Bridget St John

Bridget St John

Bridget St John, 2003
Background information
Birth name Bridget Hobbs
Born 4 October 1946
South London
Origin England
Genres Folk rock
Occupation(s) Singer, guitarist, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1968–1976; 1999–present
Labels Dandelion
Chrysalis

Bridget St John (born Bridget Hobbs, 4 October 1946, South London) is a British singer and songwriter, best known for the three albums she recorded between 1969 and 1972 for John Peel's Dandelion record label. Peel produced her debut album Ask Me No Questions. She also recorded a large number of BBC Radio and Peel sessions and toured regularly on the British college and festival circuit. Her first stage performances were proposed and staged by Bernard Brandon, her drama mentor at Sheffield University in 1964-5. After a few cameo performances in between zany sketches by the Revue team her very first "proper gig" was at a pub in Rotherham. That was the night she walked back home to Sheffield under the stars and knew she was poised to become one herself. In 1974 she was voted fifth most popular female singer in that year's Melody Maker readers poll.[1]

An accomplished guitar player, she credits John Martyn and Michael Chapman as her "musical brothers".[2]

The second album Songs for the Gentle Man, was produced by Ron Geesin. St John then recorded another album, Jumble Queen, for Chrysalis Records in 1974. She emigrated to Greenwich Village in 1976[3] and virtually disappeared from the public eye for over 20 years. She took part in the Strawbs 25th Anniversary festival held in 1993.[4] She appeared at a Nick Drake tribute concert in New York in 1999.[1] She toured Japan in 2006 with the minimalist French musician Colleen,[1] and appeared with the Electric Strawbs in the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill (NYC) on 27 June 2007.[5]

Aside from work under her own name, Bridget St John has also recorded with Mike Oldfield on his albums Ommadawn (1975) and Amarok (1990), as well as Kevin Ayers and Robin Frederick. In 2007 she reunited with Ayers to record "Baby Come Home" on his album The Unfairground.

She was described by John Peel as "the best lady singer-songwriter in the country".[2]

Albums

  1. "To B Without A Hitch"
  2. "Autumn Lullaby"
  3. "Curl Your Toes"
  4. "Like Never Before"
  5. "The Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity "
  6. "Barefeet And Hot Pavements"
  7. "I Like to Be with You in the Sun" (Song for the Laird of Connaught Hall)
  8. "Lizard-Long-Tongue Boy"
  9. "Hello Again (Of Course)"
  10. "Many Happy Returns"
  11. "Broken Faith"
  12. "Ask Me No Questions"

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Anna Richardson, unidentified article, Cumberland News, 2007. Reproduced within the interview page at the Wayback Machine (archived July 8, 2011) of St John's previous website.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Davies, Gill. "Celtic Connections Festival 2012 - Bridget St John". BBC. Retrieved on 29 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Pullella, Philip. "Bridget St. John happy with move to the Village". St. Petersburg Times, 12 April 1978, p. 3D. Retrieved on 29 May 2013.
  4. ↑ Various sources, reproduced within the interview page at the Wayback Machine (archived July 8, 2011) of St John's previous website.
  5. ↑ Jerry McCarthy, "Electric Strawbs; Bridget St. John, 27 Jun 2007".

External links