Will Gregory

{{Short description|English musician and record producer (born 1959)}} {{other people||William Gregory (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}  {{Infobox musical artist | name = Will Gregory | image = | landscape = yes | caption = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = William Owen Gregory | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|9|17|df=yes}} | birth_place = Bristol, England | genre = Electronic, trip hop, synth-pop, Western orchestral/chamber | occupation = Musician, record producer | instrument = Keyboards, drum programming, guitars, synthesizer, oboe, saxophone | years_active = 1981–present | label = Mute | website = }}

'''William Owen Gregory''' (born 17 September 1959) is an English musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead keyboardist, producer, and composer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp.

==Early life== Gregory was born in Bristol,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.transaudiogroup.com/press-releases/synth-whizz-will-gregory-gears-take-new-goldfrapp-album-masses-atc-assistance/|title=Synth whizz Will Gregory gears up with ATC SCM25A|website=TransAudio Group}}</ref> the son of an actress and an opera chorus-line singer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thebrag.com/goldfrapps-will-gregory-their-enduring-partnership/|title=Goldfrapp's Will Gregory on Their Enduring Partnership|website=Thebrag.com|date=29 March 2017}}</ref>

<blockquote>I got into music kind of by default as it was the only thing I was good at – I was the weird one at school who practiced the piano during lunch break. In my teens I met other musicians and was so relieved to find some like-minds that I think I never wanted to leave the 'weird' muso club – perhaps it’s the same for many musicians. I ended up playing oboe and then moved on to sax, which got me into diverse musical disciplines.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musictech.net/features/will-gregory-interview-the-moog-ensemble/|title=Will Gregory Interview – The Moog Ensemble!|website=Musictech.net|date=29 September 2014}}</ref></blockquote>

He studied Western orchestral and chamber music at the University of York.<ref>{{cite web|title=Will Gregory composes debut opera for BBC Concert Orchestra: Piccard in Space|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/01_january/24/gregory.shtml|publisher=BBC|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>

==Career== In the 1980s, Gregory predominantly recorded and toured with Tears for Fears.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.willgregorymoogensemble.co.uk/players/ |title=Players | Will Gregory Moog Ensemble |website=www.willgregorymoogensemble.co.uk |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221340/http://www.willgregorymoogensemble.co.uk/players/ |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the 1990s, Gregory performed with artists including Peter Gabriel, the Cure, and Portishead, as well as playing oboe for Tori Amos and recording with Paula Rae Gibson.<ref>{{cite web|title=Biography of Paula Rae Gibson|url=http://www.jazzcds.co.uk/artist_id_923/biography_id_923|publisher=Jazz CDs|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref> In 1991, he played saxophone with the London Sinfonietta for the Paris début of John Adams's opera ''Nixon in China''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Goldfrapp's Will Gregory tackles opera with Piccard in Space|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/goldfrapps-will-gregory-tackles-opera-with-picaard-in-space-zbgp8lxcsgr|newspaper=The Times|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref> In 1999, vocalist Alison Goldfrapp and Gregory formed the duo Goldfrapp. The pairing has led to international critical, popular, and commercial success.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Raphael|first1=Amy|title=A siren sings|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/oct/16/electronicmusic.popandrock|access-date=19 November 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 October 2015}}</ref> In 1995 Gregory composed the score for the football hooligan film I.D.

In the 2000s, as well as Goldfrapp activities, he played saxophone on Portishead's 2008 album ''Third'' (on the tracks "Magic Doors" and "Threads").

On 31 March 2011, Gregory's first opera, ''Piccard in Space'', premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. The libretto by Hattie Naylor focused on Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer's first balloon ascent, and the theories of Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton, both of whom are characters in the drama. The reviews were generally negative.<ref>1 April 2011 press on ''Piccard in Space'', included: {{cite web| url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/gregory-piccard-in-space-queen-elizabeth-hall-2259208.html| title= Gregory Piccard in Space, Queen Elizabeth Hall – Reviews – Classical – The Independent| date= 1 April 2011| work= The Independent|location=London}}; {{cite web | url= http://Telegraph.co.UK/culture/music/opera/8422093/Piccard-in-Space-Queen-Elizabeth-Hall-review.html | title= Piccard in Space, Queen Elizabeth Hall, review – Telegraph | date= 1 April 2011 | work= The Daily Telegraph}} and {{cite web | url= http://FT.com/cms/s/2/54c55c18-5c42-11e0-8f48-00144feab49a.html | title= Piccard in Space, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – FT.com | date= 1 April 2011 | newspaper= Financial Times | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

On 11 March 2013, a newly commissioned baroquesque Gregory work (for orchestra and Moog, based on a sarabande of Johann Sebastian Bach) was performed at the Roundhouse in London. The performance was part of BBC Radio 3's ''Baroque Remixed'' series, which also included a piece by Matthew Herbert.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.UK/programmes/b01r5np4| title= Baroque Remixed – Part 2| publisher= BBC| year= 2013| access-date= 11 March 2013}}</ref>

