Bill Ryder-Jones is an English singer-songwriter, musician, producer and composer from Warrington, United Kingdom. He is associated with indie folk and indie rock, and he also works across folk, singer-songwriter, British and classical-leaning material.

Early life and The Coral

Born William Edward Ryder-Jones in 1983, he grows up in Merseyside, in north-west England, and is first signed at 16. He co-founds The Coral with James Skelly, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy and Ian Skelly, and plays lead guitar in the band from 1996 to 2008. He rises to prominence through The Coral and for his guitar work, and Noel Gallagher is among those who mention his playing. He also briefly joins Arctic Monkeys during the AM tour as a lead guitarist.

Solo work, production and composition

After leaving The Coral, Ryder-Jones pursues a solo career and also works as a producer, session musician and film composer. He writes his own albums and film scores, and produces recordings for other artists. His production credits include work with The Wytches, Hooton Tennis Club and By The Sea. Liam Power of By The Sea also appears in Ryder-Jones’s live set-up.

Albums and soundtrack work

His solo discography includes A Leave Taking Soundtrack and If..., both from 2011, A Bad Wind Blows in My Heart and the Piggy soundtrack from 2013, and West Kirby County Primary from 2015. If... is an orchestral score written to accompany Italo Calvino’s novel If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller. A Bad Wind Blows in My Heart is recorded at home on an iMac and is described as a personal project made for himself. West Kirby County Primary follows tracks such as “Two to Birkenhead” and “Satellites” and draws on a louder, fuzzier sound alongside the directness of his earlier work.

Extended plays and later releases

His extended plays include the Home Recordings series, issued across 2012 to 2014, January/February 2015, May 2015 and April 2016, as well as No Worst, There Is None in 2016, which is based on a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem.