Beth Gibbons

Beth Gibbons

Gibbons at Roskilde Festival 2011.
Background information
Born 4 January 1965
Origin Exeter, Devon, England
Genres Trip hop, folk,[1] alternative rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active 1991–present
Labels Go! Beat, Sanctuary
Associated acts Portishead, Rustin Man
Website Official MySpace page

Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the English band Portishead.

Early life

Gibbons was born in 1965 in Exeter, Devon,[2] and raised on a farm with two other sisters. Her parents divorced when she was young.[3] At 22, she moved to Bath, then Bristol to pursue her singing career, where she met Geoff Barrow, her future collaborator in Portishead.[4] She sings in the contralto range.

Career

With Adrian Utley, Gibbons and Barrow released the first Portishead album Dummy in 1994 and have produced two other studio albums, a live album, and various singles in the years since. She has also collaborated on a separate project with former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb (Rustin Man). Before she joined Geoff Barrow in Portishead, she had auditioned for the singer's slot in .O.rang, the group formed by Webb after Talk Talk's late-Eighties departure from EMI, but Portishead's sudden success pre-empted matters. In October 2002, they released the album Out of Season in the United Kingdom. The album peaked at number 28 in the UK Albums Chart.[5] It was released in the United States a year later.

She has cited Nina Simone, Edith Piaf, Sugarcubes, Pixies and Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins as musical influences.[6][3]

Gibbons was also a judge for the 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

In June 2013, Gibbons announced plans for a new solo album with Domino Records.[7][8] She contributed vocals to a cover of the song "Black Sabbath" by the British metal band Gonga, entitled "Black Sabbeth", released 24 April 2014.[9]

Discography

Portishead

Solo

Other works

References

  1. Beitia, Sara (11 August 2004). "Beth Gibbons: Out of Season". Boise Weekly. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  2. "Full Beth Gibbons Biography". Perfect People. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Solo album bio" Biography previously published on a Finnish site (archived), Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  4. Stuart Clark. "NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS | Music | Interview". Hot Press. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 226. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. "Oor Interview 1995" Erik van den Berg, There's not only emotion in the way you sing but also in what you sing, Oor Magazine (no. .6), 8 April 1995, (translated from Dutch). Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  7. "Domino". Beth Gibbons. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  8. "Portishead's Beth Gibbons to Release New Solo Album on Domino | News". Pitchfork. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  9. "Sabbath cover" Jeremy Gordon, 'Portishead's Beth Gibbons Covers Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath" With Metal Band Gonga', Pitchfork, 24 April 2014.
  10. Gordon, Jeremy (24 April 2014). "Portishead's Beth Gibbons Covers Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath" With Metal Band Gonga". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 May 2014.

External links

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