Rick Wills

Artist

Birthday December 5, 1947

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace Cambridge, England

Age 76 years old

#48422 Most Popular

1947

Richard William Wills (born 5 December 1947) is an English bass guitarist.

He is best known for his work with the rock band Foreigner and his associations with the Small Faces, Roxy Music, Peter Frampton, Spooky Tooth, David Gilmour, Bad Company and The Jones Gang.

1961

Rick Wills played in the early days of rock music in Cambridge, from c. 1961 in the Vikings, then in a succession of local bands: the Sundowners, Soul Committee, Bullitt (with David Gilmour on guitar and John 'Willie' Wilson on drums) and Cochise before joining Frampton's Camel.

1966

Wills joined the rock band Jokers Wild in mid-1966, (with David Gilmour on guitars and vocals), until they broke up in 1967.

1975

He played bass on Peter Frampton's first three albums before parting from Frampton in 1975.

1976

He became the bassist with Roxy Music in 1976, before leaving them and joining the Small Faces in 1977, during their reunion period.

1978

He left the Small Faces and appeared on David Gilmour's eponymous album in 1978, with Willie Wilson on drums.

The next year, Wills became a member of rock band Foreigner and remained with them for 14 years.

At that time he was the longest-tenured bass player of Foreigner, though was later surpassed by Jeff Pilson.

1992

After leaving Foreigner in 1992, he joined Bad Company and stayed with them until Boz Burrell rejoined the band in 1998.

1999

In July 1999 he filled in for Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Leon Wilkeson for live shows when Wilkeson briefly became ill.

2001

He appeared at The Steve Marriott Memorial Concert on 24 April 2001, as part of a backing band with Bobby Tench, Zak Starkey and Rabbit Bundrick.

2008

Wills was reunited with Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones in The Jones Gang during 2006, and appeared with the RD Crusaders for the Teenage Cancer Trust at The London International Music Show on 15 June 2008.

2015

Wills left The Jones Gang in the summer of 2015 and was replaced by Pat Davey.

On 12 January 2015, in Sarasota, Florida, Wills and original drummer Dennis Elliott joined Foreigner on stage to play "Headknocker".

On 28 October 2021, Wills joined the Mick Jones-less band for a three song encore at the Hampton Casono Ballroom in Hampton, NH.

On 4 August 2023, Wills joined Foreigner for a few songs at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavillion in Gilford NH, having recently moved to Amherst, NH.