Sandi Thom
Encyclopedia
Alexandria "Sandi" Thom (born 11 August 1981, Banff
, Aberdeenshire
) is a Scottish
singer-songwriter
and multi-instrumentalist. She became widely known in 2006 after a series of webcast
s and the success of the single "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)
".
, Aberdeenshire. She attended Robert Gordon's College
in Aberdeen
.
At the age of 17, Thom became the youngest student to be accepted at the prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). In 2003, Thom graduated from LIPA with a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts
.
Thom has assisted charity appeals for Oxfam
's work in Malawi.
21 Nights from Tooting was a "tour" consisting of 21 performances from the basement of her Tooting
flat, from 24 February to 16 March. These were recorded and then webcast by professional hosting company Streaming Tank. Tickets were sold, but the venue had a capacity of "six people" ("10 including the band"). The MySpace
post announcing the gigs was posted in the early hours of 22 February. Thom's website states that "the idea [...] popped into her head" after her car broke down traveling from a gig in York (on the 22nd) to one in Wales (on the 23rd) and following the very first live webcast she did at a gig in Edinburgh organized by her PR manager, Paul Boyd. Thom's first ever video webcast was at the Edinburgh Left Bank venue in October 2005. Prompted by a contact from Thom's manager, news services noted Thom's promotion efforts. In a story first published 5 March 2006, The Sunday Times
ran a piece, This was quickly reported on by other news sources. The audience for the first day was around 60 or 70 and at its peak rose to a claimed 70,000. The 7 March Reuters story mentioned that "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" was being re-released the following week, with the album following in April. However, the publicity surrounding the tour led to major label interest, with music label representatives attending the gigs in question, and the release of the records was put back until a deal was signed.
Thom subsequently accepted an offer by Sony
. This led to the single re-release being delayed until May, when it was released on Sony's RCA
label. The news of this broke on 3 April 2006, the official signing itself being webcast. The single was placed on Music Week Daily's playlist that day. Paul Kelly of the Independent and others have questioned how she was able to sustain production of the webcast, and it viewership figures. Her manager, Ian Brown, in an interview with the Guardian, said the idea came from her, whilst her management and Music PR team, Quite Great Communications, claim to have conducted a large publicity campaign, including a million "virtual flyers" [unsolicited emails].
Thom described Streaming Tank as "friends of my managers", since she could not have afforded commercial rates for the streaming. Craig Logan
, the managing director of RCA said that the label was "drawn to" Thom after hearing of the webcasting, as has Thom herself.
Following her online webcast concerts from her basement in Tooting
, "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" was re-released on 22 May 2006, on RCA Records
UK. The song had been gaining in airplay exposure, and on download sales it achieved #15 in the general charts (and #7 in the official downloads chart). The physical release had three formats: two CD versions (one featuring the radio mix and "A Light As Bright As Ours", another featuring the radio mix, the album version, a further remix, "May You Never" and the video), and also as a 7" vinyl record backed with "No More Heroes". In the week of 22 May, the song reached #2 in both charts. She performed on Top of the Pops
on 28 May, making her major terrestrial television debut, and on 4 June, the song replaced the deleted "Gnarls Barkley
" single "Crazy"
at #1 in the singles chart. Her debut album, Smile... It Confuses People
was released in the United Kingdom
on Monday 5 June 2006, and debuted at number one in the chart dated 11 June, selling over 700,000 copies worldwide. The song was later nominated at the Brit Awards
for Best British Single. In the Republic of Ireland
, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker" entered the singles chart at #10 (week ending 25 May 2006), and rising to #2 in the following week (ending 1 June), and then to #1 the week after, but was then knocked off the top spot by Shakira
's "Hips Don't Lie
". The single also enjoyed success overseas, where it reached number 1 on the Australia "ARIA Charts
" for ten consecutive weeks making it Australia's highest selling single of 2006.
"I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" was the 47th biggest selling UK single from a female artist since 2000 according to the Official Charts Company as of January 2009. The follow-up single "What If I'm Right
" reached the lower reaches of the charts, but "Lonely Girl", the third single from the album, failed to enter any charts.
