| Sally Barker | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 19, 1959 Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, England |
| Genres | English folk music, folk rock, blues |
| Occupations | Guitarist and singer |
| Years active | 1981-present |
| Labels | Various |
| Associated acts | The Poozies, Chris Watson, Joni Mitchell Project, Liberation Doll |
| Website | www.sallybarker.co.uk, [(http://www.joni-mitchell-project.co.uk)] |
Sally Barker (born 19 September 1959, Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, England) is an English folk singer and songwriter, known for her solo work and as a founding member of The Poozies.
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Barker began writing songs and performing music at age 10, after being inspired by seeing English folk-pop singer Mary Hopkin on television. Her influences are varied, and include Bessie Smith, Bonnie Raitt, John Martyn and Aretha Franklin. Barker worked initially as half of a duo called Sally And Chris with bass player Chris Watson, performing folk and blues in pubs and clubs in the English midlands. Later the duo went on to support Steeleye Span and Gordon Giltrap.
After winning the Kendal Songsearch Competition in 1986, Barker began touring in a support capacity to acts such as Fairport Convention, Taj Mahal, Richard Thompson, Wishbone Ash and Roy Harper. Her self-titled first album was well received and contained cover versions of songs previously featured in her live act. Her second release, "This Rhythm Is Mine", showed the ongoing development of her maturing musical potential, and in 1990, she opened for both Bob Dylan and Robert Plant in Germany. The album also receivied a U.S. release on Ryko's Hannibal label.
In 1990 Barker became a founding member of The Poozies, an all-women folk band.[1] The lineup featured harpists Mary Macmaster and Patsy Seddon from the Scottish harp duo Sileas, and Karen Tweed (accordion) who Barker met at a folk festival in Hong Kong. The Poozies have been described as the "UK's finest all-female outfit" and "Britain’s premiere Celtic roots all-woman supergroup" [1]. Barker played with The Poozies until 1995, when she left just before the birth of her first child. Kate Rusby took Barker's place.[1] At one point Barker was unable to sing for a year due to throat problems, which were eventually solved by the removal of her tonsils. Her 2003 album "Maid in England", which had been in the making for six years, was muted by the death of her husband (Chris Wakeford, a dairy farmer) through a recurrence of cancer in August of that year. Music became an academic pursuit for the next 4 years as Sally studied at de Montfort University for a degree in Music Technology with the occasional gig squeezed in between bringing up the kids. Barker graduated in June 2007.
Sally also appeared on the Show of Hands album Live at the Royal Albert Hall. In 1992 she recorded the song "I Misunderstood" for the CD "The World Is A Wonderful Place: The Songs Of Richard Thompson". Barker also provided vocals for the 1997 Pete Morton CD "Courage, Love and Grace" and the 1998 Janet Russell CD "Gathering the Fragments".
In the Autumn of 2006 Barker reunited with The Poozies for a series of shows, deputizing for Eilidh Shaw, who celebrated the birth of a daughter in August, 2006. Following this experience Sally joined the group permanently to make it a five-piece. The Poozies latest album '"Yellow Like Sunshine" was released in Autumn 2009 and features Maireared Green on accordion (she replaced Karen Tweed in November 2008).
Since November 2008 Barker has presented the 'Joni Mitchell Project' with piano and dulcimer player Glenn Hughes (and occasionally banjo player Debbie Cassell) in which they perform an evening of Joni's songs. An album, "Conversation:the Joni Tapes (Vol 1)" was released in August 2010 with an album launch at the Edinburgh Fringe at the ACOUSTIC MUSIC CENTRE.
Sally has also recently played two shows at The Donkey in Leicester with Kevin Hewick and they intend to debut a full band line-up Liberation Doll with Lee Allatson and Ian Crabtree later in October 2011.
Sally was married to Chris Wakeford from 1984 to his death from cancer in 2003. Chris was introduced to Sally by her brother, Sam, as both attended Brooksby Agricultural College. Sally & Chris had 2 sons. Her only other significant relationship since Chris' death was with Steve Cockett between October 2008 and June 2010 (Sally and Steve originally met at Ibstock High School). Although he swore his marriage was over, he wouldn't acknowledge his relationship with Sally, leaving her with the feeling she had been used. They parted acrimoniously. [2]).
MP3 excerpt of "Money's Talking" from "This Rhythm is Mine"