William Patrick Spencer Gold[4][a] (born 14 September 1996[9][10]), known professionally as Wilbur Soot, is an English Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and musician. He first became known in 2017 for his work with the group comedy YouTube channel SootHouse, where he made recurring appearances and was the lead editor and a co-founder. He later started his own channel, Wilbur Soot, in March 2019. Gold released his first single, "The 'Nice Guy' Ballad", in January 2018.[11] His sixth single, "Your New Boyfriend", peaked at No. 64 on the UK Singles Chart.[12] Gold is co-founder of the British indie rock band Lovejoy, where he is one of the songwriters, the lead vocalist and the rhythm guitarist.[13] In 2021, they released Pebble Brain, their second EP, which debuted at No. 12 on the UK Albums Chart, and their third EP Wake Up & It's Over, released in 2023, debuted at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart.
Online career
YouTube
Gold first became known in 2017 for his work on the group YouTube channel, SootHouse, which was founded by Gold and some of his friends. This channel consisted mostly of reaction videos, with its members discussing memes and life hacks, among other topics.[11] On May 30, 2019, the SootHouse channel reached 1 million subscribers.
Gold's main channel, Wilbur Soot, was created on 29 March 2019. This channel reached 1 million subscribers on 8 April 2020, and, as of June 2024, it has amassed over 5.82 million subscribers.
In 2020, Gold joined the roleplay-focused Minecraft serverDream SMP, run by eponymous YouTuber Dream. There, Gold founded the fictional nation of L'Manberg and eventually became a lead writer for the server's stories and lore.[16] Gold has competed in multiple Minecraft tournaments, including MC Championship and Minecraft Monday.[17][18]
On 4 August 2022, TommyInnit announced a book he and Gold had been writing called TommyInnit Says...The Quote Book.[19][20] The book was released on 13 October 2022.[21] The proceeds from the book were donated to the Sarcoma Foundation of America in honour of late Minecraft YouTuber Technoblade.[20]
Musical career
Solo artist
"It's All Futile! It's All Pointless!" redirects here. For the Lovejoy song, see Pebble Brain.
In 2018, Gold began his music career by releasing comedy songs and covers on YouTube.[22] His first comedy song, "The 'Nice Guy' Ballad",[11] was uploaded in January 2018. Venturing into more serious music, Gold released the EP Maybe I Was BoringonSoundCloud and Bandcamp, in December 2019,[23] followed by his debut solo album, Your City Gave Me Asthma, in June 2020, as a surprise release.[24][25] Gold first charted with his sixth comedy song, "Your New Boyfriend", released in December 2020, which peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 65.[12] The song also appeared on the UK Indie Chart and the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at numbers 10 and 100, respectively.[26][27] Gold has also appeared on several artist charts, including Billboard'sEmerging Artists Chart and Rolling Stone's Top Breakthrough Chart.[28][29] Gold's seventh comedy song "Soft Boy" came out in September 2022.[30] Gold released his second solo studio album, Mammalian Sighing Reflex, in November 2023.
Gold formed the indie rock band Lovejoy in 2021 with his friend Joe Goldsmith. The band consists of Gold as lead vocalist, co-songwriter, and rhythm guitarist; Goldsmith as the lead guitarist, co-songwriter and backing vocalist; Mark Boardman as the drummer, and co-songwriter; and Ash Kabosu as the bassist, and co-songwriter.[31][32]
On 9 May 2021, Lovejoy released their first EP, titled Are You Alright?. On 20 May 2021, they debuted on Billboard's Emerging Artists chart at number 10.[33]Their second EP, Pebble Brain, was released on 14 October 2021,[34][32] peaking at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. The EP featured a re-recording of Gold's solo song "It's All Futile! It's All Pointless!".[35] After joining AWAL, Lovejoy released the single "Call Me What You Like" on 10 February 2023, which peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart.[36] The band's third EP, Wake Up & It's Over, was released on 12 May 2023 and peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart.[37]
^ abGold has stated that his name is William,[4] but he has also stated that his birth certificate says Will.[5] He has said that he prefers the name William,[5] he is credited as William on music platforms,[6][7] and Companies House lists his legal name as William.[8]
^
Subscribers, broken down by channel:
5.82 million (Wilbur Soot)
632 thousand (Wilbur)
16.8 thousand (SootVODS)
11.7 thousand (Wilbur Soot Extra)
111 thousand (Hey and Stuff)
17.3 thousand (Minecraft and Donuts)
16.3 thousand (ALittleBritOfWill)
12.9 thousand (WilburGold)
19 thousand (settings66)
1.32 million (Lovejoy)
756 thousand (Sorry)
230 thousand (Very Sorry)
^
Views, broken down by channel:
796.60 million (Wilbur Soot)
17.40 million (Wilbur)
303.51 thousand (SootVODS)
259.71 thousand (Wilbur Soot Extra)
901.79 thousand (Hey and Stuff)
1.72 million (Minecraft and Donuts)
135.23 thousand (ALittleBritOfWill)
168.50 thousand (WilburGold)
328.73 thousand (settings66)
131.76 million (Lovejoy)
24.70 million (Sorry)
3.42 million (Very Sorry)
