About Bernard Butler
Bernard Joseph Butler is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation; BBC journalist Mark Savage called him "one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists". He was voted the 24th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national 2010 BBC poll and is often seen performing with a 1961 cherry red Gibson ES-355 TD SV with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece.
Butler was born to Irish parents in North London on 1 May 1970. He spent his summers in his parents' hometown of Dún Laoghaire and in an interview given in 2022, he reflected on his upbringing and Irish immigration to Britain.
I don't know if it's the case now much, but definitely up to the generation where I was from. Just because of the migration in the sixties, I guess. That was the big thing in the '60s, and we all ended up in Manchester, Liverpool or North London. Places wherever the trains came into: Holyhead. Growing up, pretty much everyone I knew was Irish.
The youngest of three boys, Butler credits his oldest brother with inspiring his interest in music. The first vinyl record he bought was The Smiths' Hand in Glove, having become a fan of the band after hearing John Peel play Reel Around the Fountain on his BBC radio show. When he was eight, Butler started learning to play the violin, something which he later recalled he "used to get beaten up and spat at on the bus for." His introduction to the guitar came after his brothers lost interest in a "terrible electric guitar". Butler used it to play along with Johnny Marr's guitar parts to The Smiths' songs, eventually learning each one note-by-note and becoming proficient without ever having a formal guitar lesson.
He first achieved fame in 1992 as the guitarist with Suede, forging a songwriting partnership with Brett Anderson. He co-wrote and played guitars or piano on every recording until 1994, when he exited Suede.
Immediately after leaving Suede he formed the duo McAlmont & Butler with David McAlmont and they released two singles, "Yes" and "You Do". A compilation album, The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler, was released after the collaboration ended.
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