| Thea Gilmore | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Thea Eve Gilmore |
| Born | 25 November 1979 Oxford, England |
| Genres | Rock, folk |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Hungry Dog/Flying Sparks, Sanctuary, Fruitcake/Fullfill, Ryko |
| Website | theagilmore.net |
Thea Eve Gilmore (born 25 November 1979, Oxford, England) is a British female singer-songwriter. She began her career working in a recording studio, where she was discovered by her now long-time collaborator, producer and sometime co-songwriter Nigel Stonier, whom she married in October 2005.[1]
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Gilmore was born in Oxford to Irish parents[2] and lived in the village of North Aston, Oxfordshire.[3] She became interested in music as a result of her father's record collection, which included work by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and The Beatles. Later, she listened to Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, and The Replacements, among others. She began writing poetry at the age of 15 to cope with the divorce of her parents.[4]
Gilmore released her first album as a teenager, entitled Burning Dorothy, in 1998 and over the course of the next four years, released increasingly well-received albums that earned her a reputation in the UK music press but no chart success. She finally made a breakthrough at 23 with the release of Avalanche in August 2003, which became her first album to break into the Official UK Album Chart, at #62, and spawned two minor hit singles, "Juliet (Keep That in Mind)" and "Mainstream", for which she garnered acclaim for producing a low-budget music video filmed in a local Virgin Megastore. The video received exposure on the BBC's flagship music show Top of the Pops 2.[5]
In 2004, folk singer Joan Baez personally invited Gilmore to open for her during her tour leading up to the US presidential election.[6]
In 2005, Gilmore continued touring commitments, for the first time not releasing a new album (the covers collection Loft Music was widely released during 2004). In October 2005, she and Stonier married in a ceremony near their home in Cheshire.
Gilmore finally returned to recording with the release of Harpo's Ghost in August 2006, after a two-and-a-half-year absence of new material.[7] This was her first album on major label Sanctuary Records after many years of independent releases. The album was once again acclaimed in the music press and UK radio lent their support to the single "Cheap Tricks". Gilmore has been touted by Uncut magazine as "the best British singer-songwriter of the last 10 years...and then some" and has gained steady acclaim for each of her albums.
On 14 November 2006, Gilmore gave birth to her first child with Stonier, a son named Egan,[8] having conducted a UK tour in the autumn whilst heavily pregnant.[9]
Subsequent to the release of Harpo's Ghost she parted company with her manager Sara Austin, left Sanctuary Records and released EP The Threads independently on her March 2007 UK tour with remaining copies sold on her website afterwards.
On 19 May 2008 Fruitcake Records (via Fullfill and distributed by Universal Records) released Liejacker, Gilmore's eighth album featuring contributions from Joan Baez, Dave McCabe, and Erin McKeown. It was preceded on 12 May by the single "Old Soul", a duet with McCabe. In June 2008, Gilmore signed to Rykodisc (Warner) for the United States. Liejacker was released in the U.S. on 23 September 2008.
Thea's first ever live album Recorded Delivery was released on 25 May 2009, on Fullfill/Universal. The recordings are taken from UK shows during 2006 and 2008, with the first half of the album being acoustic, and the second half being electric, with a full band. In July 2009 she released a yearly subscription service / fan club, Angels in the Abattoir. Gilmore rounded out 2009 with the release of an album of Christmas- and winter-themed songs, Strange Communion, featuring eight originals penned by Gilmore and/or Stonier as well as two cover versions - Yoko Ono's "Listen, the Snow is Falling" and Elvis Costello's "The St. Stephen's Day Murders."
Beginning in October 2010, Gilmore and her band are engaged in a UK tour and have met good reviews.[10]
In January 2011 Gilmore appeared at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in a tribute concert celebrating the 70th Birthday of Bob Dylan. She performed versions of "I Pity the Poor Immigrant" and "Masters of War."[11] Subsequently, Gilmore entered the studio with producer and husband Stonier and recorded the entire set of tracks found on Dylan's original release of John Wesley Harding. The album - also titled John Wesley Harding - was released 23 May 2011.[12]