Bernard Butler

Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer.

He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation; BBC journalist Mark Savage called him "one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists".

Butler was born to Irish parents in North London on 1 May 1970.

He spent his summers in his parents' hometown of Dún Laoghaire and in an interview given in 2022, he reflected on his upbringing and Irish immigration to Britain.

"I don't know if it's the case now much, but definitely up to the generation where I was from. Just because of the migration in the sixties, I guess. That was the big thing in the '60s, and we all ended up in Manchester, Liverpool or North London. Places wherever the trains came into: Holyhead. Growing up, pretty much everyone I knew was Irish."

The youngest of three boys, Butler credits his oldest brother with inspiring his interest in music.

The first vinyl record he bought was The Smiths' Hand in Glove, having become a fan of the band after hearing John Peel play Reel Around the Fountain on his BBC radio show.

When he was eight, Butler started learning to play the violin, something which he later recalled he "used to get beaten up and spat at on the bus for."

His introduction to the guitar came after his brothers lost interest in a "terrible electric guitar".

Butler used it to play along with Johnny Marr's guitar parts to The Smiths' songs, eventually learning each one note-by-note and becoming proficient without ever having a formal guitar lesson.

Butler has played on and/or produced records by Aimee Mann, Edwyn Collins, Neneh Cherry, Tim Booth (of James), Eddi Reader, Hopper, Roy Orbison, Bert Jansch, The Libertines, Heather Nova, Mark Owen, The Veils, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Cribs, the Pretenders, The On-Off's, 1990s, The Mescalitas, Cut Off Your Hands, Cajun Dance Party, Duffy, The View, Arkitekt, Sons and Daughters, Black Kids, Tricky, Sharleen Spiteri, Nerina Pallot, Natalie McCool and Pet Shop Boys.

Alongside members of Warm Digits, Field Music and 1990s, the impromptu group played a completely unrehearsed and improvised set.

He first achieved fame in 1992 as the guitarist with Suede, forging a songwriting partnership with Brett Anderson.

He co-wrote and played guitars or piano on every recording until 1994, when he exited Suede, leaving behind the Mercury Music Prize-winning debut Suede, as well as the follow-up Dog Man Star.

Immediately after leaving Suede he formed the duo McAlmont & Butler with David McAlmont and they released two singles, "Yes" and "You Do".

A compilation album, The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler, was released after the collaboration ended.

Butler then released two solo albums under his own name, People Move On and Friends and Lovers, on Creation Records, yielding the hit single "Stay".

In 2001 Butler teamed up with McAlmont for a second McAlmont & Butler album, Bring it Back, and they toured the UK after the release of two singles, "Falling" and "Bring it Back".

In 2004 Butler formed a new band with Brett Anderson, The Tears, based on the same style that yielded their first successes with Suede in the early 1990s.

The Tears released their debut LP, Here Come the Tears, produced by Butler, in June 2005.

Singles include "Refugees", which reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart, and "Lovers".

In 2005 he was introduced to Welsh singer Duffy, and contributed to her top-selling debut album Rockferry—it was the best selling album of 2008 in the UK—which won the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy Award in 2008.

In 2009 Butler co-wrote/produced/played on tracks by The Veils, Tommy Reilly, Jonathan Jeremiah, Kate Jackson and Catherine A.D who now performs as The Anchoress.

He also commenced production work on Kate Nash's second album My Best Friend Is You in mid-2009.

He was voted the 24th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national 2010 BBC poll and is often seen performing with a 1961 cherry red Gibson ES-355 TD SV (Stereo Varitone) with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece.

In 2010 Butler worked with Nerina Pallot, Fyfe Dangerfield, Noisettes, Slow Club, Gabrielle, Howling Bells, The Veils, Simon Dine, and new artists Jodie Marie, Vince, Daley, Summer Camp, Joe Worricker and Scott McFarnon.

Over the 2011-2012 period, Butler produced albums for Frankie & The Heartstrings and continued working with Daley on his forthcoming Days & Nights album, the title track of which was co-written and produced by Butler.

He also co-wrote and produced Texas's comeback album The Conversation.

Butler again worked at Studio 355 for these recordings.

In 2013 Butler worked with the group Teleman, to finish their debut album; worked on songs with London group Flowers; and collaborated with Paloma Faith and Fyfe Dangerfield.

In June 2013, he formed an impromptu improvisational performance at the Sunderland record store run by Frankie & The Heartstrings.

In August 2013, Butler played two shows at The Slaughtered Lamb in London, UK, accompanying Ben Watt on electric guitar, resulting in a touring and recording collaboration spanning 2 albums and several years of live shows across the globe.

In October 2013, new group Trans released the red EP, the first in a series of EPs for Rough Trade Records.

Featuring tracks grown out of improvisational sessions that date back over a year, with Jackie McKeown, Paul Borchers and Igor Volk, the recordings were made at Studio 355.

All sessions were improvised, recorded in their entirety and later edited with very few overdubs.

In May 2014, Butler organised two special McAlmont & Butler performances to raise funds for The Bobath Centre's work with children with cerebral palsy.

The London shows at the Union Chapel and Islington Assembly Hall sold out, and the duo were accompanied by a full band that consisted of members of The Magic Numbers, Mako Sakamoto on drums and Sean Read on keyboards.

In 2017, Butler produced the self-titled debut album of the New York band QTY.

In November 2019, Pet Shop Boys released their second single "Burning The Heather" from their forthcoming album Hotspot, featuring acoustic guitar played by Bernard Butler.

Acclaimed folk artist Sam Lee collaborated with Butler in 2019 resulting in his widely acclaimed "Old Wow" album and selected live shows which followed.