Wild Willy Barrett is the professional stage name of Roger John Barrett, an English experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist from Aylesbury born on May 30, 1950. He reached professional recognition as a virtuoso fiddle player and for his long-term collaborations with John Otway. Their recording career began with the compilation recording Guitar Workshop (1973) followed by the studio recording The Contemporary Folk Guitar. In 1983, the musician reached wider visibility for the single “The Hitchhiker and the Punk”, which featured a textured sound created with multi-tracking. He subsequently released the studio recording Organic Bondage (1986), which reached professional recognition for its experimental sound and for being issued in hand-made wooden sleeves. Barrett founded the independent labels Black Eye and Red Eye and released solo studio recordings including Call of the Wild (1979) and Mound of Sound (1997). He reached professional recognition for a performance technique known as “egg-necking”, which involves playing slide guitar with a raw egg. Barrett has performed with ensembles including Squeeze, Madness, Steeleye Span, and the duo Sly and Robbie. He subsequently established the ensembles Sleeping Dogz and French Connection.
