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Tracey Thorn | |
|---|---|
 Tracey Thorn in 2012 | |
| Born | (1962-09-26)26 September 1962 (age 62) Brookmans Park,Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 3 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Labels | Cherry Red (1980–1983) Blanco y Negro (1983–1994) Virgin (1995–2007) Strange Feeling (2010–present) Merge (2010–present) |
Musical artist | |
| Website | traceythorn |
Tracey Thorn (born 26 September 1962) is an English singer, songwriter, and author. She is best known as a member of the duoEverything but the Girl, active from 1982 to 2000, and again from 2022. She was in the bandMarine Girls from 1980 to 1983. Since 2007 she has been active as a solo artist, and as a writer of books and essays.
The youngest of three children,[2][3] Thorn was born inBrookmans Park,Hertfordshire. She grew up in nearbyHatfield and studied English at theUniversity of Hull, where she graduated in 1984 with First Class Honours. She later took an MA degree atBirkbeck, University of London.
Thorn began her musical career in the punk-pop hybrid group Stern Bops playing guitar and providing some vocal backing.
Thorn then formedMarine Girls as primary songwriter, playing guitar and sharing vocals. The band released two albums (Beach Party in 1981 andLazy Ways in 1983) and three singles. The group disbanded in 1983.
Thorn metBen Watt at the University of Hull where they were both students, and both signed as solo artists toCherry Red Records. Their first album together wasEden, released in 1984. Everything but the Girl released a body of work that spanned two decades. Their biggest chart success came in 1995, when DJTodd Terryremixed a song from theirAmplified Heart album. "Missing" peaked at number three on theUK Singles Chart; topped the charts in Canada, Denmark, Germany, and Italy; and made the top ten in many countries, including Australia, France, Ireland, Sweden, and the United States.
Everything but the Girl was inactive from 2000 to 2022. During that time, Watt played on some filmed performances of Thorn's solo work and on her 2011 recording ofthe xx's "Night Time".[4]
In November 2022, Watt and Thorn announced on social media that they had recorded a new album as Everything but the Girl. The album, titledFuse, was released in April 2023.[5]
Thorn's first solo work was a mini-album entitledA Distant Shore (1982). A re-recorded version of the track "Plain Sailing" was released as a single, and was included on thePillows & Prayers Cherry Red records compilation album.
In the 1980s, Thorn contributed guest vocals and backing vocals forThe Style Council on the track "The Paris Match" (from the albumCafé Bleu),The Go-Betweens on their trackHead Full of Steam,Working Week on the single "Venceremos (We Will Win)" andLloyd Cole and the Commotions on the track "Big Snake".
In the 1990s, she collaborated withMassive Attack on several projects, including the soundtrack for the motion pictureBatman Forever where she contributed with "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game". Their first project together was the song "Protection" (for which she wrote the lyrics and melody) from the album by Massive Attack of the same name. She also co-wrote and sings on the track "Better Things". She also sang "The Tree Knows Everything" onAdam F's debut albumColours and "Over the Rainbow" onJames McMillan's 1993 Japan-only releaseMakin' Changes.[6]
Just prior to her return to recording in 2007, Thorn contributed vocals to the song "Damage" by the bandTiefschwarz on the albumEat Books.
In March 2007, Thorn released her second solo albumOut of the Woods onVirgin Records (Worldwide) and onAstralwerks (USA). It was produced byEwan Pearson, who kept collaborating with her in subsequent releases. The first single from the album, "It's All True", accompanied by remixes from the likes ofKris Menace & Martin Buttrich, was released on 7 February and reached No. 75 on the UK singles chart while the album met critical acclaim and peaked at No. 38 on the Albums Chart.
In 2008, Thorn collaborated with the Hungarian acoustic downtempo groupThe Unbending Trees on their single "Overture", which also featured on their albumChemically Happy (Is The New Sad), released by her partnerBen Watt.
In 2009, Thorn collaborated with the Swedish singer-songwriterJens Lekman for a cover ofThe Magnetic Fields' "Yeah! Oh Yeah!" for a compilation album commemorating twenty years ofMerge Records,Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers!.
Thorn's third solo albumLove and Its Opposite was released in May 2010 on Ben Watt's Strange Feeling Records in the UK, and onMerge Records in the US. Recorded in London and Berlin and produced by Ewan Pearson, it contained eight new songs and two cover versions, "Come on Home to Me" byLee Hazlewood, and "You Are a Lover" byThe Unbending Trees.
Thorn's fourth solo album was a Christmas album entitledTinsel and Lights. It was released in late October 2012, and included covers of songs byCarol Hall,The White Stripes,Ron Sexsmith,Randy Newman,Joni Mitchell,Sufjan Stevens,Low andScritti Politti, plus two original songs and contributions fromGreen Gartside andBen Watt.[7] The original song "Joy" is featured in the 2012 filmAll Is Bright withPaul Giamatti andPaul Rudd.
