Tracey Thorn

Last updated

Tracey Thorn
Singer Tracey Thorn.jpg
Tracey Thorn in 2012
Born (1962-09-26) 26 September 1962 (age 61)
Brookmans Park, Hertfordshire, England
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1979–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2009)​
[1]
Children3
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • Guitar
Labels Cherry Red (1980–1983)
Blanco y Negro (1983–1994)
Virgin (1995–2007)
Strange Feeling (2010–present)
Merge (2010–present)
Website traceythorn.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Tracey Thorn (born 26 September 1962) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl, active from 1982 to 2000, and again from 2022. She was in the band Marine Girls from 1980 to 1983. Since 2007 she has been active as a solo artist; and as a writer of books and essays.

Contents

Early life

The youngest of three children, [2] [3] Thorn was born in Brookmans Park, Hertfordshire. She grew up in nearby Hatfield and studied English at the University of Hull, where she graduated in 1984 with First Class Honours. She later took an MA degree at Birkbeck, University of London.

Music career

Stern Bops (1979–1980)

Thorn began her musical career in the punk-pop hybrid group Stern Bops playing guitar and providing some vocal backing.

Marine Girls (1980–1983)

Thorn then formed Marine Girls as primary songwriter, playing guitar and sharing vocals. The band released two albums ( Beach Party in 1981 and Lazy Ways in 1983) and three singles. The group disbanded in 1983.

Everything but the Girl (1982–2000, 2023–)

Thorn with Ben Watt in the late 1990s Everything but the Girl.jpg
Thorn with Ben Watt in the late 1990s

Thorn met Ben Watt at the University of Hull where they were both students, and both signed as solo artists to Cherry Red Records. Their first album together was Eden , released in 1984. Everything but the Girl released a body of work that spanned two decades. Their biggest chart success came in 1995, when DJ Todd Terry remixed a song from their Amplified Heart album. "Missing" peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart; topped the charts in Canada, Denmark, Germany, and Italy; and made the top ten in many countries, including Australia, France, Ireland, Sweden, and the United States.

Everything but the Girl was inactive from 2000 to 2022. During that time, Watt played on some filmed performances of Thorn's solo work and on her 2011 recording of the xx's "Night Time". [4]

In November 2022, Watt and Thorn announced on social media that they had recorded a new album as Everything but the Girl. The album, titled Fuse, was released in April 2023. [5]

Solo career and collaborations (1982–present)

Thorn's first solo work was a mini-album entitled A Distant Shore (1982). A re-recorded version of the track "Plain Sailing" was released as a single, and was included on the Pillows & Prayers Cherry Red records compilation album.

In the 1980s, Thorn contributed guest vocals and backing vocals for The Style Council on the track "The Paris Match" (from the album Café Bleu ), The Go-Betweens on their track Head Full of Steam, Working Week on the single "Venceremos (We Will Win)" and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions on the track "Big Snake".

In the 1990s, she collaborated with Massive Attack on several projects, including the soundtrack for the motion picture Batman Forever where she contributed with "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game". Their first project together was the song "Protection" (for which she wrote the lyrics and melody) from the album by Massive Attack of the same name. She also co-wrote and sings on the track "Better Things". She also sang "The Tree Knows Everything" on Adam F's debut album Colours and "Over the Rainbow" on James McMillan's 1993 Japan-only release Makin' Changes. [6]

Just prior to her return to recording in 2007, Thorn contributed vocals to the song "Damage" by the band Tiefschwarz on the album Eat Books .

In March 2007, Thorn released her second solo album Out of the Woods on Virgin Records (Worldwide) and on Astralwerks (USA). It was produced by Ewan Pearson, who kept collaborating with her in subsequent releases. The first single from the album, "It's All True", accompanied by remixes from the likes of Kris Menace & Martin Buttrich, was released on 7 February and reached No. 75 on the UK singles chart while the album met critical acclaim and peaked at No. 38 on the Albums Chart.

In 2008, Thorn collaborated with the Hungarian acoustic downtempo group The Unbending Trees on their single "Overture", which also featured on their album Chemically Happy (Is The New Sad), released by her partner Ben Watt.

In 2009, Thorn collaborated with the Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman for a cover of The Magnetic Fields' "Yeah! Oh Yeah!" for a compilation album commemorating twenty years of Merge Records, Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers!.

Thorn's third solo album Love and Its Opposite was released in May 2010 on Ben Watt's Strange Feeling Records in the UK, and on Merge Records in the US. Recorded in London and Berlin and produced by Ewan Pearson, it contained eight new songs and two cover versions, "Come on Home to Me" by Lee Hazlewood, and "You Are a Lover" by The Unbending Trees.

