Michael Wainwright (musician)

Biography

Michael Wainwright is a Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. He was born in Warrington, England, a small working class town between Liverpool and Manchester. As a young boy he relocated to St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. He began playing guitar and writing songs when he was 10. He founded the band "Flat Broke" in high school along with his brother. He has released 2 albums, The Circus Is Coming To Town and Wainwright. Through Charlton Pettus, bass guitarist for Tears for Fears, he met and established a relationship with Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Since 2009, he has toured with Tears For Fears as their opening act and background vocalist.

Wainwright (EP)

Michael Wainwright released his first 6-song EP in 2002. It was co-produced by Niagara Falls producer and studio owner Dean Malton at Groundloop Productions. The track "Radio on" placed second (out of 5,000 entries) in Toronto's Mix 99.9 13th annual songwriting competition.

Wainwright (album)

Michael Wainwright met producer Charlton Pettus, of Tears for Fears, in 2004 and began recording songs which eventually became the album "Wainwright," released in February 2008 on Town Records. Guest musicians include Russ Irwin (Aerosmith) on keyboards, Curt Smith (Tears for Fears) on vocals, and Fred Eltringham (The Wallflowers, Dixie Chicks) on drums. The album also features guest singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno (a John Lennon Songwriting Contest winner) on two tracks. "Wainwright" was mastered by Ted Jensen (Norah Jones, Metallica) at Sterling Sound. The album artwork was created by artist Alan Aldridge (Beatles, Elton John).

The Circus Is Coming To Town

September 2011 brought the release of Wainwright's 2nd album "The Circus Is Coming To Town". The album was once again produced by Charlton Pettus of Town Record. All songs were written in collaboration between Wainwright and Pettus with one exception of titled, "Heart-Shaped Man" which was penned by Roland Orzabal of Tears For Fears. Contributors to the album include: Charlton Pettus, Roland Orzabal, Reggie Hamilton (Tina Turner, Christina Aguilera, John Mellencamp), Doug Petty (Tears For Fears) on piano, Brian Geltner (Johnny Society, Tears For Fears, Dave Wilson (Michael Bublé, Engelbert Humperdinck) on horns, Holly Palmer (David Bowie, k.d. lang) on vocals and Robert Patrick. The CD was illustrated and designed by Canadian designer, Cassie Randall.

Guitar and a Car Tour

In May 2008, Wainwright launched his "Guitar and a Car" tour, which has taken him across Canada, the United States, and (in October 2008) to the United Kingdom. He's documenting the tour online via his YouTube page.

Tears for Fears Tours

Tears for Fears co-founder Curt Smith announced that Wainwright will open for the group on most of its 2009 West Coast tour dates]. Since then, Wainwright has been their background vocalist and opened for almost all their shows for the 2010 Asia Tour, 2010 East Coast Tour and 2011 West Coast, Mexico and South American Tour. He is most notable for his rendition of "Woman In Chains" and "Bad Man Song" where he replaces the vocals for Oleta Adams.

Contributions

Guest Vocals

Awards and recognition

Discography