Gregory's other saxophone work includes writing for and playing with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.apollosaxophonequartet.com/styled-2/index.html|title=Biography | Apollo saxophone quartet|website=Apollosaxophonequartet.com}}</ref> and playing with Spiritualized, Moondog and Michael Nyman.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theartsdesk.com/brighton-festival/10-questions-musician-will-gregory|title=10 Questions for Musician Will Gregory|website=theartsdesk.com|date=4 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thevikingof6thavenue.com/blog/2017/3/15/moondog-and-goldfrapp|title=Post|website=The Viking of 6th Avenue|date=9 June 2014 }}</ref>

He composed the music for the 2017 series ''Spy in the Wild''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/spyinthewild|title=BBC – Spy in the Wild – Media Centre|publisher=BBC}}</ref>

He composed the music for the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2019 production of ''King John'' at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/press/releases/ivor-novello-award-winning-composer-will-gregory-joins-rsc-winter-season|title=Latest Press Releases | Royal Shakespeare Company|website=Rsc.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Michael |last=Davies |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/stratford-upon-avon-theatre/reviews/king-john-swan-rsc-shakespeare_49994.html|title=Review: King John (Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon)|website=Whatsonstage.com|date=27 September 2019 }}</ref> It was announced in 2021 that Gregory would provide an original score featuring Alison Goldfrapp and Adrian Utley for the BBC and Amazon Prime Video psychological thriller series ''Chloe''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://filmmusicreporter.com/2021/04/20/goldfrapps-will-gregory-to-score-amazons-bbcs-chloe/|title=Goldfrapp's Will Gregory to Score Amazon's & BBC's 'Chloe' | Film Music Reporter}}</ref>

In October 2025 he was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for his piece ''Heat Ray: The Archimedes Project''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-14 |title=The Ivors Classical Awards |url=https://ivorsacademy.com/the-ivors-classical-awards/ |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=The Ivors Academy |language=en}}</ref>

==Discography== {{see also|Goldfrapp discography}}

'''with Tears for Fears''' *''Songs from the Big Chair'' (1985)

'''with Tori Amos''' * ''Little Earthquakes'' (1992)

'''with Peter Gabriel''' * ''OVO'' (2000) * ''Up'' (2002) * ''Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (2002)

'''with Portishead''' * ''Roseland NYC Live'' (1998) * ''Third'' (2008)

'''with other artists''' * ''Four Ways to Cook a Goose'' – Loggerheads (1987) * ''Gas Giants'' – Gas Giants (1994)

'''Film soundtracks''' * ''I.D.'' (1995) * ''Serengeti'' (2020, BBC/Discovery Channel wildlife documentary)<ref>{{Cite web|first=Melinda |last=Newman |url=https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/will-gregory-interview-scoring-serengeti-8527620/|title=Scoring 'Serengeti': Goldfrapp's Will Gregory on Writing for Baboons, Hyenas and Lions|website=billboard.com}}</ref>

'''Television soundtracks''' * ''Old Bear Stories'' (Carlton Television for ITV, 1993–1997) * ''BBC - Shoot For The Moon'' (About Space Mountain Paris, 1995)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0339971/ Will Gregory] *{{Discogs artist|artist=Will Gregory}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110831142946/http://tv.sonicstate.com/play.php?vid=155 Will Gregory Studio Interview PT1] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110831145704/http://tv.sonicstate.com/play.php?vid=176 Will Gregory Studio Interview PT2] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130914205542/http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2008/06/05/inside-the-goldfrapp-studio/ Inside The Goldfrapp Studio] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160430220004/http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2008/06/16/goldfrapp-will-gregory-interview-pt2/ Goldfrapp: Will Gregory Interview PT2] *[http://www.synthtopia.com/content/tag/will-gregory/ Will Gregory] » Synthtopia *[https://vimeo.com/95893145 Will Gregory's Moog Ensemble] – Vimeo *[http://www.musictech.net/2014/09/will-gregory-interview-the-moog-ensemble/ Will Gregory Interview – The Moog Ensemble! – MusicTech] * [https://fbiradio.com/goldfrapp-interview-will-gregory-on-death-happiness-and-drama/ GWill Gregory Interview with Tanya Rae] [https://d1kt6vnx6cjjqh.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/Goldfrapp-interview-w-Tanya-Rae.mp3 mp3] – FBi 94.5FM, Sydney

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Will}} Category:1959 births Category:English male songwriters Category:English rock saxophonists Category:English classical saxophonists Category:English male saxophonists Category:English rock keyboardists Category:English record producers Category:Goldfrapp members Category:Musicians from Bristol Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:English classical musicians Category:English classical composers Category:English synth-pop new wave musicians Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of York Category:21st-century English saxophonists