Beth Gibbons
Encyclopedia
Beth Gibbons is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist
for the iconic British band Portishead.
where she began singing locally and was known as the little girl with the big voice. She met future Portishead partner and longtime collaborator Geoff Barrow
in a Youth Enterprise training scheme and the rest was history. Influenced by artist such as Billie Holiday
and Edith Piaf
, she is known for her contralto
vocal range. Admired by artists as diverse as Dr. Dre
and Robert Plant
, Gibbons and Barrow released the first debut Portishead album, Dummy
, in 1994 that was awarded the Mercury Prize
for best British Album in 1995. Later produced two studio albums as well as a live album. Self titled Portishead
1997. Roseland NYC Live
1998. Third
in 2008 and various singles in the years between. She has also collaborated on a separate project with former Talk Talk
bassist Paul Webb
also known as Rustin man. (Before she joined Geoff Barrow in Portishead, she auditioned for the singer's slot in .O.rang
, the group formed by Webb after Talk Talk's late-Eighties departure from EMI, but Portishead's sudden success pre-empted matters.) In October 2002, they released the album Out of Season in the United Kingdom. The album peaked at number 28 in the UK Albums Chart
. It was released in the United States a year later.
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:...
for the iconic British band Portishead.
Early life
Gibbons was born in 1965 in Exeter and raised on a small farm with her mother and three sisters twenty miles outside of town. At the age of 22, Beth left home and moved to Bath, Somerset but after a rather unsuccessful career as a bar chanteuse, Beth decided to take her chances as a singer and move to BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
where she began singing locally and was known as the little girl with the big voice. She met future Portishead partner and longtime collaborator Geoff Barrow
Geoff Barrow
Geoffrey Paul Barrow is the producer, disc jockey, and instrumentalist for Portishead.Portishead—formed in 1991—was named after the small town near Bristol where Barrow grew up...
in a Youth Enterprise training scheme and the rest was history. Influenced by artist such as Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
and Edith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, she is known for her contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
vocal range. Admired by artists as diverse as Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
Career
With third member Adrian UtleyAdrian Utley
Adrian Francis Utley is an English musician and a member of the band Portishead.-Biography:Utley is self-taught on guitar, bass and keyboards, and played professionally from the age of 18 in working men's clubs, night clubs, holiday camps, and in cabaret, backing soul artists...
, Gibbons and Barrow released the first debut Portishead album, Dummy
Dummy (album)
Dummy is the debut album of the Bristol-based group Portishead. Released in October 22, 1994 on Go! Discs, the album earned critical acclaim, winning the 1995 Mercury Music Prize. It is often credited with popularizing the trip-hop genre and is frequently cited in lists of the best albums of the...
, in 1994 that was awarded the Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
for best British Album in 1995. Later produced two studio albums as well as a live album. Self titled Portishead
Portishead (album)
Portishead is the second album of the Bristol-based group Portishead, released in 1997. The album reached #2 on the UK Album Chart and #21 on the Billboard 200 chart....
1997. Roseland NYC Live
Roseland NYC Live
Roseland NYC Live is a live album by Portishead with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, mixed with Rik Simpson. It was released in 1998 by Go! Discs/London. A PAL format VHS video was released the same year, with a DVD version following four years later...
1998. Third
Third (Portishead album)
Third is the third studio album by English musical group Portishead, released on 27 April 2008, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, two days after on Mercury Records in the United States, and on 30 April 2008 on Universal Music Japan in Japan. It is their first release in 10 years, and their...
in 2008 and various singles in the years between. She has also collaborated on a separate project with former Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
bassist Paul Webb
Paul Webb
Paul Douglas Webb is an English musician.Webb attended secondary school with Lee Harris, and the two became good friends. They played in the reggae band Eskalator before being recruited to form Talk Talk in 1981. Webb played bass for Talk Talk until 1988.In the early 1990s he and Harris formed...
also known as Rustin man. (Before she joined Geoff Barrow in Portishead, she auditioned for the singer's slot in .O.rang
.O.rang
.O.rang is a band led by Lee Harris and Paul Webb, formerly of Talk Talk. The group's first album, Herd of Instinct , was recorded similarly to Talk Talk's later albums: guest musicians played hours of improvisational material, then the performances were edited down and pieced together...
, the group formed by Webb after Talk Talk's late-Eighties departure from EMI, but Portishead's sudden success pre-empted matters.) In October 2002, they released the album Out of Season in the United Kingdom. The album peaked at number 28 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. It was released in the United States a year later.