Thorn's fourth solo album was a Christmas album entitled Tinsel and Lights . It was released in late October 2012, and included covers of songs by Carol Hall, The White Stripes, Ron Sexsmith, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, Sufjan Stevens, Low and Scritti Politti, plus two original songs and contributions from Green Gartside and Ben Watt. [7] The original song "Joy" is featured in the 2012 film All Is Bright with Paul Giamatti and Paul Rudd.

In 2013 Thorn wrote and recorded the original music for The Falling , the debut feature film by filmmaker Carol Morley, which premiered at the London Film Festival 2014. [8]

In 2013 Thorn recorded two Molly Drake tracks for a documentary The Songs of Molly Drake, broadcast on BBC Radio 4. [9] Molly Drake is the mother of the singer/songwriter Nick Drake.

A compilation album, Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982–2015 , was released in the UK on 23 October 2015. It has 34 tracks on two discs.

On 17 January 2018, Thorn announced the release of her album Record , which was released on 2 March. The album was produced by Ewan Pearson, and features contributions from Corinne Bailey Rae, Shura, Jona Ma and Stella and Jenny from Warpaint. Along with the announcement, Thorn released the debut single and video from the project, entitled "Queen". [10]

Writing

Virago published Thorn's memoir Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star early in 2013. [11] [12] It received widespread critical acclaim and was a Sunday Times Top Ten best-seller. [13]

In 2014, she began a regular column ('Off the Record') for the New Statesman . [14] The column ran until spring of 2022. [15]

In 2015 Virago published her second book, Naked at the Albert Hall, about singers and singing. [16]

She published a third memoir in 2019: Another Planet: A Teenager in Suburbia (2019). [17]

2021 saw the publication of a fourth book, My Rock 'n' Roll Friend, focused on her friendship with Lindy Morrison of the Go-Betweens, and on the experiences of female musicians in the male-dominated music scene. [18]

Personal life

After 28 years as a couple, Thorn and the other half of Everything But The Girl, Ben Watt, married in 2009 [19] at Chelsea Register Office. They live in Hampstead, North London. [20] The couple has three children. [21]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardsWorkCategoryResult
1995 MTV Europe Music Awards "Protection" (with Massive Attack) Best Video Won
1996 Brit Awards Best British Video Nominated
2011 International Dance Music Awards "Why Does the Wind?"Best House/Garage TrackNominated
2017Artist and Manager AwardsHerselfArtists’ Artist AwardWon
2018 AIM Independent Music Awards Outstanding Contribution to MusicWon
Classic Pop Reader Awards [22] Artist of the YearNominated
Record Album of the YearNominated
'"Queen"Single of the YearNominated
Best Art Vinyl [23] Record Best Art VinylNominated
2019 GAFFA-Prisen Awards HerselfBest International ArtistNominated
Record Best International AlbumNominated

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
UK
[24] 		AUS
[25] 		GRE
[26] 		SWE
[27] 		US
[28]
A Distant Shore —————
Out of the Woods 3886—44172
Love and Its Opposite
  • Released: 17 May 2010
  • Label: Strange Feeling/Merge
51—1622144
Tinsel and Lights
  • Released: 29 October 2012
  • Label: Strange Feeling
94————
Record
  • Released: 2 March 2018 [10]
15————

EPs

Compilations

Singles

YearTitleAlbum
1982"Plain Sailing"A Distant Shore
2007"It's All True"Out of the Woods
"Raise the Roof"
"Grand Canyon"
"King's Cross"
2010"Oh, the Divorces!"Love and its Opposite
"Why Does the Wind?"
2011"You Are a Lover"
"Night Time"Night Time EP
2012"In the Cold, Cold Night"Tinsel and Lights
"Tinsel and Lights"
"Joy"
2018"Queen" [10] Record

Collaborations

YearSongAlbum
1984"Venceremos (We Will Win)" with Working Week single only
"The Paris Match" with The Style Council Chilled Jazz with The Style Council and Cafe Bleu (Style Council album)
1986"Head Full of Steam" with The Go-Betweens Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
"Apology Accepted" with The Go-Betweens
1987"Big Snake" with Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Mainstream
1993"Over the Rainbow" with James McMillan Makin' Changes by James McMillan
1994"Protection" with Massive Attack Protection (Massive Attack)
"Better Things" with Massive Attack
1995"The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" with Massive Attack Batman Forever
1997"The Tree Knows Everything" with Adam F Colours (Adam F)
2007"Damage" with Tiefschwarz Eat Books (Tiefschwarz)
2008"Overture" with The Unbending Trees Chemically Happy (Is the New Sad)
2009"Yeah! Oh Yeah!" with Jens Lekman Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers!
2010"Without Me" with Tevo Howard
2012"Taking Down The Tree" with Green Gartside Tinsel and Lights
2015"Disappointing" with John Grant Grey Tickles, Black Pressure

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everything but the Girl</span> English musical duo

Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and singer Ben Watt. The group's early works have been categorized as sophisti-pop with jazz influences before undergoing an electronic turn following the worldwide success of the 1994 hit single "Missing", remixed by Todd Terry.

