Everything but the Girl | |
|---|---|
 Tracey Thorn andBen Watt in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | EBTG |
| Origin | Hull,East Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Members | Tracey Thorn Ben Watt |
| Website | ebtg |
Everything but the Girl are an Englishpop duo formed inKingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitaristTracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and singerBen Watt. The group's early works have been categorized assophisti-pop withjazz influences[4][5] before undergoing anelectronic music turn following the worldwide success of the 1994 hit single "Missing", remixed byTodd Terry.[6]
The duo have achieved four top 10 and 12 top 40 singles in the UK[7] and received eightgold and twoplatinum albumBPI certifications in the UK[8] as well as one gold albumRIAA certification in the US.[9] Their cover of "I Don't Want to Talk About It" reached No. 3 on theUK Singles Chart in 1988, a feat later matched by "Missing", which charted high in several countries and reached No. 2 on theU.S.Billboard Hot 100 in 1995. The "Missing" remix spent over seven months on the UK Singles Chart, which led to aBrit Award nomination for Best British Single.
Their ninth album,Walking Wounded (1996), entered the UK albums chart at No. 4, and spawned the top-10 singles "Walking Wounded" and "Wrong". The band went inactive in 2000, with Thorn declaring she would no longer perform live.[10] Thorn and Watt, who did not publicise their romantic relationship while active,[11] married in 2009,[12] both released solo albums and said it was unlikely Everything but the Girl would be active again.[13]
However, in November 2022, Thorn and Watt announced that they had just completed work on a new Everything but the Girl album.Fuse, the band's first new material in 24 years, was released on 21 April 2023. It charted at No. 3 on theOfficial UK Album Chart, making it the highest charting album of their career. In a 5-star review,The Guardian said: "Still staking out pop's frontier after 40 years. It is audibly made by people with a deep love for and understanding of the music they're inspired by a comeback worth waiting for.”
When Thorn and Watt met, they were both attending theUniversity of Hull and both had contracted with theindependent record companyCherry Red Records as solo artists.[14] Thorn was also a member of thetrioMarine Girls.
They formed a side-project[15] as a duo and adopted the name Everything but the Girl from a slogan used by the Hull shop,Turner's Furniture[16] at 34–38Beverley Road, between Norfolk Street and College Street.[1][17]
Everything but the Girl's debut EP,[18][19] with a"samba interpretation" ofCole Porter's "Night and Day",[20] was released in June 1982.[1] After steady sales and exposure on the Cherry Red Records 99-pence promotional Christmas 1982compilation album entitledPillows & Prayers, the single was reissued in August 1983.
Later, the pair, separately, each, had solo album releases through Cherry Red. Thorn's 1982 LP wasA Distant Shore, an eight-track mini-album.[21] Watt's 1983 debut LP,North Marine Drive, was the follow-up to his 1982 5-track EPSummer Into Winter, featuringRobert Wyatt.[1]
On 5 January 1983, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, as Everything But the Girl, made their live debut at theInstitute of Contemporary Arts in London, and performed with Paul Weller.[22]
Thorn and Watt, as Everything but the Girl signed toBlanco y Negro Records.[21]
Recorded in September 1983,[23] by May 1984, their debut album,Eden,[21] was released, reaching No. 14 on theUK Albums Chart, spending 20 weeks on the chart.[7] It featured the single "Each and Every One", which reached No. 28 on theUK Singles Chart.[7] Thorn wrote in 2016 that her lyric was misunderstood as a lovelorn lament, when it was actually a response to the patronizing tone her earlier all-female bandMarine Girls was written about by male music critics.[24]
In spite of their early history as established independent artists, as newcomers Everything but the Girl were considered part of the "lite-jazz/neo-jazz-pop"[25] music style, later[26] known as "sophisti-pop", alongside other British acts such asCarmel, a then-newly-soloAlison Moyet,Swing Out Sister,Sade,Matt Bianco andThe Style Council. Both Watt and Thorn were guest musicians on the Style Council'sCafé Bleu album, where Thorn's vocals were featured onThe Paris Match.[1] Everything but the Girl worked with producerRobin Millar, who also producedSade's debut album in the same studio, alternating between recording and collaborating with the two bands.[27]
A later version of the album,Everything but the Girl, was released in the United States on the Sire label, containing six tracks fromEden,[28] two UK singles and four alternate tracks,[29] the six substitutions replace the second side.[25]
Love Not Money, released in 1985, was the band's second studio album release, signaling a move away from jazz and Latin influences to more traditional electric guitar, bass and drums arrangements. The US edition included two songs not on the original UK release: a cover version ofthe Pretenders' song "Kid" and "Heaven Help Me".[citation needed]
In 1986, the band releasedBaby, the Stars Shine Bright, recorded with an orchestra atAbbey Road Studios.[1] They revealed the album's inspiration by their choices ofB-sides for the single releases: songs fromBacharach andJimmy Webb on the12" versions (as well as a cover version ofPatsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces"). The first single from the album was "Come on Home", followed by "Don't Leave Me Behind".[citation needed]
In 1988, Everything but the Girl releasedIdlewild. Blending acoustic instrumentation with sequenced drums and synthesisers, it reached No. 13 on the UK Albums Chart, spending 15 weeks on the chart.[7] A cover version ofDanny Whitten's "I Don't Want to Talk About It",[21] previously a success forRod Stewart, was released as a single shortly afterwards. It reached No. 3 on theUK Singles Chart[7] and was added to the latter issues of the album.[1] Around this time,Lloyd Cole and the Commotions asked Thorn to contribute vocals to the song "Big Snake" on their final studio album,Mainstream.