Portishead
- DummyDummy (album)Dummy is the debut album of the Bristol-based group Portishead. Released in October 22, 1994 on Go! Discs, the album earned critical acclaim, winning the 1995 Mercury Music Prize. It is often credited with popularizing the trip-hop genre and is frequently cited in lists of the best albums of the...
(1994) - PortisheadPortishead (album)Portishead is the second album of the Bristol-based group Portishead, released in 1997. The album reached #2 on the UK Album Chart and #21 on the Billboard 200 chart....
(1997) - Roseland NYC LiveRoseland NYC LiveRoseland NYC Live is a live album by Portishead with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, mixed with Rik Simpson. It was released in 1998 by Go! Discs/London. A PAL format VHS video was released the same year, with a DVD version following four years later...
(1998) - ThirdThird (Portishead album)Third is the third studio album by English musical group Portishead, released on 27 April 2008, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, two days after on Mercury Records in the United States, and on 30 April 2008 on Universal Music Japan in Japan. It is their first release in 10 years, and their...
(2008)
Solo
- Out of Season (2002) with Rustin Man
- Acoustic Sunlight (2003) with Rustin Man
Other works
- "Orang" in .O.rang.O.rang.O.rang is a band led by Lee Harris and Paul Webb, formerly of Talk Talk. The group's first album, Herd of Instinct , was recorded similarly to Talk Talk's later albums: guest musicians played hours of improvisational material, then the performances were edited down and pieced together...
's album Herd of Instinct (1994) - "Jalap" in .O.rang's album Fields and Waves (1996)
- "Lonely Carousel" in Rodrigo LeãoRodrigo LeãoRodrigo Leão is a Portuguese musician and composer. He was born in Lisbon in 1964. He became known for his musical compositions and participation in Portuguese bands such as Madredeus and Sétima Legião....
's album Cinema - "Strange Melody" in Jane BirkinJane BirkinJane Mallory Birkin, OBE is an English-born actress and singer who lives in France. In recent years she has written her own album, directed a film and become an outspoken proponent of democracy in Burma.- Early life :...
's album Rendez-Vous - "Killing Time" in Joss StoneJoss StoneJocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
's Mind, Body & SoulMind, Body & SoulMind Body & Soul is the second studio album by English recording artist Joss Stone. Released in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2004 by Relentless Records, it is Stone's most successful album to date in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number one and stayed atop for one week... - Soundtrack for Diane Bertrand's film "L'AnnulaireL'AnnulaireL'Annulaire is a French film released on June 8, 2005. It was written and directed by Diane Bertrand. The film is referred to as The Ring Finger in Australia.-Plot:...
" (unreleased, 2005) - "My Secret" in Jane BirkinJane BirkinJane Mallory Birkin, OBE is an English-born actress and singer who lives in France. In recent years she has written her own album, directed a film and become an outspoken proponent of democracy in Burma.- Early life :...
's album Fictions - "Stranger in this Land" in Fried's album Fried
- "SingSing (Annie Lennox song)"Sing" is a song by Annie Lennox, released as the second single from her fourth solo studio album, Songs of Mass Destruction . The single was originally released as a digital download only single in late 2007. A limited 3 track edition was made available exclusively from The Body Shop from 10...
" with Annie LennoxAnnie LennoxAnnie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
from Songs of Mass DestructionSongs of Mass DestructionSongs of Mass Destruction is the title of the fourth studio album by Annie Lennox, released on October 1, 2007 in the UK and October 2, 2007, in the U.S.. The album debuted at number 7 in the UK, and number 9 in the U.S. where it sold 78,000 copies its first week... - Soundtrack for Diane Bertrand's film Baby Blues
- "Requiem for Anna" on Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited - performed as Portishead
- Soundtrack for Julie TaymorJulie TaymorJulie Taymor is an American director of theater, opera and film. Taymor's work has received many accolades from critics, and she has earned two Tony Awards out of four nominations, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, an Emmy Award and an Academy Award nomination for Original Song...
's film "The Tempest (2010 film)" - "Prospera's Coda" by Elliot GoldenthalElliot GoldenthalElliot Goldenthal is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, and is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various musical styles and techniques in original and inventive ways... - "Mysteries" with Rustin Man from "The Russian DollsThe Russian DollsThe Russian Dolls is a 2005 French-British film, the sequel to L'Auberge espagnole . Cédric Klapisch wrote and directed the film, whose settings include Paris, London, Saint Petersburg and Moscow...
" soundtrack