About Will Varley
Will Varley is an English singer-songwriter, musician and visual artist. He is one of the founding members of the arts collective Smugglers Records. Since self releasing his debut album Advert Soundtracks in 2011 he has toured extensively across the world as a headline act and opened for the likes of Billy Bragg, Valerie June, and The Proclaimers. He has headlined venues including Union Chapel and Shepherd's Bush Empire. Will’s songs have been covered by acts as diverse as The Pretty Things and Frank Turner. In recent years Will has co-written songs with numerous artists including Skin of Skunk Anansie and Shae Dupuy. His sixth studio album The Hole Around My Head was released in 2021.
Will Varley began playing open mic nights in London in the early 2000s, setting up his own nights in the Grey Horse, Kingston with friends Tom Farrer and Nick Marks. He was a regular at numerous venues including The Half Moon, Putney and the 12 Bar Club and would often play different open mics seven nights a week. During this time he shared stages with acts including Jamie T, Bastille and The Vaccines. In 2010 he moved to Kent and set up Smugglers Records with the band Cocos Lovers. He released his debut album Advert Soundtracks through his own label in 2011 and toured the album on foot.
In September 2013 his second album As The Crow Flies was released and garnered positive reviews & was described as "Excellent" by Q magazine. The album received airplay on BBC Radio 3, Radio 6 & XFM.
In an interview on BBC Introducing in March 2014, Varley announced he would be embarking on another walking tour in May, this time travelling the entire south coast of England. The Rambling Tour saw Varley walk almost 500 miles with a guitar on his back, playing 24 shows along the way.
During an interview with Steve Lamacq on BBC6 Varley said he was working on new material and was aiming to release a third album in early 2015.
On 29 March 2015 Varley signed a record deal with Xtra Mile Recordings while backstage at The Royal Albert Hall shortly before taking to the stage to open for Frank Turner. A new digital only EP Will Varley Live at The Lighthouse was released in May 2015 to coincide with Varley's spring tour of the UK. The EP reached number 19 in the iTunes singer/songwriter chart and national radio play from XFM's John Kennedy. Soon after the record was released it was announced that Varley would be supporting The Proclaimers on thirteen dates across the UK.
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