Photo: Piotr Drabik from Poland · CC BY 2.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Stiltskin
Group · United Kingdom · Coatbridge · formed 1989
Scottish rock band
Timeline
32 events+ Member joins 17− Member leaves 12◆ Formed 1★ Debut release 1▣ Album 1
1980s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Rest in Peace
First documented Single in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Irvin Duguid joins the band
additional,keyboard
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
James Finnigan joins the band
electric bass guitar,original
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Peter Lawlor joins the band
original
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Ray Wilson joins the band
lead vocals,original
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Ross McFarlane joins the band
drums (drum set),original
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Irvin Duguid leaves the band
additional,keyboard
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
James Finnigan leaves the band
electric bass guitar,original
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Aubrey Nunn joins the band
electric bass guitar
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Peter Lawlor leaves the band
original
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Ross McFarlane leaves the band
drums (drum set),original
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Aubrey Nunn leaves the band
electric bass guitar
source: musicbrainz
2000s
· Member joins
Alvin Mills joins the band
electric bass guitar
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Henrik Mueller joins the band
drums (drum set)
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Irvin Duguid joins the band
keyboard
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Nir Zidkyahu joins the band
percussion
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Scott Spence joins the band
guitar
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Uwe Metzler joins the band
guitar
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Alvin Mills leaves the band
electric bass guitar
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Henrik Mueller leaves the band
drums (drum set)
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Irvin Duguid leaves the band
keyboard
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Nir Zidkyahu leaves the band
percussion
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Scott Spence leaves the band
guitar
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Ali Ferguson joins the band
background vocals
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Ashley Macmillan joins the band
drums (drum set)
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Lawrie Macmillan joins the band
background vocals
source: musicbrainz
2010s
· Member joins
Filip Wałcerz joins the band
keyboard
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Steve Wilson joins the band
background vocals
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Uwe Metzler leaves the band
guitar
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Ashley Macmillan leaves the band
drums (drum set)
source: musicbrainz
Biography
English biography473 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1332756634
Biography
Stiltskin are a Scottish rock band that first achieved widespread popularity in the mid-1990s. Stiltskin are led by frontman Ray Wilson, the only constant member throughout the band's history. They are best known for their 1994 UK chart-topper "Inside
InsideSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Inside4:272America3:133Inside (extended)5:12".
Career
The band was put together in 1994 by multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Peter Lawlor to front the record he had made of the music he had written for the British Levi's television advertisement, "Creek". The resulting single, "InsideInsideSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Inside4:272America3:133Inside (extended)5:12" topped the UK Singles Chart in 1994, but the band failed to produce further matching chart success with the follow-up single "Footsteps
FootstepsSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Footsteps3:552Sunshine & Butterflies (live)3:313Footsteps (extended)6:00" reaching No. 34. The Ambrosian Singers performed Lawlor's choir-like intro vocals to "Inside". All instruments on the band's hit "Inside" were played by Peter Lawlor; this was also the case on the album track "An Illusion". The original line-up released only one album, The Mind's Eye, which achieved a silver record in the UK, and sold in decent quantities throughout Europe. The band made significant critical inroads in the US music scene, but little was to follow in the way of sales, though "Inside" reached No. 37 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
The original Stiltskin disbanded in 1996, during the recording of their uncompleted second album, for which James Finnigan had been replaced on bass by Aubrey Nunn, who later worked with Faithless.
Lawlor continued to run Water Music, writing and producing many high-profile themes: he wrote all of the music for the BBC One 'Rhythm & Movement' idents and also the theme for the 2000 Olympic Games coverage, and the theme for Premier League and FA Cup football matches shown on TV. Simultaneously, he worked as a city economist and academic economics lecturer, becoming Principal Economic Advisor at the German Stock Exchange Deutsche Börse.
McFarlane went on to work with The Proclaimers and achieved another number one in the UK Singles Chart. He went on to join the band Texas in 2009, leaving in early 2019.
Wilson joined Genesis and recorded Calling All Stations with the band (released in 1997) and toured Europe the following year. In 1999 he formed Cut_. In 2002, he launched a solo career.
In 2005, Wilson put a new band together under the name Stiltskin. Wilson himself and touring keyboardist Irvin Duguid (who later left the line-up) were the only members from the original line-up.
The new incarnation of Stiltskin released the album She in 2006. They toured Europe during 2006 and 2007, and a live album entitled Stiltskin Live, recorded on 25 October 2006, with material from this tour, was released in April 2007. In 2008, Stiltskin toured across Europe. A new Stiltskin album called Unfulfillment was released in 2011. In 2015, it was reported in the Edinburgh Evening News that drummer Ashley Macmillan had left Stiltskin to become a chef, citing the rigours of touring as the reason.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 5 | 78.9th |
| Studio albums | 1 | 76th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 32 | 97.1th |
| Recording span (years) | 0 | 9.4th |
| Genres | 8 | 94.5th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (5 release groups · 1 studio albums)
Albums · 1
1994 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 40:30
1Intro0:362Scared of Ghosts4:003Horse4:234Rest in Peace2:565Footsteps3:556Sunshine and Butterflies3:527Inside5:138An Illusion3:489America3:1710When My Ship Comes In3:5111Prayer Before Birth4:39
Single · 4
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rest in PeaceSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks · 12:211Rest in Peace2:56 2The Poltroon5:13 3Inside (acoustic version)4:12 | 1994 | ||
| 1994 | Love Is Strong / InsideSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 9:19ALove Is Strong4:06 BInside5:13 | 1994 | ||
| 1994 | InsideSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks · 12:521Inside4:27 2America3:13 3Inside (extended)5:12 | 24 May 1994 | ||
| 1994 | FootstepsSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 3 tracks · 13:261Footsteps3:55 2Sunshine & Butterflies (live)3:31 3Footsteps (extended)6:00 | 12 September 1994 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Stiltskin head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 5 | 78.9th |
| Studio albums | 1 | 76th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 32 | 97.1th |
| Recording span (years) | 0 | 9.4th |
| Genres | 8 | 94.5th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irvin Duguid | 1994 | 1995 | additional,keyboard |
| James Finnigan | 1994 | 1995 | electric bass guitar,original |
| Peter Lawlor | 1994 | 1996 | original |
| Ray Wilson | 1994 | present | lead vocals,original |
| Ross McFarlane | 1994 | 1996 | drums (drum set),original |
| Aubrey Nunn | 1995 | 1996 | electric bass guitar |
| Alvin Mills | 2005 | 2006 | electric bass guitar |
| Henrik Mueller | 2005 | 2006 | drums (drum set) |
| Irvin Duguid | 2005 | 2006 | keyboard |
| Nir Zidkyahu | 2005 | 2006 | percussion |
| Scott Spence | 2005 | 2006 | guitar |
| Uwe Metzler | 2005 | 2011 | guitar |
| Ali Ferguson | 2006 | present | background vocals |
| Ashley Macmillan | 2006 | 2015 | drums (drum set) |
| Lawrie Macmillan | 2006 | present | background vocals |
| Filip Wałcerz | 2010 | present | keyboard |
| Steve Wilson | 2010 | present | background vocals |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ray_Wilson_i_Ali_Ferguson_Life_Festival_O%C5%9Bwi%C4%99cim_2013.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/46ae9ef1-bdb4-4da4-815e-69b944ee28bfdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/46ae9ef1-bdb4-4da4-815e-69b944ee28bfcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1660672genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1660672seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stiltskinbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stiltskin
Why this artist is in the database
- List of Scottish musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Piotr Drabik from Poland · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1660672 · MusicBrainz: 46ae9ef1-bdb4-4da4-815e-69b944ee28bf
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