Greg Gilbert (musician)
Greg Gilbert | |
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Born | Greig Francis Gilbert 7 December 1976 Southampton, England |
Died | 30 September 2021 Southampton, England | (aged 44)
Occupations |
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Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) |
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Labels | |
Formerly of | Delays |
Greig Francis "Greg" Gilbert (7 December 1976 – 30 September 2021) was a British musician, singer, songwriter, visual artist and poet. He was best known as the lead singer and guitarist of indie band Delays. One of the band's defining characteristics was Gilbert's wide vocal range; the regular use of his upper register became Gilbert's trademark singing style. His vocals were often compared to those of Elizabeth Fraser[1][2] and Stevie Nicks.[3][4][5]
Gilbert was born in Southampton as the eldest of two children. His brother Aaron joined Delays in 2003 as their keyboard player and co-writer on many of the band’s tracks.
In September 2021, Gilbert passed away at the age of 44, five years after being diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Music
Gilbert started his musical career as the frontman of a band named Corky, who eventually rebranded as Idoru and released the EP Safety in Numbers in 2001. Despite his initial reluctance to get up on stage, Gilbert realised that it was necessary in order to get his career going. "I had to get on the stage out of necessity. I found it terrifying. I still do find it terrifying but I realised that when you get over that, it's one of those things that you’ll be forever glad you did", Gilbert stated in 2013.[6] In 2003, the band switched to their present name Delays and started to gain traction when they were signed by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records, who was impressed by the band after attending one of their private shows. The other members of Delays are Greg's brother Aaron Gilbert (keyboards), Colin Fox (bass) and Rowly (drums and percussion). Greg met Colin and Rowly at school. Aaron joined the band halfway through the recording process of the debut album after Greg heard him play a loop.
The band's debut album
In November 2004, Delays released the non-album single "Lost in a Melody" as a double A-side with Faded Seaside Glamour's opening track "Wanderlust". "Lost in a Melody" featured a more hard-edged electronic sound that marked a new direction for the band. The single charted at #28 in the UK Singles Chart.
Delays originally intended to release a second album called Action Reaction in April 2005.[7] However, the project never materialised due to the fact that Aaron Gilbert lost the only copy of the disc, containing roughly 100 demos written by Greg during their Faded Seaside Glamour tour.[8]
The eventual second album You See Colours was released in March 2006 through Rough Trade Records and featured a more synth-driven and up-tempo sound. This new direction was described by Delays as a natural progression, given that keyboardist Aaron joined the band halfway through the writing process of Faded Seaside Glamour.[9] You See Colours was produced by Graham Sutton and charted at number 24 in the UK Albums Chart. The disco-inspired "Valentine" was released as the lead single. Producer Trevor Horn provided additional arrangement and vocal overdub on the track, which was performed on Top of the Pops on 27 February 2006. Horn would later cite the Delays track "Stay Where You Are" from Faded Seaside Glamour as the inspiration for the bass riff on "Bodies", which he produced for Robbie Williams.[10] "Valentine" was shortlisted for the Popjustice £20 Music Prize in 2006, an annual prize to recognise the best British pop single of the year.[11] The single peaked at number 23 in the UK Singles Chart. The second single from You See Colours, "Hideaway", was released on 9 May 2006 and peaked at number 35 in the UK Singles Chart. You See Colours was accompanied by another UK tour before playing a series of festival shows across Europe.[citation needed]
