Mari Wilson

Mari Wilson (The Neasden Queen of Soul) first arrived on the scene in the early eighties with her skyscraper beehive hairdo, bizarre sense of fashion and fully choreographed twelve piece band The Wilsations! Mariʼs live shows were spoken about as an event - pure entertainment. In 1982 Mariʼs records began entering the charts and she soon had six hit singles, the biggest being ʻJust What Iʼve Always Wantedʼ and ʻCry Me A Riverʼ, both taken from her album ʻShowpeopleʼ.

In the mid-eighties after constant touring of the UK, Europe and the United States, Mari reduced the size of her band (and her hairdo!), changing direction with a more intimate show. With regular appearances at venues such as Ronnie Scotts, The South Bank and festivals alongside legends BB King and Ray Charles, Mari has continued to build her reputation as a great live performer.

Mari has also appeared in musical theatre, playing Nickie Pignatelli in Phil Willmottʼs production of Sweet Charity, Annabel in the black comedy, The Chainsaw Manicure and Dusty Springfield in Dusty The Musical, which toured number one venues throughout the UK for seven months in 2000. After appearing with Boy George in the West End musical, TABOO, Mari wrote, produced and recorded her album, Dolled Up, which was released in 2005.

Mari can sometimes be heard as a presenter on BBC London and has performed theme tunes to various TV shows, including her hit version of ʻPerhaps, Perhaps, Perhapsʼ for the globally successful BBC TV Show, Coupling.

There is also the collaboration with Barb Jungr (and now with Gwyneth Herbert replacing Claire Martin) in the outrageously camp show, Girl Talk. They are back on the road with the new show “Girl Talk – I Am Woman!” Their first album is available on Linn Records.
www.girltalkdivas.co.uk




In September 2007, marking the 25th Anniversary of Just What I Always Wanted being in the top ten, Warner Bros. released ʻMari Wilson - The Platinum Collectionʼ and Mari toured the UK.

Mari is currently performing with her Threesome, accompanied by piano and guitar, where Mari dishes the dirt on everything from beehives to Botox singing songs that span her career so far. They recently played a sell-out show at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. Fans flew in from all over the U.S. to catch this show, where she was spoken of as “The British Bette Midler”.

Mari has also written a one-woman musical – The Love Thing, inspired by her 2005 album, Dolled Up. It was writing additional songs for this musical that led to Mariʼs latest album, Emotional Glamour – ten original songs co-written and co-produced with her long standing musical partner, Adrian York. This album marks a return to the retro-pop she is the true queen of.

In November 2010, The Love Thing debuted in London selling out for five nights to standing ovations at The Leicester Square Theatre.
The Love Thing is currently being developed further for a longer run and a national tour.

This year Mari teamed up with song-writing and production team, Boisounds to release pop-dance extravaganza O.I.C., “an infections, groovy-to-the-bone single that lifts you from it’s first beat”

Mari has always been known for her live stage shows and her latest successful UK tour was true to form, a mix of hits old and new, unusual and unexpected covers and a myriad of glamorous costume changes. Combined with Mariʼs storytelling and wit she still stands as one of the best live performers in the country.