1990's Los-Angeles-recorded "slick, commercial"[30] albumThe Language of Life was produced byTommy LiPuma and featured notable US west coast and US east coast session musicians, includingOmar Hakim,Vinnie Colaiuta,Lenny Castro,Joe Sample andMichael Brecker.Stan Getz contributed atenor sax solo on the song "The Road".[1] The single "Driving".[1] received heavy rotation on American adult alternative radio.[citation needed]
In 1991, they released the self-produced albumWorldwide. It charted at No. 29 on the UK Albums Chart.[7]
1992 saw the release of the acousticCoversEP. It reached No. 13 on the UK chart.[7] The lead track was "Love Is Strange". It also included cover versions ofBruce Springsteen's "Tougher Than the Rest";Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time" andElvis Costello's "Alison".[1] These four tracks were included on the US only album,Acoustic.[1]
In mid 1992, the duo was forced to curtailrecording andtouring for several months when Watt became seriously ill. He was eventually diagnosed witheosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a rareautoimmune disease. Watt was hospitalised for 10 weeks, and endured several life-saving operations; he subsequently wrote a memoir,Patient, about his near-death ordeal.
In 1993, Everything but the Girl released two EPs in the UK. One featured a cover version ofPaul Simon's "The Only Living Boy in New York". The other spawned a subsequent top 10 UK hit, "I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love",[31] forKaren Ramirez.
In 1994, Everything but the Girl released their seventh album,Amplified Heart, a hybrid offolk rock andelectronica featuring contributions from guitaristRichard Thompson, double bassistDanny Thompson, drummerDave Mattacks, and producer/programmerJohn Coxon. ProducerTodd Terryremixed the track "Missing", and when released as a single, it became an international success.[1] It reached the top ten around the world, including the US, where it peaked at No. 2 in theBillboard Hot 100.[1]
While recordingAmplified Heart Thorn and Watt wrote lyrics and music for two tracks – "Protection" and "Better Things" onMassive Attack's second albumProtection. Thorn sang lead vocals on both. The single "Protection" reached No. 14 on the UK top 40.[32] The album reached No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart.[32]
Buoyed by the recent successes and out of contract at WEA, Everything but the Girl released the self-producedWalking Wounded in 1996 exclusively licensed toAtlantic Records for the United States and Canada andVirgin Records for the Rest of the World. Featuring collaborations withSpring Heel Jack andHowie B it ushered in a new electronic sound for their own work. It charted at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned two top ten UK singles – "Walking Wounded" and "Wrong". Two further singles – "Single" and "Before Today" – reached No. 20 and No. 25 respectively.[7]
In 1999, the duo followed it up with their ninth studio album,Temperamental. It charted at No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart.[7]
The duo performed their final show at theMontreux Jazz Festival in 2000.[33]
Self-awareness is a dangerous thing: by about the third or fourth record, people were throwing comparisons at us and you have to be very tough to withstand it. And by the end of the '90s, we were playing to 5,000 people a night. I'd stand on stage, looking out, thinking, "I don't want to be this big."
Between 2000 and 2022, there were no new recordings from Everything but the Girl. In 2002, 2004, and 2005, the duo curated compilations of their material. The 2004 compilation,Like the Deserts Miss the Rain, was a DVD release that included footage of a 1999 performance at the Forum venue in London, UK, for whichJohn McKenzie and long-time collaboratorMartin Ditcham performed alongside the pair as session musicians.[citation needed]
From 1999, Watt concentrated on DJ and production/remix work, finding success as one half ofLazy Dog, with partner Jay Hannan, and collaborating withBeth Orton on her 1999 albumCentral Reservation and her 2002 albumDaybreaker.[35] Watt then proceeded with a new angle on his solo career that included launching the Buzzin' Fly record label in 2003,[36] and becoming the part-owner-founder of the Neighbourhood and Cherry Jam nightclubs from 2002–2005.[37] Watt released a string of club-oriented productions including theBright Star EP, with producer Stimming and British singerJulia Biel, on Buzzin' Fly in 2010.[38]
In 2005, Thorn co-wrote and recorded vocals for the song "Damage", a collaboration with German bandTiefschwarz that appeared on theirEat Books album. Thorn's second solo album,Out of the Woods, was then released in 2007,[39] followed by her third solo album,Love and Its Opposite, in 2010.[40] In October 2011, Thorn released a cover version ofThe xx's "Night Time", on which Watt played guitar and sang backing vocals. This was their first recording together in over a decade, although it was not an Everything but the Girl release.[41]
In an April 2011 interview, Thorn was asked whether she would ever work again with Watt as Everything but the Girl. Thorn responded, "Yes, we do keep saying we are nearly ready to maybe do some work together again. There are certain obstacles, some practical, some psychological, that we would need to overcome. But it may well happen."[42] A collection of Christmas songs,Tinsel and Lights, for which Thorn recorded cover versions of Christmas songs with two new original songs, was released in October 2012 on Buzzin' Fly's sister record label Strange Feeling.[43] Watt and the couple's children provided backing vocals on the original song "Joy".