, preceded by the first single, "The Devil's Beat
", available on CD from 19 May 2008. Prior to the release, journalists were doubtful about its appeal. The album and single received extensive airplay on BBC Radio 2
. In the UK, the single reached a high of 58 and dropped out of the Top 75 after two weeks; the album entered the chart at 25, dropping to 65 the next week, and then dropped out of the Top 75. The following single "Saturday Night" failed to chart on its release.
Thom has said:
Although in an interview in the same newspaper dated 2 February and prior to the album's release Thom is quoted as saying "I'm surprised how long it has taken to make this new album. It has been like therapy. I have progressed as an artist", also in the same interview she confirmed her position as a Nationalist supporter, which she was to deny in the months to come.
In February 2009, Thom announced that she would be making her third album as an independent artist, and expressed reservations over future music being released by record label RCA, who she claimed pressured her during the making of her second album (The Pink and the Lily) by demanding changes to lyrics on songs like "Saturday Night"; she said that the song was actually about taking drugs. She was also unhappy with their choice of singles. Along with other positioning decisions and demands centered on their desire for her to deliver bubblegum pop
that Thom claimed the record company had made, she was unwilling to carry on working with RCA.
A second single "Gold Dust" (smoking gun remix) was released as a download-only in July 2010 but failed to enter the official UK Chart. A deluxe edition with extra tracks and video of the single "Gold Dust" was released as a download in February 2011.This was followed by a physical release made available on Thoms website
Thom's cover version of the classic track "House of the rising sun" was released as a download-only single and extra track on the deluxe edition of the album. It was also given away as a free download to readers of the Scottish Mail newspaper. The single failed to enter the UK official chart. The album was nominated for Best Album in the British Blues Awards 2011.
The album was nominated for Best Jazz/Blues Recording of the Year in the Scottish Music Awards. Thom was also nominated for Artist of the Year and her label "Guardian Angel Recordings" was nominated for Record Label of the Year.
and Robin Hawkins
from The Automatic stated that "If she was a punk rocker with flowers in her hair she'd get the s*** kicked out of her by other punk rockers, for having flowers in her hair. [...] I haven't found anyone who's told me they like that song and bought it." This notion that her success has been carefully orchestrated by the use of public relations
was echoed by media commentator Charlie Brooker
: "I've not heard that Sandi Thom single all the way through yet, but I've seen the TV ad about six billion times, and the short, poxy burst on that is more than enough to convince me that if her sudden rise to stardom WASN'T the end result of a shrewd marketing campaign, the implications are terrifying. Because to believe the official story - that thousands of people voluntarily subjected themselves to this s*** online, then recommended it to their friends - is to lose your faith in mankind completely."
later in September 2005, and was described as "hotly-tipped" by the Daily Record. However, in addition, Thom "has been labeled a fraud" according to the Daily Record. Thom supported The Proclaimers
on their UK tour in December 2005 and toured with Nizlopi
. She and her band continued to tour, playing the Pocklington Arts Centre near York
on 22 February 2006, supported by Edwina Hayes
, and the Queen's Hall
in Narberth
in Wales
on 23 February 2006.
Thom has played live in several unconventional venues. She had previously performed at the opening of the World Skiing Championships in Sweden, where the stage was set up at the top of a mountain range; she performed at the top of the BT tower in London on behalf of the DMA's (Digital Music Awards), performed for a Children in Need
auction winner who paid the charity £17,000 for Thom to play her living room. She played the Main Stage at T in the Park 2006, having been booked for the lowest billed stage. She headlined the acoustic tent at the 2006 V festival with Kasabian. In early 2007, Thom spent 6 weeks in France performing in every city across the country alongside a French artist at a free concert called the Ricard Live Tour. The concert attracted an average of 25,000 a night. She performed at English festivals such as Glastonbury, Guilfest and Redbourne; and in Scotland, the Wizard festival and the Belladrum Heart festival. Other festivals further afield included the Oxegen music festival and the World Fleadh in Ireland, and the Fuji Rock Festival. Thom supported George Michael
for two nights of his stadium tour in Denmark. Concert dates scheduled for Ireland following the album's release were cancelled at the last minute No reason was given at the time for the cancellations. An announcement by Thom on her official website said that the cancelled performances were to be re-scheduled for September. However, this did not happen. In June, Thom performed a free 50-minute acoustic gig in front of 200 people at the broadcast center of WDR radio station in Cologne, Germany; the gig was broadcast twice during the course of the month.
