Roddy Woomble

Roderick Woomble (born 13 August 1976 in Irvine, Scotland) is the lead singer of Scottish rock group Idlewild.

Woomble moved around significantly during his childhood, living in The UK and France when young, before moving to the United States. He then moved back to Scotland and at nineteen began a degree in photography. Living in Edinburgh, he met Colin Newton and Rod Jones, both future members of Idlewild.[1]

Woomble took the name of his band from the quiet meeting place in Anne of Green Gables, his favourite book at the time – an ironic choice since the band was renowned in their early days for their loud and chaotic gigs, during which Woomble would contort himself desperately into manic shapes behind the microphone. However as Idlewild matured, they have mellowed into a gentler band and Woomble’s deep and richly melodic voice, now more often heard singing rather than yelling, has on many occasions been justly likened to that of Michael Stipe from REM. He moved back to the United States after the success of Idlewild’s top ten album, The Remote Part, and lived in New York City for some time, developing a love for America while nurturing his pride in Scotland.[2]

In late 2005 Woomble married his girlfriend Ailidh Lennon, who plays bass for the Glaswegian punk-folk band Sons and Daughters, a group that has supported Idlewild on several occasions.

Projects outside of Idlewild

In 2002, Woomble worked with the Reindeer Section on the album Son of Evil Reindeer, providing the lead vocals on the gentle ballad Who Told You. He also collaborated with Kate Rusby for her 2005 album Girl Who Couldn’t Fly which was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2006 BBC Folk Awards, singing backing vocals for the songs No Names, Wandering Soul and Fare Thee Well, which was nominated for Song of the Year.

Solo Career

Woomble is now working with songwriter Karine Polwart (to whom he presented the award for Horizon Award at the BBC Folk Awards 2005) and producer (and husband of Kate Rusby) John McKusker on his first solo album which is set to be released in mid-2006, around the same time as the upcoming Idlewild album. He performed live with John McKusker in Glasgow and with Karine Polwart, both in January 2006. This album has been the subject of much speculation on the internet and was rumored to be called Can You Feel My Funk. This is probably a hoax as it has been reported that the album will be called Queer Ass Folk.[3]