Vincent Gerard "Vini" Reilly (born 4 August 1953) is an English musician and leader of the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

group

the Durutti Column The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly who ...

. He is known for his distinctively clean, fluid guitar style, which stood out from his

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

-era contemporaries in its incorporation of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

, and classical elements. In addition to his work under that group, Reilly has also collaborated with artists such as

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with sev ...

Pauline Murray Pauline Murray (born 8 March 1958) is best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock band Penetration, originally formed in 1976. Early years Pauline Murray was born on 8 March 1958 in Waterhouses, County Durham, England, and her parents late ...

, Anne Clark, and others.

Biography

Reilly was born on 4 August 1953 in

Higher Blackley Higher Blackley is an electoral district or ward in the north of the City of Manchester, England. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 11,688. Heaton Park, one of Europe's largest parks, is in this ward. A new "education village ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and raised in

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is a district of the city of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Cheshire, Wythenshawe was transferred in 1931 to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the ...

and

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

, Manchester. His father was an engineer who did not allow his five children to watch television. At age 16, Reilly's father died. He later lamented that he did not admire or know him enough. As a youngster, Reilly was a talented footballer. He was offered a trial for

Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club are an England, English association football, football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English football. Fo ...

, but he declined, opting to concentrate on music. His first recorded work was

Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds The Nosebleeds are a punk band formed in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England in 1976. The band is well known in modern rock history for the later successes of its individual members, notably Morrissey (the Smiths), Billy Duffy (the Cult), and Vi ...

' "Ain't Bin To No Music School". Reilly was

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder o ...

's first signing to

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutt ...

in Manchester.

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

cited Reilly's album '' LC'' as his all-time favourite album and

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

has stated that Reilly is "the best guitarist in the world". Reilly arranged music and played guitar on fellow Manchester artist

's first post-Smiths album ''

Viva Hate ''Viva Hate'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer Morrissey. It was released on 14 March 1988 by HMV, six months after the final studio album by the Smiths, '' Strangeways, Here We Come'' (1987). Vini Reilly, the leader of the E ...

'' (1988). Morrissey and Reilly have both been members of The Nosebleeds, but in different incarnations of the group. Reilly has also recorded with artists including

, Anne Clark, The Wake, Richard Jobson,

Quando Quango Quando Quango were a British electronic music group, formed by The Haçienda DJ and Factory Records A&R man Mike Pickering, Hillegonda Rietveld and Reinier Rietveld. Their unique sound influenced the underground dance music scenes in New Yor ...

, Craig Davies,

Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop group best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the Same Girl?" Histor ...

and

Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he wa ...

(on his 2014 album ''

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

''). In September 2010, Reilly had a "minor" stroke which made him lose "some feeling in his left hand". Despite this, in February 2011 it was reported that he was working on a new album. The new tracks are slower because, since the stroke, he cannot play as fast as he used to. In January 2013, Reilly's nephew made an Internet appeal on his behalf for donations because the guitarist had debts for unpaid rent from the time between his strokes and his assessment for disability benefit. Fans sent £3,000 within a day and Reilly was reported to feel that their generosity had "lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders".

Discography

References

External links

* Vini Reilly page at Allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Vini 1953 births Living people English rock musicians People from Didsbury Musicians from Manchester British post-punk musicians English rock guitarists The Durutti Column members The Invisible Girls members