| Beth Gibbons | |
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Gibbons at Roskilde Festival 2011. |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 4 January 1965 |
| Origin | Exeter, Devon, England |
| Genres | Electronica, jazz, soul, trip hop |
| Occupations | Singer/songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | Go! Beat Records Sanctuary Records |
| Associated acts | Portishead Rustin Man |
| Website | Official MySpace page |
Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965, Exeter, Devon, England) is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist for the iconic English band Portishead.
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Gibbons was born in 1965 in Exeter[1] and raised on a small farm with her mother and three sisters twenty miles outside of town. At the age of 22, Beth left home and moved to Bath, Somerset but after a rather unsuccessful career as a bar chanteuse, Beth decided to take her chances as a singer and move to Bristol where she began singing locally and was known as the little girl with the big voice. She met future Portishead partner and longtime collaborator Geoff Barrow in a Youth Enterprise training scheme. Influenced by artist such as Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf, she is known for her contralto vocal range. Admired by artists as diverse as Dr. Dre and Robert Plant.
With third member Adrian Utley, Gibbons and Barrow released the first debut Portishead album, Dummy, in 1994 that was awarded the Mercury Prize for best British Album in 1995. Later produced two studio albums as well as a live album. Self titled Portishead 1997. Roseland NYC Live 1998. Third in 2008 and various singles in the years between. She has also collaborated on a separate project with former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb also known as Rustin man. (Before she joined Geoff Barrow in Portishead, she auditioned for the singer's slot in .O.rang, the group formed by Webb after Talk Talk's late-Eighties departure from EMI, but Portishead's sudden success pre-empted matters.) In October 2002, they released the album Out of Season in the United Kingdom. The album peaked at number 28 in the UK Albums Chart.[2] It was released in the United States a year later.
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