<i>Walking Wounded</i> 1996 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Walking Wounded is the ninth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 6 May 1996 by Atlantic Records in the United States and Virgin Records in Europe. The album saw the group adopting a more electronica-based style, following the success of the remixed version of "Missing" from their previous album, Amplified Heart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Watt</span> British musician (born 1962)

Benjamin Brian Thomas Watt is a British musician, singer, songwriter, author, DJ, and radio presenter, best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl.

<i>Eden</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1984 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Eden is the debut studio album by the British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 4 June 1984, by Blanco y Negro Records. The album contains the single "Each and Every One", which peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. The cover design was by lead singer Tracey Thorn's former colleague in Marine Girls, Jane Fox.

<i>Temperamental</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1999 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Temperamental is the tenth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 27 September 1999 by Atlantic Records in the United States and Virgin Records in Europe. It was the last EBTG album before they entered a two-decades hiatus.

"I Don't Want to Talk About It" is a song written by American guitarist Danny Whitten. It was first recorded by American rock band Crazy Horse and issued as the final track on side one of their 1971 eponymous album. It was Whitten's signature tune, but gained more fame via its numerous cover versions, especially that by Rod Stewart. Cash Box magazine has described it as "a magnificent ballad outing."

<i>Idlewild</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1988 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Idlewild is the fourth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 29 February 1988 by Blanco y Negro Records and Sire Records.

Marine Girls were an English post-punk group from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The group was formed in 1980, by two sixth form schoolfriends; Tracey Thorn and Gina Hartman. Originally, Thorn just played guitar and Hartman was the lead vocalist and percussionist. Thorn overcame her shyness and started singing too by the time they started making records. They were later joined by Jane Fox on bass and her younger sister, Alice, on joint vocals and percussion.

<i>Love Not Money</i> 1985 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Love Not Money is the second studio album by British band Everything but the Girl, which consisted of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. It was produced by Robin Millar, recorded at Powerplant Studios in London and was released in the UK on 15 April 1985 by Blanco y Negro Records. It spent nine weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 10. In the United States, Sire Records issued the album with two additional tracks.

<i>The Language of Life</i> 1990 studio album by Everything but the Girl

The Language of Life is the fifth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 5 February 1990 by Atlantic Records and Blanco y Negro Records.

<i>Home Movies</i> (album) 1993 greatest hits album by Everything but the Girl

Home Movies is a compilation album by Everything but the Girl featuring songs from seven of their first eight studio albums as well as two newly recorded songs, a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York" and the band's own "I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love". The album was released in 1993 and reached number 5 on the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protection (Massive Attack song)</span> 1995 single by Massive Attack

"Protection" is a collaboration between English trip hop collective Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn from English duo Everything but the Girl. The song appears on Massive Attack's second studio album, Protection (1994). Released as a single on 9 January 1995 by Wild Bunch and Circa, "Protection" reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, staying on the chart for four weeks, and also peaked at number 27 in New Zealand. Michel Gondry directed the accompanying music video. The song was also included on Everything but the Girl's compilation The Best of and Like the Deserts Miss the Rain.

<i>Everything but the Girl</i> (album) 1984 compilation album by Everything but the Girl

Everything but the Girl is a compilation album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released in 1984 in the US and Canada by Sire Records, serving as the band's debut album in those countries. It contains six tracks from their United Kingdom debut Eden, two UK singles and four B-sides.

<i>Love and Its Opposite</i>

Love and Its Opposite is the third solo studio album by former Everything but the Girl singer Tracey Thorn, released on 18 May 2010. The album was released on Thorn's husband Ben Watt's label Strange Feeling in the UK, and on Merge Records in North America. It was produced by Ewan Pearson, who also produced tracks on Thorn's previous album Out of the Woods. The album peaked at number 51 in the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Tinsel and Lights</i>

Tinsel and Lights is a Christmas album by British singer Tracey Thorn. It was released on 30 October 2012 on Buzzin' Fly Records and Merge Records. It is her fourth solo studio album.

