Shaznay Lewis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shaznay Lewis | ||
|---|---|---|
 Shaznay on the Open album.
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Shaznay Tricia Lewis | |
| Born | October 14, 1975 | |
| Origin |  London, England |
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| Genre(s) | Pop, R&B | |
| Instrument(s) | Singing | |
| Years active | 1997-2001 and 2006 - (Girl bands) 2004- (Solo) |
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| Label(s) | London Records | |
| Associated acts |
All Saints | |
| Website | http://www.shaznaylewis.co.uk | |
Shaznay Tricia Lewis (born October 14, 1975 in Islington, London) is an English female singer/songwriter and a member of All Saints. Shaznay is 1. 74m (5' 7"), and has Jamaican and Bajan roots, and is nick named Bart because she sounds like Bart Simpson when she raps. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Shaznay is generally regarded as the chief talent behind the popular girl group All Saints, who separated in 2001. Her musical influences include Rap and Missy Elliott; In addition, she grew up listening to Bob Marley and Johnny Mathis. It was the music of Alanis Morissette who encouraged Shaznay to take her music one step further.
Singing came naturally to Shaznay who had been entering singing contests since the age of thirteen. At a party she was introduced to Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot of Curiosity Killed the Cat by her friends who took her to the Metamorphisis recording studios on All Saints Road, London and started doing backing vocals. [2]
It was at the Metamorphisis recording studios where Shaznay met Melanie Blatt in 1993 and proceeded to record together. Together with Simone Rainford they formed the band All Saints 1.9.7.5 which was later renamed to All Saints when Simone left and Nicole and Natalie Appleton joined Melanie and Shaznay.
Shaznay has been the most active songwriter of the All Saints and was responsible for writing most of the songs including many hits. In 2001 Shaznay won the Ivor Novello Award for best songwriting. After the group broke up, Shaznay was the last All Saint to pursue a solo career, releasing her debut single "Never Felt Like This Before" in July 2004. It reached #8 and is taken from the Top 30 album Open. The next single released was "You" which failed to chart, but which featured a romantic video with an image of her husband in the clouds.
Shaznay also played in several films. In Bend it like Beckham (2001) Shaznay played Mel and also played a minor role in Hideous Man (2002). On November 14, 2004 Shaznay was involved in the Band Aid 20 re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas". [3]
On August 21, 2004 Shaznay married Christian Storm. Shaznay had her first child, a son named Tyler Xane, in February 2006.
On January 24, 2006 it was announced that All Saints have reformed with a new record contract and will release a new album, Studio 1 on November 13th 2006. [4] She performed with All Saints on live television for the first time since reforming on the UK light entertainment program, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on October 21st 2006.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Solo releases | ||
|---|---|---|
| July 19, 2004 | Open | #22 |
| With All Saints | ||
| November 24, 1997 | All Saints | #2 |
| December 29, 1998 | The Remix Album | #104 [5] |
| October 14, 2000 | Saints & Sinners | #1 |
| November 5, 2001 | All Hits | #18 |
| November 13, 2006 [6] | Studio 1 [7] | #40 |
[edit] Singles
| Solo releases | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| July 5, 2004 | "Never Felt Like This Before" | #8 | |
| October 18, 2004 | "You" | #56 [8] | |
| With other artists | |||
| February 1995 | "Silver Shadow" | - | with All Saints 1.9.7.5. |
| April 1995 | "Let's Get Started" | - | with All Saints 1.9.7.5. |
| September 25, 1995 | "If You Wanna Party" | - | with All Saints 1.9.7.5. |
| August 18, 1997 | "I Know Where It's At" | #4 | with All Saints |
| November 10, 1997 | "Never Ever" | #1 (2 weeks) | with All Saints |
| December 13, 1997 | "I Wanna Be Your Lady" | #109 / #14 [9] | with Hinda Hicks |
| April 27, 1998 | "Under The Bridge / Lady Marmalade" | #1 (2 weeks) | with All Saints |
| August 31, 1998 | "Bootie Call" | #1 | with All Saints |
| November 23, 1998 | "War Of Nerves" | #7 | with All Saints |
| February 26, 2000 | "Pure Shores" | #1 (2 weeks) | with All Saints |
| October 14, 2000 | "Black Coffee" | #1 | with All Saints |
| January 27, 2001 | "All Hooked Up" | #7 | with All Saints |
| November 6, 2006 | "Rock Steady" [10] | #3 | with All Saints |
[edit] Other releases
- K-Gee feat. Shaznay Lewis - "Stuck in yo head"
- Featured on the Bounce to this album
- Played Mel in the Bend it like Beckham movie (2001)
- Played in the Hideous Man movie (2002)
- Cameo appearance on the "I Don't Really Care" video (2000) by K-Gee
- Appeared in Band Aid 20 in December 2004
- Appeared in the video for Estelle's Free in August 2004
[edit] References
- ^ Top of the Pops, September 1997, Screen capture
- ^ All Saints A to Z biography Accessed 2 December 2006
- ^ Shaznay.com news page Accessed 2 December 2006
- ^ Contact music: All Saints confirm reunion Accessed: Aug 7, 2006
- ^ Zobbel.de All Saints chart history. Accessed October 15, 2006
- ^ hmv.co.uk Product details Studio 1. Accessed October 19, 2006
- ^ uk.news.launch.com "All Saints: Back", September 20, 2006 03:07 PM (Retrieved: September 20, 2006)
- ^ Zobbel.de Chart log Shaznay Lewis Accessed October 15, 2006
- ^ Zobbel.de Chart log Hinda Hicks. Single was released twice. Accessed October 20, 2006
- ^ Culture DeLuxe song description Rock Steady Accessed Sept 1, 2006
[edit] External links
- The Official All Saints Website
- Shaznay Lewis' Official Site
- Shaznay.com fansite
- Shaznay Lewis at the Internet Movie Database
Natalie Appleton · Nicole Appleton · Melanie Blatt · Shaznay Lewis
Albums: All Saints · The Remix Album · Saints & Sinners · All Hits · Studio 1
Singles: "Silver Shadow" · "Let's Get Started" · "I Know Where It's At" · "Never Ever" · "Under the Bridge" · "Lady Marmalade" · "Bootie Call" · "War of Nerves" · "Pure Shores" · "Black Coffee" · "All Hooked Up" · "TwentyFourSeven" · "Rock Steady" · "Chick Fit"
