rather than trapped underneath.[32]

Wilson began a relationship with celebrity stylist Grace Zito in early 2015. They became engaged in April 2018 and married in June 2021.[33] In April 2022, they had twins. [34]

Wilson and the band are supporters of Amnesty International[35] and Nordoff-Robbins music therapy.[36]

Filmography

Self credits
Year Title Role Notes
2005 The Friday Night Project Himself Guest appearance – with Kaiser Chiefs
2005, 2017, 2021 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Himself Guest appearance – with Kaiser Chiefs
2005 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Himself Musical guest appearance – with Kaiser Chiefs
2005 Popworld Himself Guest appearance – with Kaiser Chiefs
2005 Kaiser Chiefs: Enjoyment Himself Short video
2005 Never Mind the Buzzcocks Himself Guest presenter
2006
2006 Top of the Pops Himself Guest appearance
2006 Later...with Jools Holland Himself Interview appearance (solo)
2007
2007 Brit Awards Himself Guest appearance – with Kaiser Chiefs
2007 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Himself 2 guest appearances
Interview appearance (solo)
Interview appearance – with Kaiser Chiefs
2009 Shooting Stars Himself Guest appearance (solo)
2009 St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold Rockstar Actor
2011 Breakfast Himself TV interview; later musical performance – with Kaiser Chiefs
2012 Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation The Artilleryman Actor
2014–16 The Voice UK Himself Main cast; coach/judge; 45 episodes (solo)
2014 The Voice: Louder on Two Himself 5 episodes; guest appearances
2014–18 Celebrity Juice Himself 6 episodes; guest appearances
2015 Bring the Noise Himself Main presenter (solo)
2015— The One Show Himself Guest presenter (4 episodes)
2017 The Grand Tour Himself, guest[37] Celebrity Face Off, Series 2 Episode 1
2018 The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bakeoff Himself[38] Contestant, Episode 2

References

  1. ↑ "The Voice: Ricky Wilson confirms he will be replacing Danny O'Donoghue as new judge on BBC One's talent show - Mirror Online". mirror. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  2. ↑ The Voice UK: Steve McCrorie crowned winner - BBC News. bbc.co.uk/
  3. ↑ Copson, Josie (10 April 2016). "Liberty X's Kevin Simm has only gone and won The Voice". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "'The Voice' UK: Ricky Wilson Confirms He's Quitting Judging Panel After Series 5, When BBC Show Moves To ITV". HuffPost. 13 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ricky Wilson WILL be on The Voice UK on ITV... on one condition | The Voice UK 2017". TellyMix. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  6. ↑ Darvill, Josh (9 July 2016). "Ricky Wilson will NOT be on The Voice UK on ITV (at least for now!)". TellyMix. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "Sir Tom Jones, Jennifer Hudson and Gavin Rossdale to join will.i.am as our new Voice UK superstar coaches!". The Voice UK. itv.com. 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Do you want to wake up in rock star's bedroom?". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Former Leeds Met student and Kaiser Chiefs frontman, Ricky Wilson, to be coach on BBC1's The Voice". Leedsmet.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Ricky Wilson – BA (Hons) Graphics & Art Design and MA Graphics and Art Design". www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  11. ↑ "Q&A". theguardian.com. 21 August 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2005.
  12. ↑ "'The Voice' UK: Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson confirmed as fourth coach". Digital Spy. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "Kaiser Chiefs star Ricky Wilson joins The Voice". BBC News Online. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  14. ↑ Wightman, Catriona (25 February 2014). "The Voice: Katy B, Tinie Tempah, more join as mentors – pictures". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Paloma Faith and Boy George join The Voice, Sir Tom leaves". BBC News. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  16. ↑ Mohan, Isabel (11 April 2016). "The Voice: why Kevin Simm deserved to win, plus 7 things we learned from the final". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  17. ↑ Travis, Ben (9 April 2016). "The Voice UK 2016: Former Liberty X star Kevin Simm beats Jolan, Lydia Lucy, and Cody Frost in the final". Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Daly, Emma (21 January 2016). "Ricky Wilson doesn't regret decision to leave The Voice: "It's only telly"". Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  19. ↑ Ricky Wilson on Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor. YouTube. 12 October 2008. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "Harry Potter: Kaiser Chiefs star breaks silence on movie cameo". 18 February 2021.
  21. ↑ Zig and Zag theme by Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson and Simon Rix on CBBC. YouTube. 16 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "Vernon Kay to leave Radio X after 18 months". 15 March 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  23. ↑ "Bring The Noise". Sky One. Sky UK. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  24. ↑ "Bring The Noise Coming soon Bring It On!". Sky UK. 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  25. ↑ Lee, Ben (7 April 2016). "Bring the Noise: Ricky Wilson and Nicole Scherzinger's panel show won't be back". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  26. ↑ "Ricky Wilson's Rock and Roll Classics".
  27. ↑ "Ricky Wilson returns to BBC Radio 2 for second series on classic rock and roll". 6 April 2022.
  28. ↑ "Virgin Radio UK welcomes Ricky Wilson as new drivetime presenter | Virgin Radio UK". virginradio.co.uk. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  29. ↑ "ShockWaves NME Awards 2006". NME. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  30. ↑ Interview with Ricky Wilson, Kaiser Chiefs – Enjoyment (Universal Island, DVD Video, 2005)
  31. ↑ "Kaiser Chiefs singer injures leg during gig". RTÉ.ie. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  32. ↑ "Kaiser Chiefs singer hit by car". Retrieved 23 May 2006.
  33. ↑ "The Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson Met His Wife On Set". Bustle. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  34. ↑ Borsay, Kait (27 June 2023). "The Evening Edition with Kait Borsay". Times Radio (Interview). London, England.
  35. ↑ "Kaiser Chiefs unveil new human rights film during UK tour". Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  36. ↑ "Kaiser Chiefs break ground at Newcastle centre". 2 November 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  37. ↑ "The Grand Tour season 2 confirms celebrity guests". Digital Spy. 27 November 2017.
  38. ↑ "Meet the contestants taking part in The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
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