Willy Finlayson

Willy Finlayson is the passionate vocalist from Scotland who first came to London in the late 60s with Scottish progressive rock band WRITING ON THE WALL.

He went on to join BEES MAKE HONEY - the influential pub rock band - before teaming up with Steve Simpson, Ray Flack, Rick Jones, Chris Hunt and Jack Brand to form the hugely popular MEAL TICKET. Alan Coulter and Rod Demick were later, to become members.

Willy then formed his own band THE HURTERS with the likes of Micky Moody and Matt Cheadle on guitars, Nigel Portman Smith on bass and Alan Coulter on drums. This band ran parallel with a solo career that spawned the European top 20 hit and video with Pete Barden's "On The Air Tonight".

Willy was also a busy session singer appearing on the Manfred Mann's EARTHBAND album "Chance" and lent his voice to several national TV ads.

Before 2020 when the pandemic hit, he continued to play live with the all star HURTERS as well as gigging as a duo with Nigel Portman Smith and a trio as HALF A MEAL TICKET with Steve Simpson and Nigel Portman Smith. He also regularly gigged in the St. Pete Beach area of Florida with many of the top local musicians such as Dennis Wallace, Kevin Holloway, Kirk Adams and Canadian John Richard.

A brilliant singer who brings rare emotion to bear on a wide range of material, Willy is rightly described as "explosive".