Willson studied at Art College in
London and moved to
Edinburgh with his then-girlfriend, now-wife, in 1996. Shortly thereafter, he tried his hand at being a visual artist, but eventually abandoned his work in the field. He attributed this in part to his "lack of success in expressing myself visually". He was guitarist in Edinburgh band Barrichello, which he joined in 1999. This band broke up amicably in 2002. His second band was known as Squits, and later became a short-lived art rock group named Peanut. He was also a member of the short-lived anti-folk group The Love Gestures alongside Cammy Watt of
Enfant Bastard and Neil Pennycook of
Meursault. Willson began his solo musical career at age 30, after a close friend died and Willson's wife bought him a guitar for his 30th birthday. The first song he ever wrote as Withered Hand was "Cornflake". He has toured with the likes of
James Yorkston,
Frightened Rabbit (as well as
Scott Hutchison),
Rozi Plain,
King Creosote and
Samantha Crain. Willson provided backing vocals on
Hamish Hawk's 2021 album
Heavy Elevator, and appears in the video for the single "The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973". Willson's most recent band consists of, in addition to him, Malcolm Benzie of Edinburgh band
eagleowl (guitar & mandolin), Fraser Hughes (bass) and Alun Thomas of
The Leg (drums). They are also occasionally joined by
Pam Berry of 90s US band
Black Tambourine and various former members of the Second Hand Marching Band. Previous members include Hannah Shepherd (cello) and Neil Pennycook of
Meursault (banjo). In February 2023 Willson released "Waking Up", a single and music video from his first new album in nine years,
How to Love. The album was released in April on
Reveal Records, supported by a full-band UK tour. In January 2024 it was announced that Willson and
Kathryn Williams will release a collaborative album in April on the
One Little Independent label. The album was recorded and produced by
Rod Jones and features contributions from fellow musicians including
King Creosote,
Kris Drever,
Chris Geddes and
Louis Abbott. The first single, "Shelf", was released with a video made by
Marry Waterson. ==Reception==