Bernard Butler is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He has been noted as one of Britain’s most original and influential guitarists.
In 1989 he formed the group Suede co-writing and playing guitars on every recording until 1994. The group continued but Butler’s contribution will remain the defining moment in the band’s history.
Butler signed to Creation Records in 1997 releasing two solo albums, the acclaimed “People Move On” yielding the hit single “Stay”, and “Friends and Lovers” before the collapse of the legendary label. He then embarked on a string of productions including the seminal debut from The Libertines and their biggest hit “Don’t Look Back Into The Sun” which featured Butler’s uncredited guitar as well as production.
In 2005 he was introduced to Welsh singer Duffy and contributed to her five million-selling debut album Rockferry, which received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2008, several Brit Awards and an Ivor Novello nomination. The long-standing partnership was reignited when the pair collaborated on a version of Nina Simone’s “I Put A Spell On You” as accompanying score to Burberry’s Black campaign. The song was recorded live in one complete take at the legendary Abbey Road Studio 1. The pair continue to collaborate on new material.
Butler won the Producer’s Award at the 2009 BRIT Awards, Producer of the Year at the 2008 Music Managers Forum Awards, and was nominated for Best Producer at the 2009 Music Week Awards.
Since 2017 he has hosted a radio show “BB & The King”. Broadcast live from North London via Boogaloo Radio each Friday, Bernard Butler and partner Mark Kingston bring 2 hours of music and conversation around an episodic theme. He recently completed the original score to BBC Horizons documentary “Back From The Dead” and collaborated in songwriting camps and sessions for Warner-Chappell Publishing. He conducts audience-led PreProduction events around the country for the Musicians Union and at Abbey Road Institute, and is a Patron of the Music Venue Trust.
