Alison Mosshart | |
|---|---|
 Mosshart in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | VV, Baby Ruthless |
| Born | (1978-11-23)November 23, 1978 (age 46) |
| Origin | Vero Beach,Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Partner | Damian Lewis (2022–present) |
Alison Nicole Mosshart (born November 23, 1978) is an Americansinger, songwriter, artist, and thelead vocalist for therock bandsThe Kills andThe Dead Weather. She started her musical career in 1995 with theFloridapunk rock bandDiscount, which disbanded in 2000.[1] She then co-founded the Kills with British guitaristJamie Hince (formerly ofScarfo andBlyth Power) in 2000 in London.[2]
InThe Kills' first album, Mosshart was known by her stage name "VV" and Hince was known as "Hotel".
In early 2009, she joined thesupergroupThe Dead Weather, formed byJack White, along withJack Lawrence andDean Fertita. In that band, her stage name is "Baby Ruthless".
Mosshart formed pop-punk band Discount (for which she was the singer) at the age of 17 with skateboarding friends[3] inVero Beach, Florida. The band recorded their first album,Ataxia's Alright Tonight when the band members were still in high school, and began touring aggressively throughout the DIY punk underground in North America and Europe.[4] As a front-person, Mosshart distinguished herself through her intense, erratic, and earnest stage presence.[5] Discount's subsequent album,Half Fiction, was subsequently named the 50th Greatest Pop-Punk Album of all time byRolling Stone magazine.[6] The bandmoved from Vero Beach to Gainesville[failed verification], and released their final album,Crash Diagnostic in 2000.[7] The album reflected a move toward more angular sounds and detached lyrics than the emotionally frank pop-punk of the previous two albums.[8] After touring in support of the album, the band played their last show in Gainesville in August 2000.
Before the two even met, Mosshart, while on tour with Discount, overheard Hince playing music in a squat above where she and the band were staying.[9] She finally approached him, after which they started playing around with some music ideas. After she went back to Florida, she continued writing songs with Hince, by sending her ideas overseas to London where he lived. She became very exhausted and ill, so after saving money, Mosshart moved to London and the duo officially started.[citation needed] She has tattooed the date of their first concert on her left hand: 14 February 2002.
In 2003,The Kills released their first albumKeep on Your Mean Side. In 2005, they released their follow-up albumNo Wow.
In 2008,Midnight Boom was released, and singles "U R A Fever", "Cheap and Cheerful", and "Sour Cherry" got much more exposure than the Kills' previous singles on shows and movies likeHouse M.D.,90210,The House Bunny,Friday the 13th (2009 film), andThe Losers.[why?]
On January 11, 2011, Mosshart announced the name of the new albumBlood Pressures. It was released April 5 in the U.S. and April 4 elsewhere. The album is their most commercially successful to date.During the 'Blood Pressures' tour they celebrated their 10-year anniversary on February 11, 2012.[10]They have released a photography book called Dream & Drive of their past 9 years with the photographer Kenneth Capello.[11]
On June 26, 2014,The Kills opened for Jack White in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, for White's Lazaretto tour. Mosshart joined White to perform White's song "Love Interruption", and both Mosshart and Hince joined White to perform Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene".
On June 3, 2016,The Kills released their albumAsh and Ice.
Mosshart is one of the original members of thealternative rock bandThe Dead Weather, formed in late 2008. She had performed previously withJack White andJack Lawrence andThe Raconteurs, prior to this band's formation. She singslead vocals and playsrhythm guitar.
She co-wrote (with Dean Fertita) the band's first single "Hang You from the Heavens", which was released on March 11, 2009. Mosshart also wrote "So Far From Your Weapon" and co-wrote the other eight of the ten original tracks on their debut albumHorehound.
In 2010, a second album -Sea of Cowards - was released. The lead single, "Die By the Drop", was written by Mosshart, Fertita, and Lawrence.
Mosshart and White jammed withSeasick Steve andJohn Paul Jones for the 2011ITunes Festival.[12]
White's Third Man Records released a book made by Mosshart for her three bandmates called Shark Infested Soda Fountain containing pictures she took during their tour.[13]
In 2014, she joined Jack White on stage for his show at Bridge School Benefit to perform "I Cut Like A Buffalo" (fromHorehound) and "Love Interruption" (from White's solo albumBlunderbuss) with him while Dean Fertita was playing guitar.[14]
On August 29, 2013,The Dead Weather announced that they had returned to the studio to record a follow-up to 2010'sSea of Cowards.[15] Announcement of their third album,Dodge and Burn, came in July 2015 for a release in September by Third Man Records. Along with four previously released tracks, remixed and remastered, the album features eight new songs.
Mosshart debuted her artwork as part of ArtNowNY's collaborative exhibit, Push It, in 2014. Her primary medium is paint.
In 2015, she had first solo art show, Fire Power, at the Joseph Gross Gallery in New York.[16]
In 2016, she featured in the Impossible Project in Berlin where she exhibited photographs.[17]
In April 2011, Mosshart contributed toBritishVogue's "Today I'm Wearing"[18] feature, sharing a picture of her outfits each day for one month.
In 2013, she teamed up with French brand Surface to Air to design her ideal leather jacket.[19]
The model andfashion designerAlexa Chung cites Mosshart as a style idol in a 2010 BritishVogue article.[20]
Mosshart grew up inVero Beach, Florida. Mosshart maintains a residence inLondon, England, as well as inNashville, Tennessee.[17]
She has been in a relationship with actorDamian Lewis since 2022.[21][22][23]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
