Richard James "Rick" Witter (born 23 November 1972 in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

) is a singer, songwriter in the

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

-based band

Shed Seven Shed Seven are a alternative rock band, formed in York in 1990. One of the groups which contributed to the Britpop music scene of the 1990s, they continue to write, record and release music over thirty years later. They originally comprised sin ...

. He was educated at

Huntington School, York Huntington School is a coeducational, comprehensive secondary school situated in Huntington, York, England, with approximately 1,500 pupils. History The school opened in September 1966 and became a comprehensive school in September 1973. ...

Professional career

Rick Witter formed his first band with schoolfriend Paul Banks in 1986, while still in his teens, and played in various local bands, including Brockley Haven, with Banks, Tom Gladwin and John Leach.

Shed Seven

In 1990, Witter, along with Gladwin, John's brother, drummer Alan Leach and guitarist Joe Johnson formed Shed Seven. Rick signed his first record deal with the band in 1993. Just prior to signing their six-album deal with

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, Banks joined the line-up as their new lead guitarist, replacing the departing Joe Johnson. Rick spent the following 10 years recording and touring with the band, co-writing many of the band's songs as they went on to have thirteen consecutive Top 40 hits in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Rick Witter & the Dukes

Rick also fronts

Rick Witter & the Dukes Rick Witter & the Dukes are a British alternative rock band from York, England. Band members * Rick Witter (Vocals) * Rob Wilson (Guitars) * Stuart Fletcher (Bass) * Matt Lunn (Drums) History In August 2005, former Shed Seven front man, Rick ...

, who feature Rob Wilson on guitar and Stuart Fletcher (ex-

Seahorses A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or " ...

) on bass. They independently released their debut album ''The Year of the Rat'' in April 2007. The LP is dedicated to the memory of Roger Witter, Rick's father.

Other projects

Witter is also a DJ and regularly hosts nights throughout the United Kingdom, playing vintage indie classics.

References

External links