Rumer (musician)

Rumer
Background information
Birth name	Sarah Joyce
Also known as	Sarah Prentice
Born	(1979-06-03) 3 June 1979[1] Islamabad, Pakistan
Genres	Pop Easy listening Soul
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2000–present
Website	www.rumer.co.uk

Sarah Joyce (born 3 June 1979), better known by her stage name, Rumer, is a Pakistani-born British singer–songwriter.^[2] Her stage name was inspired by the author Rumer Godden.^[3] Rumer's voice has been described by The Guardian and many others as being reminiscent of Karen Carpenter.^[4] Supported by leading music industry figures including Burt Bacharach, Jools Holland and Elton John, Rumer was nominated for two Brit awards on 13 January 2011. She has performed at several festivals such as Glastonbury Festival.^[5]

Early life

Rumer was born Sarah Joyce on 3 June 1979 in Islamabad, Pakistan, the youngest of seven children. Her mother's husband was a British engineer working on the Tarbela Dam project and the family lived in a self-contained expatriate community near Islamabad. Sarah's mother had a relationship with her cook, who was Pakistani and is Sarah's natural father. None of Sarah's six siblings knew she had a different father and she did not discover this until the age of 11,^[3] when her parents divorced and the family returned to England.^[6] Sarah attended Newman School in Carlisle until she was 16, then studied drama at Dartington College of Arts^[7] in Devon before moving to London.^[3] She tried her hand in bands and waitressing.^[8]

When her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Sarah moved to live in a caravan in the New Forest to be with her.^[3] and started writing songs. Her mother died in 2003 and Sarah had a breakdown.^[8] She joined a commune in the south of England for a year, then returned to London to pursue her music career.^[6] She later travelled to Pakistan to seek her father, but learnt he had died some months before her visit.^[9]

Musical career

Rumer in 2010

Under the name of Sarah Prentice, Sarah sang with a moderately successful London-based folk/indie band called La Honda between 2000 and 2001.^[3] In 2004, she formed the band Rumer & The Denials and had released an early version of Come To Me High on 7" in 2007.^[10] Their myspace page, now closed, included an acoustic recording of Slow, which was included on the compilation album "A Very Magistery Valentine".^[11] A collection of solo material, recorded in 2007, Coffee And Honey,^[12] was released under her real name, Sarah Joyce, in South Korea in April 2010.

Rumer's debut album Seasons of My Soul was released on 1 November 2010, produced by her mentor, British composer Steve Brown.^[13] Her debut single, Slow, was featured on Smooth FM, and the single Aretha on BBC Radio 2's Record of the Week feature, and she is signed to Atlantic Records. She supported Jools Holland on his UK tour in the Autumn of 2010 which included a performance at the Albert Hall in London.^[14]

Burt Bacharach invited Rumer to his home in California so he could hear her sing and has since written a number of songs for her with lyricist Steven Sater.^[15] On 13 December 2010, a Christmas EP Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas was released. It featured Some Lovers from the new musical by Bacharach and Sater, Gift of the Magi.^[16] A limited edition 7 inch vinyl version was also released with a cover personally designed by Rumer.^[17] Rumer also featured on the Boozoo Bajou album Grains, released on !K7 in 2009, performing vocals on the tracks "Same Sun", "Heavy On Me" and "Messenger".

In the 2011 UK Asian Music Awards, Rumer was nominated for Best Alternative Act and Best Newcomer^[18] and ended up winning Best Alternative Act.^[19] Rumer also contributed to a memorial concert to film composer, John Barry, which took place on 20 June 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall in London where the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dame Shirley Bassey, David Arnold, Wynne Evans, trumpeter Derek Watkins and others performed Barry's music.^[20][21][22] Rumer performed the John Barry/Hal David song "We Have All The Time In The World" accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Dodd. She recorded the track "I Believe in You" for the end credits to Johnny English Reborn, released in October 2011.^[23]

She released her second album Boys Don't Cry on May 28, 2012 which contains a selection of songs by artist/writers from the 1970s period.

Television and radio appearances

Rumer performing at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, March 2011

In September 2010, Rumer performed three songs on Later with Jools Holland.^[6] She performed with British jazz singer Jamie Cullum in the 2010 Royal Variety Performance.^[24] Also in 2010, Elton John invited Rumer to be his special guest at his BBC Electric Proms concert.^[6] At the end of 2010, Rumer performed the song Aretha on Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny.

On 20 February 2011, Rumer sang "What the World Needs Now Is Love" on ITV1's Dancing on Ice, to which Torvill and Dean skated. On 29 January 2012, Rumer was featured on the US television program CBS Sunday Morning. Following the airing of this segment, her album reached the #1 spot on iTunes.

On 9 May 2012, Rumer performed at the White House in a tribute concert honouring the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, singing the Bacharach-David song "A House Is Not a Home." She also participated in the finale, "What the World Needs Now Is Love." The concert, Burt Bacharach & Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song In Performance at the White House, was broadcast on PBS on May 21, 2012.^[25] In May 2012, she performed a selection of songs on Later... with Jools Holland alongside acts such as Josh Osho.

Personal life

In 2010 Rumer entered into a relationship with Sam Winwood, the son of Muff Winwood, an English songwriter, former member of the Spencer Davis Group, and record producer.^[7] The two separated the following year.^[26]

Rumer has an interest in musicals and the work of Judy Garland.^[2]

Awards

• 2011: Nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act and Best British Female Solo Artist^[27]
• 2011: Nominated for the UK Asian Music Award for Best Alternative Act and Best Newcomer^[18]
• 2011: Won the UK Asian Music Award for Best Alternative Act^[19]
• 2011: Nominated for the MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act, Best Album with "Seasons of my Soul" and Song of the Year with "Slow"^[28]
• 2011: Won the MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act^[29]

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Radio singles

Videography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rumer (musician).

• Official website