Omar Lye-Fook
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Omar Lye-Fook (born October 14, 1968 in London), also known as Omar, is an internationally acclaimed British soul singer, songwriter and musician. Born to a Chinese-Jamaican father (session drummer & founder of Kongo Records) and Indian-jamaican mother, he grew up in Canterbury, Kent. He learnt his craft classically, playing the trumpet, piano and percussion.
Omar also spent two years at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and the renowned Guildhall School of Music in London.
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[edit] Discography
- There's nothing like this (1990)
- Music (1992)
- For Pleasure (1994)
- This is not a love song (1997)
- Best by Far (2000)
- Sing (If You Want It) (2006)
[edit] Collaborations
Some of the notable musicians Omar has performed with include (but not limited to):
- Angie Stone;
- Caron Wheeler (vocalist for Soul II Soul);
- Erykah Badu;
- Guru (of veteran rap group, Gangstarr);
- Kele Le Roc, of Basement Jaxx fame;
- Stevie Wonder, whom Omar has collaborated with on multiple occasions; and
- Common, Electric Circus "The Hustle"
[edit] Trivia
Omar is sometimes credited as Omar Hammer. His birth father's surname is Lye-Fook, while his step-father's surname is Hammer. He and his siblings, two brothers and a sister are all musicians. Samia Lye-Fook (Omar's sister, and youngest of the four) is a BRIT School alumna, who has provided background vocals for some of Omar's recordings.
In 2003, after one of his songs ('There's Nothing Like This') was used in the intro round on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, presenter Mark Lamarr questioned Omar's supposed instant recognizability, quipping that he would require a Blockbuster card to confirm Omar's identity. A few episodes later, Omar appeared in the show's identity parade round. Lamarr was force to concede that Omar is indeed instantly recognizable, and a rather more significant artist than he had earlier given him credit for.
[edit] External links
- Omarmusic.net Official site
- Soulwalking bio
- Omar at All Music Guide
- Yahoo Fan group
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