Alice Glass

Alice Glass

Alice Glass at Popped! Music Festival 2008
Background information
Born August 24, 1988
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres Electronic, Witch house, Synthpop
Years active 2004-present
Labels Lies, Merok, Trouble, Lovepump, Fiction
Associated acts Crystal Castles

Alice Glass is a Canadian singer best known as the former vocalist and co-lyricist [1][2][3] of electronic music band Crystal Castles.

Biography

Alice Glass was born in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario.[4] Her birth name is rumored to be Margaret Osborne.[5] At the age of fourteen she ran away from home to live in a squat community of punks under the name Vicki Vale, yet continued going to school, dropping out before she graduated, and also started an all-girl crust-noise band Fetus Fatale.[6] After seeing Glass perform with Fetus Fatale, Ethan Kath, impressed by her performance, gave her CD-Rs with 60 instrumental tracks of which she chose 5 to write vocals for.[7][8]

In 2008, before the band's interview with Now Magazine, Glass disappeared and neither Ethan nor the band's manager could contact her.[9] Crystal Castles was infamously shut down at Glastonbury 2008 after Glass climbed a speaker stand just before "Alice Practice" and was swallowed by the crowd during "Yes No".[10]

In March 2008 Glass broke two of her ribs in a car accident. Doctors instructed her to take at least six weeks off to allow time to heal but she continued the tour, performing a twenty minute set within days of the accident.[4]

In Tokyo on 18 January 2011, Glass fell and put strain on the unhealed ankle injury, causing her ankle to break. Against the wishes of her physicians, Glass chose to perform 5 months' worth of shows on crutches instead of canceling.[11]

During a 2012 performance with Crystal Castles at Brixton Academy, Glass kept a small shrine on stage in tribute to a deceased fan of the band (18 year old Connor Meek).[12] The show was reported to be very chaotic, so much so that a security guard asked Glass to address the situation. She spoke directly to the crowd, a rarity for a Crystal Castles performance. Before performing "Wrath of God" she went on to explain that the shrine was for the band's friend Conor, who died at only 18 years old the previous day.[13]

At the 2013 Glastonbury Festival, Crystal Castles began their set 20 minutes past the scheduled time, with Glass visibly sick and beginning "Plague" sitting with her head in her hands. According to NME,[14] Glass had been suffering from food poisoning, but chose to perform anyway. According to many fans, Glass pulled through the entire set.[15]

In October 2014, Glass had announced her leaving of Crystal Castles which she claimed was due to her own personal and professional reasons. Glass had stated that she will be launching her solo career in the future.[16]

Accolades

Alice Glass topped NME's Cool List in 2008 (beating mainstream artists such as Jay-Z) and responded by criticizing the idea of the cool list itself.[17] In 2011 Rolling Stone Magazine named Crystal Castles as one of ten icons in 20 Years of Lollapalooza moments (alongside legends such as Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, and Jesus & Mary Chain).[18] Crystal Castles received the John Peel Award For Innovation at the 2011 NME Awards.[17] Crystal Castles debut album was included in NME's "Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade" list at #39.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Brandes, Bertie (17 February 2015). "crystal castles' leading lady alice glass is embracing her own darkness". Vice.
  2. ↑ Mcnett, Jared (8 October 2014). "Five songs to listen to now that Crystal Castles appear to be done". Vox Magazine.
  3. ↑ Listal "Alice Glass".
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Alice Glass". AskMen.com Celebs. AskMen.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ↑ "Is This Crystal Castles’ New Singer?". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Alex Miller, "Alice in wonderland and other stories" (p. 26–30), NME, October 11, 2008.
  7. ↑ complex.com: Indie introduction Read at 2010-06-11
  8. ↑ Gillen, Kieron. "Crystal Castles Interview". Plan B magazine. Archived from the original on 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  9. ↑ Now Magazine
  10. ↑ Gigwise
  11. ↑ "Crystal Castles' Alice Glass Hospitalized With Broken Ankle". CHARTattack. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  12. ↑ http://www.gigwise.com/news/77883/crystal-castles-pay-tribute-to-tragic-fan-after-death-from-cancer
  13. ↑ http://thefourohfive.com/review/article/brixton-academy-london-24-11-12
  14. ↑ http://www.nme.com/photos/glastonbury-2013-the-friday-live-gallery/310451/10/1
  15. ↑ http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/71117
  16. ↑ http://pitchfork.com/news/57013-alice-glass-leaves-crystal-castles/
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Crystal Castles' Alice Glass reacts to topping 2008 Cool List". NME.com Celebs. NME.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  18. ↑ "Lollapalooza Through the Years". rollingstone.com Celebs. rollingstone.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alice Glass.