Tragic bro inspired my career
The Coral star Bill on how he’s been haunted by childhood family holiday horror
The tragic death of The Coral singer Bill Ryderjones’ big brother on a family holiday left a profound mark on him – and led to his musical career.
Bill was only seven when nineyear-old Daniel fell off a cliff in South West Wales.
Now at 35, he traces his battles with drink, drugs, depression and self-harming to the post-traumatic stress caused by that dreadful day.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that I started in music because of Daniel’s death,” says Bill who has his brother’s name tattooed on his hand. “Daniel was very talented at a young age – much, much more accomplished than I was. I could always play the piano, but Daniel could always play it better. I’ve been told by primary school teachers that
after Daniel died I started to wear his clothes.”
His grief has marred his life – but now he is tackling his issues. Through a combination of therapy and medication, Bill has stopped self-harming.
“There are a few reasons people do that. One is to draw attention to themselves which I think probably is why I did it,” says Bill who’s on tour this month.
“Certainly at times I struggled to express myself to people. At the minute, I’m speaking to a specialist in attachment therapy – your relationship with other people. I’ve done hypnotherapy, psychoanalysis. I’m fortunate I can pay to go.”
Convinced that strong marijuana damaged his mental health, Bill is
keen to warn others of what he went through. “I know people who have smoked hash over the years, and they are largely unaffected. But what arrived in 2005 was mind-bending stuff. There’s a narrative going on about pot I’m not on board with. The health benefits I read about and believe in – but I think what it can do to your brain. Kids should be warned about that.”
Watching The Coral’s James Skelly up close prepared Jones – whose solo album Yawn was released in November – for his own songwriting.
Although the musician from the Wirral says he “doesn’t exactly look forward” to playing his traumaconfronting tunes live, pursuing the musical path Daniel would surely have followed has helped heal the pain of his loss. “I do spend a lot of time thinking about it,” he says. “My only conclusion is it’s always made sense. I’ve always been able to follow music quite easily in a way that I can’t follow dialogue.
“And it kind of helps me. As long as I can keep just living the way I’d like to live and make music, I reckon I’ll be as happy as I can be.”
Bill’s album Yawn is out now. Tour begins Feb 12, Salt Beer Factory,
Teachers told me after Daniel died I started to wear his clothes