Brian Wilson

Here at Bestival we love a legend and none come much bigger than the magnificent Brian Wilson, arguably the greatest composer of popular music in the modern era.

Born and raised in California, he co-founded the Beach Boys in 1961 with his two younger brothers , his cousin Mike and school friend Alan and they went on to become quite simply the most successful American rock band in history.

Through his musical imagination the band produced some of the most cherished recordings of all time, Help me Rhonda, California Girls, In My Room, I Get Around, to name but a few and all of this while he was barely out of his teens. 

By the mid sixties though, glorious harmonies, ingenious hooks and four years of uninterrupted hits were no longer enough to satisfy him and his creative ambitions grew dramatically, and in the space of twelve months he would produce three records that would change popular music forever.

The first was the album Pet Sounds, understandably considered by many as one of the greatest albums ever made and a record he produced when he was still only 23 years old, it was filled with boundless imagination and heartbreaking melancholy and again a slew of hit singles including Sloop John B, Wouldn’t it be Nice and the wondrous God Only Knows.

The second record was described by Brian himself as “the biggest production of our lives”, not finished in time to make it onto Pet Sounds, it was a single so drenched in Brian’s vaulting ambition that it blew everyone away, becoming the bands first million selling, worldwide number one and a milestone in recording history, that record was of course the genius Good Vibrations.

The third record was called SMiLE which, after Good Vibrations changed everything so dramatically, quickly became one of the most anticipated albums of the last century, Brian was at the top of his game, head and shoulders above anyone else in the musical world at that time and then the unthinkable happened, he shelved the album and SMiLE became the most famous unfinished, unreleased album.

Throughout the rest of the sixties and into the seventies The Beach Boys would continue to release records, although with Brian playing less and less of a part creatively as he battled his own personal demons until he finally retreated from music and public life completely.

In 1988 he tentatively returned to music with his first solo album Love and Mercy, which he followed up ten years later with his second, Imagination and as the century came to a close it seemed that this legendary musical force was finally back on track and not only producing incredible music again, but performing live once more.

In 2003 Brian made the announcement that many thought they would never hear, he would revisit SMiLE with an aim to finally releasing his opus, however this time around instead of the revolutionary studio album that it would have been all those years ago it would now be realised live on stage, which it was in 2004 to worldwide acclaim, with an album release, Brian Wilson presents SMiLE, later that year.

Since then Brian has continued to tour extensively and in 2010 released Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, an album of George Gershwin covers that included two unfinished Gershwin pieces that Brian was able to complete at the request of the Gershwin family, while 2011 promises even more as Brian Wilson arrives at Bestival to treat us to one of the greatest bodies of musical work that has ever been created.

www.brianwilson.com