Wilding/Bonus -

Wilding/Bonus were an English jazz-rock duo that issued the 1978 album Pleasure Signals on DJM (U.K.) and Passport-subsidiary Visa (U.S.). The duo consisted of flutist Danny Wilding and guitarist Pete Bonus, augmented on select tracks by ex-Traffic percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah, future-Dream Academy oboist Kate St. John, and members of Automatic Man and Brand X.

Members: Danny Wilding (flute), Pete Bonus (guitar)

Background

Wilding/Bonus formed by 1977 when flutist Danny Wilding teamed with guitarist Peter Bonas, who used the billing Pete Bonus for the project.

Wilding was born in 1947 in Hampshire, England. His parents maintained a large classical record collection. Wilding sang in two choirs and played violin with the junior branch of a local symphony. He entered the Brigade of Guards Music School, then transferred to the Grenadier Guards for military service and ceremonial duties in London. Wilding left the Guards for stage-management posts at rock concerts and subsequently took up flute. He also studied soprano saxophone.

Wilding played with Phil Collins in the informal Zox & the Radar Boys alongside Peter Banks, Ronnie Caryl, and Mike Piggott. He then joined Island Records as an A&R man under Richard Williams, who assigned Wilding to oversee the musicians who developed into Brand X. Wilding recommended Collins for the drum position and supplied the Brand X name.

Bonas worked with singer-percussionist Phil Spinelli and drummer John Dillon by late summer 1974 in Bedfordshire. The trio recruited bassist Greg Lyon and keyboardist Lance Dixon for a demo tape. Spinelli placed the tape with Island Records, where Chris Blackwell and Richard Williams heard the group. Bonas subsequently joined guitarist John Goodsall, bassist Percy Jones, and keyboardist Robin Lumley in the six-piece Island lineup supervised by Wilding. Island shelved the vocal album from the February 1975 sessions. Bonas then formed Locust with Spinelli and Dillon. Locust issued Alpha Waves in 1976 on Buk Records.

Wilding and Bonas reunited within the Brand X circle for the Wilding/Bonus project. The pair recorded material across approximately two years at Island Studios and Matrix Studios in London. They drew several musicians from the same circle, including Collins, Goodsall, John Giblin, and Robin Lumley. Wilding and Bonas co-produced the sessions with Giblin and Goodsall. The sessions produced the material for the 1978 DJM album Pleasure Signals.

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