During the early 70’s in Ireland the West Cork haven of Clonakilty had not only become a refuge for ‘sanctuary seeking’ rock stars, but also the birthplace of Bill Shanley - guitarist, producer and multi instrumentalist.

Brought up in the renowned Shanley's Music Bar, Bill’s early years were spent immersed in the lives of pro musicians, performing regularly with Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell (both of Jimi Hendrix Experience), Tom McGuinness and Thin Lizzy’s Eric Bell. Bill’s father, Moss Shanley, was a piano player and was immersed in the music of the 50’s and 60’s.

A close family friend, Noel and Bill’s relationship grew from teacher and mentor when Bill was 9, through hundreds of gigs, culminating

in an unforgettable trip to Paris in 1990. To mark the 20th anniversary of Hendrix’s death Noel put together a band, including Randy California and Bill to play at Paris’ famous Olympic Theatre – the location of JHE’s first ever gig in 1966! 

In the 90’s, Bill moved to Dublin and immediately started working, both live and in the studio, as a highly sought after musician.  His first full-time position was with Eleanor McEvoy during the heady days of recording and touring  ‘A Woman’s Heart’. On the back of this Eleanor signed to Geffen Records and the band recorded her debut album in 1994. This lead to lots of touring and promotion throughout the world over the following years!

Bill went on to became a key member of Mary Black’s band in 1995. (a post he retains today - several albums and tours later!!) Possibly a career-changing influence, it was through Mary that he found a platform to further develop his interests in acoustic music and the acoustic guitar. Through constant international touring and recording with Mary, Bill found time to work with a range of other artists: from Emmylou Harris to Van Morrison and Samantha Mumba to Westlife; but it was always Record Production that held his interest and would shape the next stage of his career.

Teaming up with Ex-Windmill Lane sound engineer Ciaran Byrne in 1999, the prestigious Cauldron Studios opened its doors in 2000. Located in the heart of Dublin’s city centre, The Cauldron was built and designed from concept to completion: the perfect recording environment. Growing from strength to strength it is now one of the Ireland’s top studios and the studio of choice for many national and international artists.

In recent years Shanley had also teamed up with UK Producer Andrew Holdsworth, whom has invited him to play on many sessions in Britain. One such session was with Hannah Jane Fox lead vocalist with the Queen musical “We Will Rock You. Indeed Queens Roger Taylor shared productions duties for these sessions at Rogers Studio in Guildford. Other UK sessions include one with Rock singer Damien Wilson who has been voted best British rock singer  by The British Rock society for 3 years!!!Hmm, Loud? Yes, but good!!

Over the last few years he’s been out touring with the legendary Paul Brady, more recently with his new 3 piece line-up, which has just completed a sell out Irish tour! This line up consisted of  Paul on acoustic , Graham Henderson on keyboards and Bill on electric guitar.

This year Bill was invited to play on the album Hands Across the Water, a fundraiser for the children of the tsunami disaster. Produced in Nashville the album is a collaboration between Irish and American artists resulting in a superb collection of Celtic and American country music. 

Amidst the touring, Bill continues to maintain a place in studio. 2005 saw the release of Aran Islands artist Lasairfhiona’s second album, the critically acclaimed Flame of Wine. Bill is especially proud of his involvement in this traditionally based and sparsely arranged album that earned Lasairfhiona a prestigious Meteor nomination.

2006 found him producing for an exciting new trio Sephira whose debut album “Believe” – a stunningly original Classical sound – was released in March of 2006.