In 2013 Thorn wrote and recorded the original music forThe Falling, the debut feature film by filmmakerCarol Morley, which premiered at the London Film Festival 2014.[8]
In 2013 Thorn recorded twoMolly Drake tracks for a documentaryThe Songs of Molly Drake, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[9] Molly Drake is the mother of the singer/songwriterNick Drake.
A compilation album,Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982–2015, was released in the UK on 23 October 2015. It has 34 tracks on two discs.
On 17 January 2018, Thorn announced the release of her albumRecord, which was released on 2 March. The album was produced by Ewan Pearson, and features contributions fromCorinne Bailey Rae,Shura, Jona Ma and Stella and Jenny fromWarpaint. Along with the announcement, Thorn released the debut single and video from the project, entitled "Queen".[10]
Virago published Thorn's memoirBedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star early in 2013.[11][12] It received widespread critical acclaim and was aSunday Times Top Ten best-seller.[13]
In 2014, she began a regular column ('Off the Record') for theNew Statesman.[14] The column ran until spring of 2022.[15]
In 2015 Virago published her second book,Naked at the Albert Hall, about singers and singing.[16]
She published a third memoir in 2019:Another Planet: A Teenager in Suburbia (2019).[17]
2021 saw the publication of a fourth book,My Rock 'n' Roll Friend, focused on her friendship withLindy Morrison of theGo-Betweens, and on the experiences of female musicians in the male-dominated music scene.[18]
After 28 years as a couple, Thorn andBen Watt, the other half of Everything But The Girl, married in 2009[19] atChelsea Register Office. They live inHampstead, North London[20] and have three children.[21]
| Year | Awards | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | MTV Europe Music Awards | "Protection" (withMassive Attack) | Best Video | Won |
| 1996 | Brit Awards | Best British Video | Nominated | |
| 2011 | International Dance Music Awards | "Why Does the Wind?" | Best House/Garage Track | Nominated |
| 2017 | Artist and Manager Awards | Herself | Artists’ Artist Award | Won |
| 2018 | AIM Independent Music Awards | Outstanding Contribution to Music | Won | |
| Classic Pop Reader Awards[22] | Artist of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Record | Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| '"Queen" | Single of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Best Art Vinyl[23] | Record | Best Art Vinyl | Nominated | |
| 2019 | GAFFA-Prisen Awards | Herself | Best International Artist | Nominated |
| Record | Best International Album | Nominated |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [24] | AUS [25] | GRE [26] | SWE [27] | US [28] | ||
| A Distant Shore |
| — | — | — | — | — |
| Out of the Woods |
| 38 | 86 | — | 44 | 172 |
| Love and Its Opposite |
| 51 | — | 16 | 22 | 144 |
| Tinsel and Lights |
| 94 | — | — | — | — |
| Record |
| 15 | — | — | — | — |
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Plain Sailing" | A Distant Shore |
| 2007 | "It's All True" | Out of the Woods |
| "Raise the Roof" | ||
| "Grand Canyon" | ||
| "King's Cross" | ||
| 2010 | "Oh, the Divorces!" | Love and its Opposite |
| "Why Does the Wind?" | ||
| 2011 | "You Are a Lover" | |
| "Night Time" | Night Time EP | |
| 2012 | "In the Cold, Cold Night" | Tinsel and Lights |
| "Tinsel and Lights" | ||
| "Joy" | ||
| 2018 | "Queen"[10] | Record |
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Venceremos (We Will Win)" withWorking Week | single only |
| "The Paris Match" withThe Style Council | Chilled Jazz with The Style Council andCafe Bleu (Style Council album) | |
| 1986 | "Head Full of Steam" withThe Go-Betweens | Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express |
| "Apology Accepted" with The Go-Betweens | ||
| 1987 | "Big Snake" withLloyd Cole and the Commotions | Mainstream |
| 1993 | "Over the Rainbow" withJames McMillan | Makin' Changes by James McMillan |
| 1994 | "Protection" withMassive Attack | Protection (Massive Attack) |
| "Better Things" with Massive Attack | ||
| 1995 | "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" with Massive Attack | Batman Forever |
| 1997 | "The Tree Knows Everything" withAdam F | Colours (Adam F) |
| 2007 | "Damage" withTiefschwarz | Eat Books (Tiefschwarz) |
| 2008 | "Overture" withThe Unbending Trees | Chemically Happy (Is the New Sad) |
| 2009 | "Yeah! Oh Yeah!" withJens Lekman | Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers! |
| 2010 | "Without Me" with Tevo Howard | |
| 2012 | "Taking Down The Tree" withGreen Gartside | Tinsel and Lights |
| 2015 | "Disappointing" withJohn Grant | Grey Tickles, Black Pressure |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |