Rachel Fury

Rachel Fury
Birth name Rachel Brennock
Born 1961
Instruments Vocalist
Years active 1971–1989
Associated acts Pink Floyd, Howard Devoto, The Lover Speaks

Rachel Fury is the stage name of Rachel Brennock, an English singer, songwriter and actor most widely known for performing with Pink Floyd on three world tours from 1987-1989.

Contents

Biography

Rachel Brennock began her acting career at age ten, appearing in the 1971 British children's movie "Mr. Horatio Knibbles." During the 1970s she played parts in various other TV shows and movies, a number of which were produced, like "Mr Horatio Knibbles", under the aegis of the UK Children's Film Foundation. [1][2] At the same time, Brennock was building a career as a singer. In 1972, under the name "Weeny Bopper", Brennock recorded the single "David, Donny and Michael", a Pye Records release intended to capitalize on weenybopper enthusiasm for David Cassidy, Donny Osmond, and Michael Jackson.[3][4] By 1978, Brennock was an established London session singer, known for a "sassy 'Ronettes' sound."[5]

In the 1980s, Brennock adopted the stage name Rachel Fury, and toured as a backing singer with Howard Devoto and The Lover Speaks.[6] She co-wrote the song "When We Dream" with Phil Saatchi for his 1987 album "Wheel of Fortune," and performed vocals on several Saatchi songs.[7] Fury signed on as a backing singer for the Pink Floyd Momentary Lapse of Reason tour after being introduced to the band by her then boyfriend James Guthrie (record producer), Pink Floyd's longtime recording engineer.[8] She sang with Pink Floyd for three consecutive tours from 1987 to 1989, and appears on the concert film Delicate Sound of Thunder, the Italian TV broadcast of the 1989 Pink Floyd concert in Venice, and the (bootlegged) MTV taping of the 1987 concert at the Omni in Atlanta.[1] In these live performances, Fury is noted for the opening vocals on The Great Gig in the Sky and for harmonizing with David Gilmour on Comfortably Numb.

After 1989, Fury retired from performing. According to Pink Floyd fan sites, she now lives in London and maintains an interest in animal welfare.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b *Rachel Brennock at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ "The Children's Television and Film Foundation" (formerly Children's Film Foundation) http://www.cftf.org.uk
  3. ^ "Billboard". December 23, 1972. http://books.google.com/books?id=Rw8EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA10&ots=J-7PF0hqP-&dq=rachel%20brennock%20singer&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=rachel%20brennock%20singer&f=false. 
  4. ^ Song co-writer Laurie Marshall commented, "Weeny Bopper was the most professional singer I ever worked with. She was 10 years old, she walked into the studio cool as a cucumber. She was very accommodating and so sweet." Interview with Laurice (Laurie) Marshall, May 29, 2009, http://purepop1uk.blogspot.com/2009/05/weeny-boppers-flying-saucers-spivs-and.html, retrieved December 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Interview with Geraint Hughes, September 14, 2009, http://popjunkietv.posterous.com/woah-were-talking-to-geraint-hughes-woah-the retrieved December 27, 2010. Hughes credits Brennock with the vocal on Video Killed the Radio Star, as does the Discogs entry for that song (http://www.discogs.com/Buggles-Video-Killed-The-Radio-Star/master/80390) but this seems dubious. Trevor Horn explicitly credits Linda Jardim (now Allan) and Debi Doss for the vocals during his 2004 concert for the Prince's Trust (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laZw3Y3JCJ8, retrieved December 27, 2010).
  6. ^ Artist Bio in the "Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour Book," retrieved from http://www.pinkfloydz.com/a_momentary_lapse_part_5.htm
  7. ^ http://www.discogs.com/artist/Rachel+Fury Rachel Fury entry at discogs.com.
  8. ^ Mason, Nick (2005), Philip Dodd, ed., Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd (Paperback ed.), Phoenix, ISBN 0-7538-1906-6 

External links