Alannah Currie
Encyclopedia
Alannah Currie is a musician
and artist, best known as a former member of the UK
pop
group
, Thompson Twins
.
journalist
. Currie squatted
in various places in South West London
, ending up in Lillieshall Road, Clapham
Old Town. This turned out to be a major step on the road to stardom
with the Thompson Twins
. In 1979, with her across-the-road neighbour, Trace Newton-Ingham (Traci Newton), she co-founded the dread-punk
-improvising group
, The Unfuckables. The Unfuckables performed one gig
at an Anti-Psychiatry Conference in early 1980, held in the Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London
. For this particular gig the group comprised the two co-founders, plus an array of musician
s from London's 'underground
' music scene - Viv Albertine
(The Slits
), Gareth Sager
(The Pop Group
), Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward
(This Heat
), Tom Bailey (of Thompson Twins
, whom she would later marry), Jimmy Cauty
(later of The KLF
, and her current husband) and improviser Steve Beresford
, amongst others.
Her songwriting credits include "I Want That Man
", an international
hit
for Deborah Harry
in 1989.
By 1992, Currie and her husband, fellow Thompson Twins band member Tom Bailey, had grown tired of being expected to chase chart success with new Thompson Twins material. After touring India
collecting inspiration and audio samples, they elected to form Babble, featuring Currie as lyricist
, percussionist and visual artist, as a means of creating music without the commercial expectations that were placed on the Thompson Twins. By 1994 Babble had released their first album
. Currie later returned to New Zealand working primarily as a glass artist and environmental activist. She was founder of the women's anti-GM movement MAdGE. In 2004 she designed a series of protest billboards
that caused controversy in New Zealand but won several international art
/ science
awards.
Since divorced from Bailey, Currie currently lives and works in London with her daughter Indigo and current husband Jimmy Cauty
. Currie makes sculptural art-furniture under the name Miss Pokeno.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and artist, best known as a former member of the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
group
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...
.
Career
Born in New Zealand, Currie emigrated to the UK in 1977, as a rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. Currie squatted
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
in various places in South West London
South West (London sub region)
The South West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of London Borough of , Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Wandsworth. The sub region was established in 2008. The south west has a population of 1,600,000 and is the location...
, ending up in Lillieshall Road, Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
Old Town. This turned out to be a major step on the road to stardom
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
with the Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...
. In 1979, with her across-the-road neighbour, Trace Newton-Ingham (Traci Newton), she co-founded the dread-punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
-improvising group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, The Unfuckables. The Unfuckables performed one gig
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
at an Anti-Psychiatry Conference in early 1980, held in the Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. For this particular gig the group comprised the two co-founders, plus an array of musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s from London's 'underground
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
' music scene - Viv Albertine
Viv Albertine
Viv Albertine is a British singer and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for the influential, all-female English punk group, The Slits....
(The Slits
The Slits
The Slits were a British punk rock band. The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up , who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive , with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and...
), Gareth Sager
Gareth Sager
Gareth Sager is a British guitarist, keyboardist, musician and songwriter, who has played in several British groups.He moved to Scotland with his family and attended George Watsons College from 1965 till 1970. Sager was a member of the Bristol acts The Pop Group, Rip Rig + Panic , Float Up CP and...
(The Pop Group
The Pop Group
The Pop Group are a British post-punk band from Bristol, England, formed in 1978, whose dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were often political in nature...
), Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward
Charles Hayward (musician)
Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock group This Heat. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Radar Favourites, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with old schoolfriend and "Pooh and the Ostrich Feather" member Phil Manzanera in the...
(This Heat
This Heat
This Heat were a British experimental music group formed in early 1976 in Camberwell, London by multi-instrumentalists Charles Bullen , Charles Hayward and Gareth Williams .This Heat were active in the ascendancy of British progressive rock and punk rock, but stood apart...
), Tom Bailey (of Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...
, whom she would later marry), Jimmy Cauty
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...
(later of The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, and her current husband) and improviser Steve Beresford
Steve Beresford
Steve Beresford is a British musician who graduated from the University of York. He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, trumpet, euphonium, double-bass and a wide variety of toy instruments, such as the toy piano. He has also played a wide range of music...
, amongst others.
Her songwriting credits include "I Want That Man
I Want That Man
"I Want That Man" is a single released in 1989 by Deborah Harry - her first solo single to be released using her Christian name Deborah instead of 'Debbie'.-Song information:...
", an international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
for Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
in 1989.
By 1992, Currie and her husband, fellow Thompson Twins band member Tom Bailey, had grown tired of being expected to chase chart success with new Thompson Twins material. After touring India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
collecting inspiration and audio samples, they elected to form Babble, featuring Currie as lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, percussionist and visual artist, as a means of creating music without the commercial expectations that were placed on the Thompson Twins. By 1994 Babble had released their first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. Currie later returned to New Zealand working primarily as a glass artist and environmental activist. She was founder of the women's anti-GM movement MAdGE. In 2004 she designed a series of protest billboards
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
that caused controversy in New Zealand but won several international art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
/ science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
awards.
Since divorced from Bailey, Currie currently lives and works in London with her daughter Indigo and current husband Jimmy Cauty
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...
. Currie makes sculptural art-furniture under the name Miss Pokeno.
External links
- The Guardian interview (April 2008)
- Investigate.com
- [ Songwriting credits @ Allmusic.com]