In 2012, the band's first four albums were reissued byEdsel Records as "deluxe"double CDs, with demo recordings and other additional material. At the time, Watt explained thatWarner Music Group still maintained control over their back catalogue: "our big fear was that one day we'd wake up and they'd have reissued them, without telling us."; when the representative from Edsel, a company that specialises in reissued material, made contact, the couple decided that the time was appropriate. Additionally, Thorn stated that the thought of reforming the band and playing live filled her "with cold dread"—upon re-listening to the early Everything but the Girl records, Thorn experienced a sense of "Gosh, well, I'm not really that person any more."[34]
A second tranche of Demon/Edsel reissues, covering the four albums released between 1990 and 1994, was announced in September 2013. According to the Everything but the Girl website, "Once again, Ben and Tracey have helped at every stage of the process, sourcing demos, rarities and memorabilia for the releases."[44]
The band's final two albums,Walking Wounded andTemperamental were given the deluxe treatment and were reissued by Demon/Edsel on 4 September 2015.[45]
Watt paused his association with record labels and DJ activities to return to his folk-jazz singer-songwriter roots in 2014. His first solo album since 1983,Hendra was released on 14 April 2014. It featured collaborations withBernard Butler, formerly of the bandSuede, Berlin-based producerEwan Pearson andDavid Gilmour ofPink Floyd. The album won the 'Best 'Difficult' Second Album' category at the AIM Independent Music Awards 2014.[46] It was included at No 27 inUncut's Top 75 Albums of 2014.[47] He followed it up in 2016 withFever Dream. It continued his relationship with Bernard Butler, and added guest cameos from MC Taylor of North Carolina folk-rock band,Hiss Golden Messenger, and Boston singer-songwriterMarissa Nadler. It received a 9/10 review inUncut magazine.[48] In a four-star review,The Guardian said: 'In his early 50s, he is making some of the best music of his career.'[49]
In addition to solo music projects, both Thorn and Watt have written books. Thorn's 2013 memoir,Bedsit Disco Queen, covers a significant portion of the history of Everything but the Girl as a band.[50]
In July 2017, Everything but the Girl reclaimed the rights to eight of their albums, plus the American rights toTemperamental andWalking Wounded fromWarner Music Group; this catalogue will now be distributed throughChrysalis Records under licence from Watt's Strange Feeling label.[51]
On 2 November 2022, Thorn announced on Twitter that a new Everything but the Girl album had been recorded and would be released in spring 2023.[52]
The first single from their 11th albumFuse, "Nothing Left to Lose" premiered onBBC Radio 6 Music on 10 January 2023.[53]Fuse was released on 21 April 2023 and features "Nothing Left to Lose" along with nine more original songs, both electronic and acoustic.[54]
On 9 August, they releasedLive at Maida Vale, a four-track EP featuring live in-studio performances of threeFuse songs and 1996's "Single".[55]
Watt and Thorn announced to their mailing list on 12 March 2025 that they would be playing two intimate live shows in April 2025 at a 200-capacity venue in East London, performing as a "part-acoustic part-electronic duo [...] drawing on songs from their 40-year careers as both solo artists and a duo". Thorn also stated that "If it goes well we hope to do more."[56] After the success of the April shows, further dates were added throughout 2025, continuing into 2026.[57]
On 10 September 2025, a new compilation was announced,The Best of Everything But the Girl. The 16-track album, released 14 November, spans their 40-year-plus career, from "Night and Day" toFuse.[58]
| Year | Awards | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | D&AD Awards[59] | "Driving" | Animation | Wood Pencil |
| 1996 | MTV EMA | Themselves | Best Dance | Nominated |
| Viva Comet Awards | Best International Act | Won | ||
| Brit Awards | "Missing" | Best British Single | Nominated | |
| Ivor Novello Awards | The Best Selling Song | Nominated | ||
| 1997 | Music Week Awards | Walking Wounded | Best Art Direction[60] | Won |
| 2000 | Billboard Music Video Awards | "Five Fathoms" | Dance Clip of the Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | BMI London Awards | "Missing" | 3 Million Award | Won |
| 2024 | Music Producers Guild Awards | Fuse | Self-producing Artist of the Year | Won |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
| Tracey Thorn | |
| Ben Watt | |