The formidable five Wilson Brothers, Tom, Chris, Steve, Ken & Mike are the accepted benchmark for powerhouse unaccompanied singing. Tom, Chris and Steve celebrated 40 continuous years of singing together during 2015, Ken and Mike joining them in the late 1970’s. From performing at Folk Clubs and Festivals, to running their legendary weekly folk club, to appearances at The Royal Albert Hall’s BBC Proms, or recording and performing with world renowned musician Sting; they have championed our music together, continuously for approaching five decades. In October 2017 The Wilson Family were recipients of The Gold Badge Award of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EDFSS). It is the highest honour the Society can bestow.
Sting has recently said of them: “They have a family sound and a natural, bone-deep understanding of music and harmony. And it's quite something.”
Contributing to Kathryn Tickell’s Wilson Family EFDSS Gold Badge Award Citation, The Young ‘uns said of them: “Hearing the Wilsons sing for the first time when we were teenagers was one of the most inspirational moments of our lives. We knew then and there that we wanted to be folk singers too and have spent the last 13 years pulling at their hairy ankles and looking up to them.”
Their influences have said of them: "There`s a musical honesty about them that links past and present together. They are among the people who go about singing traditional songs that move me - which I really love, because that's what I try to do. But what appeals to me about them, apart from their musical skill, is their honesty. They are what they are and do what they do and say what they say and it's very direct and I love that. They're not pretenders." - Dick Gaughan
"The Northern Wilsonia - a vocal orchestra!" - Peter Bellamy
"They have synthesised the qualities of all their major influences, which sets them apart as one of the foremost harmony groups entertaining folk audiences today" - Roy Harris
"Singing with the Wilson Family makes life a whole lot easier" - Louis Killen