Doug Walker (musician)

Doug Walker is a Manchester-based singer-songwriter. After years of getting nowhere with his musical career, his planned self-released debut single, "The Mystery", was played by BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles after Walker turned up outside the Radio 1 studio[1][2][3] on 28 August 2007 at 5.30 am. He gave a copy of the recording to Moyles as he arrived for work. It was played at 7.20 am, and the radio station was inundated with emails and SMS texts, resulting in Moyles playing the song seven more times that week. As a result Walker met with eleven record labels and signed with Warner Bros. Records on 12 October 2007.

Walker's debut album was produced by Danton Supple who was responsible for X&Y by Coldplay and Silence Is Easy by Starsailor. After recording, Walker flew to New York City to mix his album with Michael Brauer, and had completed his album nine weeks to the day from when he signed his recording contract with Warner Bros. Records.

At the end of 2007 Walker was featured in Q magazine, The Guardian, The Sun, The Mirror, The Daily Star and The Red Pages – each publication tipping him for success in 2008.

"The Mystery" was released on 3 March 2008 as a download, and it entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 36 on 9 March. The album was due to be released in June 2008, however it remains unreleased with no explanation so far as to the reason. Walker toured extensively throughout 2007 and 2008 supporting artists including The Wombats, Kate Nash, Craig David, Amy MacDonald, The Enemy, The Subways and Sam Beeton.

His musical influences include Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Buckley, U2, Sting, Radiohead, Sergei Rachmaninov, The Divine Comedy, Coldplay, Aqualung and Regina Spektor.

Walker's songs seem to be often influenced by his faith, dealing in themes of hope and reconciliation. Walker has stated that his songs all have links to the faith of Christianity, to which he belongs.