On 5 May 2008, Delays released their third studio album Everything's the Rush through Fiction Records after having parted ways with Rough Trade. The album peaked at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart. The release was preceded by the Love Made Visible EP in late 2007, which consisted of "Love Made Visible" (for which a music video was filmed), "Panic Attacks", "Slow Burn", "You See Colours" and a remix of "Love Made Visible" titled "We Together Make a City". The band promoted the EP with a UK tour, followed by another tour to promote the album in 2008 as well as supporting Crowded House on their tour. Everything's the Rush, which was produced by Martin "Youth" Glover, featured more maximalist production than previous efforts and also incorporated orchestral elements. Vocally, the focus shifted from highlighting Greg's falsetto on its predecessor You See Colours to a bigger emphasis on his lower range, as well as having Aaron sing lead vocals on three songs. The tracks "Hooray" (which featured lyrics about Gilbert’s struggle with Obsessive–compulsive disorder) [12] and "Keep It Simple" were released as singles. Delays released the Lost Tunes EP in December 2008, featuring outtakes from the album.[citation needed]
In June 2010, Delays released their fourth album
While Delays were on hiatus, Gilbert started his side project The Lunar Fields with ex-members of Liverpool's The Maybes and The Sums. Although the band didn't release any of their tracks officially, some of them were uploaded on YouTube and SoundCloud in 2012.[15]
In 2014, Gilbert toured the UK with Delays for the last time to mark the 10th anniversary of Faded Seaside Glamour. This was the first and only time the band played the album in its entirety.[16] One of Gilbert's final wishes was a vinyl release of the band's first album Faded Seaside Glamour. The LP was released on 27 January 2023 and charted at #2 in the UK Vinyl Chart.[17][18]
Visual art
In 2013, Gilbert started to gain acclaim and accolades for his work as a visual artist. While he had always been passionate about creating art and attended
Poetry
Around the time Gilbert started to show his art, he also began writing poetry. It eventually became a bigger focus for him as it served as a way of dealing with his illness and documenting his journey. He decided to explore the Southampton poetry scene and had some pieces of poetry published in an anthology, despite having been self-conscious about it initially. Eventually he met
Personal life
In November 2016, Gilbert was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, secondary lung. He was told that he was genetically incompatible with the only free immunotherapy drug available on the National Health Service and that treatment options were limited. Considering that the treatment that could potentially save or prolong his life (which would also match his gene profile) was not available on the NHS, his long-term partner Stacey set up a fundraiser, aiming to crowdfund £100,000 for Gilbert’s medical treatment.[6] The crowdfunding campaign became the fastest fundraiser to hit its target on the giving site by passing its original target in 48 hours and eventually raised more than £215,000 to pay for his medical treatment.[23]
Gilbert passed away on 30 September 2021, aged 44.[24] He is survived by his wife, Stacey Heale (whom he married in August 2018 [25]), and their children, Dalí and Bay.[citation needed]
References
- ^ SF-gate - CD reviews, 13 June 2004
- ^ Uncut.co.uk, 1 May 2004
- ^ Paste magazine - Faded Seaside Glamour review, 1 August 2004
- ^ AV Club - Faded Seaside Glamour review, 21 June 2004
- ^ Billboard album reviews - Faded Seaside Glamour, 6 April 2004
- ^ a b c d ‘Greg Gilbert – artist, poet, musician and ‘butterfly collector’. A tribute to a life filled with art, music, wonder and love’, In Common, 4 October 2021
- ^ Delays predict a ‘Thriller’, NME, 1 Dec 2004
- ^ "Review of Delays - You See Colours". BBC Music, Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 09-03-2023.
- ^ 'Delayed Action’, Famous Last Words, 26 Feb 2013
- ^ ‘Delays are back’, Daily Echo, 15 October 2009
- ^ Rateyourmusic.com
- ^ Interview, Digital Spy, 22 February 2008
- ^ ‘Delays to release Star Tiger Star Ariel’, Music-news.com, 25 April 2010
- ^ 'Delayed Action’, Famous Last Words, 26 Feb 2013
- ^ Soundcloud, The Lunar Fields
- ^ ‘Delays to tour ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’ 10th Anniversary’, This Is Soundcheck, 31 January 2014
- ^ ‘The one person I want to share it with, I can’t: Aaron Gilbert of Delays on life, loss and his brother’s dying wish’, The Guardian, 10 January 2023
- ^ ‘UK Official Vinyl Album LP Chart – Week commencing Friday 3 February 2023’, blog.eil.com, 7 Feb 2023
- ^ Beaux Arts Bath, Greg Gilbert
- ^ greggilbert.co.uk, Biography
- ^ ‘From hit songs to fine art’, Daily Echo, 29 October 2013
- ^ 'Greg Gilbert – A Gentle Shrug into Everything’, Southampton City Art Gallery, 2019
- ^ Brother and bandmate says singer Greg Gilbert 'always will be in our melodies' following death from cancer aged 44’, Sky News, 1 October 2021
- ^ ‘Delays lead singer Greg Gilbert dies aged 44’, breakingnews.ie, 30 September 2021
- ^ ‘Southampton musician Greg Gilbert ties the knot with his long term partner Stacey Heale’, Daily Echo, 27 August 2018