<i>Bedsit Disco Queen</i>

Bedsit Disco Queen: How I grew up and tried to be a pop star is an autobiography written by Tracey Thorn, first published in February 2013. The book received widespread critical acclaim and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. The book was featured on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week in March 2013.

<i>Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982–2015</i> 2015 compilation album by Tracey Thorn

Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982–2015 is a compilation album by Tracey Thorn, released in the UK on 23 October 2015. It features 34 tracks spanning her career as a solo artist and includes collaborations with other artists, including The Unbending Trees ("Overture"), Massive Attack ("Protection") and The Style Council. Further collaborations include tracks with Robert Wyatt and Hot Chip. The tracks are arranged over two discs. It is also available as a digital album, and as a shortened single-disc compilation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walking Wounded (Everything but the Girl song)</span> 1996 single by Everything but the Girl

"Walking Wounded" is a song by English musical duo Everything but the Girl. Member Ben Watt wrote the song's lyrics while electronic music duo Spring Heel Jack composed the music and produced the track. The song appears on Everything but the Girl's ninth studio album, Walking Wounded (1996), in two different versions: the album version as track five and the Omni Trio remix as the final track. It was the duo's first single release on Virgin Records, as their previous label, Blanco y Negro, had dropped them before the Todd Terry remix of "Missing" became a worldwide hit.

<i>Record</i> (Tracey Thorn album) 2018 studio album by Tracey Thorn

Record is the fifth solo studio album by English singer and songwriter Tracey Thorn. It was recorded by Thorn with producer Ewan Pearson and a number of backing musicians, including singers Shura and Corinne Bailey Rae, drummer Stella Mozgawa, bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg, and guitarist Jono Ma. The album released by Merge Records on 2 March 2018 to mostly positive reviews from critics.

<i>Fuse</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 2023 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Fuse is the eleventh studio album by British duo Everything but the Girl, released on 21 April 2023 through Buzzin' Fly and Virgin Records. It is their first studio album in almost 24 years following Temperamental (1999). The album was preceded by the single "Nothing Left to Lose" on 10 January 2023, followed by "Caution to the Wind", "Run a Red Light", and "No One Knows We're Dancing", in February, March, and April respectively.

References

  1. ↑ "Tracey Thorn | Actress, Composer, Soundtrack". IMDb .
  2. ↑ Bedsit Disco Queen, p.10
  3. ↑ "On Remembrance Sunday it is my father who fills my memories". Newstatesman.com. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Battan, Carrie (18 October 2011). "Listen: Everything But the Girl Reunite to Cover the xx's "Night Time"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Everything But The Girl Announce First New Album In 24 Years, Out Next Spring". Stereogum. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "James McMillan - Makin' Changes". 30 August 1993 – via www.discogs.com.
  7. ↑ "Tracey Thorn – Tinsel and Lights". Buzzinfly.com. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Metrodome picked up UK rights to Carol Morley's new film The Falling". Artsfoundation.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - the Songs of Molly Drake".
  10. 1 2 3 "Tracey Thorn". Splash.traceythorn.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Virago signs Everything But the memoir". The Bookseller. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Profile, The Observer, 20 January 2013
  13. ↑ "Incredible praise for Tracey Thorn's memoir". Virago.co.uk.
  14. ↑ "Tracey Thorn". Newstatesman.com.
  15. ↑ "After eight happy years of column writing, I think I'll take that sabbatical". 6 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Naked at the Albert Hall: The Inside Story of Singing. ASIN   0349005265.
  17. ↑ Thorn, Tracey (27 January 2019). "Tracey Thorn: 'We looked at suburbia and wanted to burn it down' – extract". Theguardian.com.
  18. ↑ Empire, Kitty (28 March 2021). "My Rock'n'Roll Friend by Tracey Thorn review – a philosophical and furious memoir". The Observer– via The Guardian.
  19. ↑ "Everything But The Girl Makes It Official". Vulture. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  20. ↑ "BBC Pop singer Tracey Thorn on the best and worst of London life". BBC News. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  21. ↑ Guardian Staff (12 September 1999). "Girl trouble". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "There's still time to vote in our 2018 Reader Awards!". Classicpopmag.com. 2 January 2019. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  23. ↑ "Best Art Vinyl Awards 2018". Artvinyl.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  24. ↑ "Tracey Thorn | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  25. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 279.
  26. ↑ "Chart Stats – Tracey Thorn". Greekcharts.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  27. ↑ "Chart Stats – Tracey Thorn". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  28. ↑ "Chart Stats – Tracey Thorn". Billboard.com. Retrieved 27 November 2011.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.