Roddy Woomble

Singer Roddy Woomble achieved recognition in the late ’90s and early 2000s as the frontman for Scottish rock band Idlewild, who released a handful of albums before Woomble chose to explore his options as a solo artist. Born in 1976 in Scotland, Woomble traveled extensively as a child, living in France and the United States before settling in Edinburgh to study photography. It was in Edinburgh that he met the other future members of Idlewild, forming the band in 1995. They released five albums while shifting from a grungy, punk-rooted sound to folk-influenced rock. Building on that change, Woomble decided to take time out to explore his love of traditional Scottish folk and concentrate on solo material, which led to the release of his debut, My Secret Is My Silence, in July 2006. Among the collaborators on the album were Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones, vocalist Kate Rusby, and Woomble’s wife, bassist Ailidh Lennon of Sons and Daughters.
My Secret Is My Silence topped the U.K. folk charts, encouraging Woomble to return to the folk genre after the 2007 release of Idlewild’s fifth album, Make Another World. This time, he partnered with two other folksingers, Kris Drever and John McCusker, both of whom shared equal billing with Woomble on 2008′s Before the Ruin. Continuing his musical juggling act, Woomble switched his attention back to Idlewild, who had lost their contract with Sanctuary Records after the label was absorbed by Universal Music Group. Forced to move ahead as an independent band, they completed their next album, Post Electric Blues, and released it on their website in June 2009. An “official” version of the album followed in December, courtesy of a new relationship with the indie label Cooking Vinyl. One month later, Woomble began writing songs for his second solo album, retaining the folksy flavor of My Secret Is My Silence while exploring a more electric sound. The result, The Impossible Song & Other Songs, appeared in early 2011.
Woomble put together a new band for his solo projects — Seonaid Aitken on violin and keyboards, Sorren Maclean on guitar, Gavin Fox on bass, and Danny Grant on drums — and took them into the studio to record his third solo LP, 2013′s Listen to Keep. A 2014 concert by Woomble and his band (now featuring guitarist Maclean along with new members Hannah Fisher on fiddle, Craig Ainslie on bass, and Luciano Rossi on piano) was released as the limited-edition Live at King’s Place in August 2014. Idlewild reconvened after a hiatus, and Woomble joined them to record their seventh album, 2015′s Everything Ever Written, and subsequent touring. Woomble returned to his solo career, moving in a darker and more personal direction for his fourth studio effort as a solo artist, 2017′s The Deluder. Following its release, he returned to Idlewild to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the release of The Remote Part before they started work on their ninth album, Interview Music. The band celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2020, but live dates to their shows were cancelled due to COVID-19. Woomble used that time to finish work on the official Idlewild biography, In the Beginning There Were Answers: 25 Years of Idlewild, and to start work on his fifth solo album. Stepping away from the acoustic folk of his previous work, he embarked on a more experimental journey, bringing synths, brass, and spoken word into the mix. The result, Lo! Soul, was issued in mid-2021. ~ Kenyon Hopkin & Andrew Leahey