Alex Parks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alex Parks | |
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Origin | Cornwall, England |
Years active | 2003–present |
Genres | folk pop, alternative, indie rock |
Labels | Polydor (2003-2006) |
Alexandra Rebecca Parks (born 26 July 1984, in Mount Hawke, Cornwall) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning Fame Academy in 2003, her subsequent singles, and the albums Introduction and Honesty.
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[edit] Career
Parks started songwriting at the age of fifteen. At college she studied theatrical and performing arts, and at the same time performed regularly as lead singer in a local band, One Trick Pony. During this period she was introduced to indie, folk and rock music, and began songwriting and playing guitar. The band eventually broke up, but Parks continued to write songs.
On Parks' behalf, her father submitted an impromptu application to the BBC's Fame Academy in 2003. Parks won the contest, and was given the opportunity to showcase her self-penned song Maybe That's What It Takes to a public audience. The song was released on 17 November 2003 and peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart the following week. Her debut album Introduction was subsequently released and sold over 500,000 copies.
After the release of her second single Cry in February 2004, Parks withdrew from the limelight for eighteen months while working on her second album Honesty with co-writers/producers Greg Wells, John Reynolds, Peter-John Vettese and Judie Tzuke. Honesty and its lead single Looking For Water were released in October 2005. Fans were infuriated when Polydor chose to release the track as an internet-download only, cancelling the CD release shortly before it was due to go on sale.
The title track Honesty was subsequently released in January 2006 and charted at number 56. The album had peaked earlier at number 24 in the UK album chart. The album met with mixed reviews, although fans, and some neutral observers, blamed poor distribution and a lack of record label support for the disappointing sales.
Alex toured the UK to support the album, with gigs in venues in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and Cornwall, ending with up a finale gig in London's Shepherds Bush Empire on February 10th 2006.
On February 8th 2006, Alex announced that she had parted company with her record label Polydor. Both Parks and Polydor were unhappy with their relationship. Parks is known to have received offers from independent labels, but is currently taking a break to consider her options. In November 2006, her management team confirmed that Parks remains committed to a career in music.
In December 2006, Parks received a Special Award for 2006 from the independent music site Shakenstir [1]. The editor commented that "Alex Parks remains the most individual talent to come out of any of the TV talent shows" and also that "Parks ended her contract with Polydor with the finest live performance (...) I have ever seen from a young performer."
Alex is currently living in Australia and is writing new material.
[edit] Influences
Parks' musical influences as a songwriter and performer include Ani DiFranco, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley and Annie Lennox. She has also expressed a strong interest in rock artists and bands, including Jimi Hendrix, Skin, Radiohead, Razorlight and The Killers.
[edit] Discography
(with UK chart positions)
[edit] Albums
- Introduction (2003) #5
- Honesty (2005) #24
[edit] Singles
- "Maybe That's What It Takes" (2003) #3
- "Cry" (2004) #13
- "Looking for Water" (2005) (download only - record company cancelled physical release)
- "Honesty" (2006) #56
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Fan Sites
- Forums
- Myspace
- Feature Articles
- After Ellen - The Success of the UK's Alex Parks: a Paradigm Shift for Lesbians in Music?
- BBC Cornwall biography
- Guardian interview, Nov 2003
- Scotsman interview, Nov 2003
- Reviews
- Shakenstir - INTRODUCTION album review
- Guardian Unlimited - INTRODUCTION album review
- Playlouder - INTRODUCTION album review
- Shakenstir - HONESTY album review
- musicOHM.com - HONESTY album review
- BBC Pop/Chart Reviews - HONESTY album review
- Shakenstir - Shepherds Bush Empire gig review, Feb 2006
- Shakenstir - Special Awards for 2006, Dec 2006
Studio albums: Introduction • Honesty
Singles: "Maybe That's What It Takes" • "Cry" • "Looking for Water" • "Honesty"
David Sneddon (2002) • Alex Parks (2003)
Comic Relief series: Will Mellor (2003) • Edith Bowman (2005) • Tara Palmer-Tomkinson (2007)