Wills and the Willing

The new single download, LIPSTICK, featuring TOM McRAE, is out NOW on . By spending a mere 79p you can help the victimes/families of the London bombings of 7/7. Thank you.Wills & The Willing are back on 7th July 2008 with their new single, Lipstick, featuring the Mercury Music Prize nominated Tom McRae. Taken from their forthcoming album, Heroes & Villains, Lipstick is a thought-provoking track inspied by the London bombings of 2005.

Ian Wills's collaborative band, The Willing, has changed beyond all recognition from the collection of musicians who appeared on his 2006 debut Kerbside. Fresh for 2008 are the rapping talents of Dandelion alongside album producer Sean Genockey on guitars and Charlie Morton on drums.

As well as Tom McRae, other guest vocalists on the new album include multi-award winning Liane Carroll, Kubb frontman Harry Collie, John Hogg (Moke/Hogg) plus Chelsea footballers Didier Drogba and Michael Essien. Drogba and Essien joined Wills on the anti-racism track Skin, the first single from Heroes & Villains, proceeds of which were donated to CLIC Sargent*, the children's cancer charity.

Never one to shy away from controversy, Wills continues to tackle challenging issues on the new record of which racism is only one. Gun crime, white van man and designer labels all get the familiar Wills treatment with his hard-hitting, gritty rhymes and wry sense of humour. Musically the album has moved away from the Blockheads and Madness joviality of Kerbside, with Sean Genockey (Kula Shaker, Boy Kill Boy, Reuben) on production duties, things are darker, more urban and arguably more contemporary. Wills now challenges the likes of Dizzee Rascal and Mike Skinner on their own turf without losing any of his own identity. Wills at no point forgets where he has come from and indeed his new musical partners seem to have invigorated his taste for churning up both the darker and lighter sides of life. Wills clearly has a passion for what he does; this time round he may have the platform to let the whole world know about it.



*CLIC Sargent is a charity created from the merger of two previous charities, CLIC (Cancer and Leukaemia in Children) and Sargent Cancer Care for Children. The aim of the merged charity is to further improve the level of care and support to children with cancer and ensure greater strategic planning of future services.



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Photography & artwork by Rebecca Cresta (RC Photography)