The tour's mainland UK dates ran from 16 June to 1 July, followed by Germany 10–19 July. Only the Munich Festival performance on the 19th went ahead, the remaining German dates where Thom was the only artist performing were cancelled. An announcement on Thom's German website stated this was due to 'studio commitments'. although this explanation was not given on Thoms UK site for the cancellations and Diary entries by Thom do not give any mention of Studio commitments or activity at this time.
A full concert performance planned for Edinburgh as part of the Fringe Festival in August was also cancelled and replaced by a mixed bill in which Thom featured.
A number of one-off performances and promotional appearances including Blackpool illuminations were also played.
Thom also confirmed she would be taking part in Busk Cancer week with interviews and articles given to the press and on her official website in conjunction with the promotional campaign for her latest album and single although all references to it were removed after the release of the single "Saturday Night" and no explanation was given as to why she had not taken part. A performance at Butlins Minehead Holiday Camp was also added.
Thom appeared second on the bill at the Aberdeen Hogmanay celebrations followed by an appearance on the BBC hogmanay show from Edinburgh where she sang one song Thom performed "By Afton Water" at the official Burns Supper in celebration of Robert Burns
's 250th birthday. The event was held in Alloway, Ayrshire, where Burns was born.
Thom dedicated her tour of 2009 to the Homecoming Scotland campaign.
The support acts for each show were local artists with special guests ranging from Phil Cunningham
in Inverness
, Leon Jackson
in Glasgow
and her original guitarist Marcus Bonfanti appearing at the final show of the English leg of the tour in Milton Keynes
.
The first official date of the tour in Edinburgh was cancelled after the venue suffered significant fire damage, and tickets already purchased for the show were made valid for the second date of the tour in Dunfermline.
A duet with the first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond
, took place at one of the shows in Banff where he is the Member of Parliament
, but during this period Thom gave interviews to the press trying to distance herself from politicians and politics by stating she was not the SNP's mascot and had not endorsed the SNP although her image and name had been used by the party and its leader Mr Salmond on numerous occasions, and Thom had endorsed publicly the SNP and its policies at the last election.
Thom apologised to the artist/producer Nitin Sawhney
after being quoted in an interview as saying "Im not coming back as Nitin Swahney" which led to the artist contacting Thom to explain why she had made the comment. Thom's apology said the quote had "Come out all wrong" and she admired Sawhney as an artist.
The Glasgow leg of Homecoming 2009, which was to hold the largest concert of the tour, was moved from the Clyde Auditorium to the smaller Lomond suite after tickets failed to sell. On the day of the show it was announced that X Factor
winner Leon Jackson
was to be the special guest.
Ten Concerts were performed in Scotland of which two were advertised as sold out
Three concerts were played in England of which one was advertised as sold out.
During the tour Thom released two EP's. A "Live EP" featuring recordings from the Aberdeen Castlegait Hogmanay celebrations and the "Caledonia EP" featuring a series of covers including "Patience Of Angels" (originally by Eddi Reader) and the official Homecoming Scotland 2009 song "Caledonia" written by Dougie MacLean. These recordings were only available to purchase at concerts performed on the Homecoming Tour.
Thom appeared at the SXSW festival in Texas in March 2009. Her appearance was hoped to create interest in the American market to further her career.
In April, a sold out performance took place at the 200 capacity Crown Hotel Ballroom as part of the Nantwich Jazz Festival.
The Scotsman ran an article about expenses for gigs she performed for the SNP between 2007 and 2008. Thom dismissed this as petty. A series of dates as support act for The New Beautiful South was announced for November 2009. She also played a 30 minute set at the Avo Session Basel
, supporting Snow Patrol
.
This was followed by a support slot for Joe Bonamassa on his UK and Irish tour dates.
Thom appeared at the Stirling Castle
Hogmanay celebrations 2009. She performed alongside The MacDonald Brothers
, The Shermans
and Gary Mullen
. Thom toured the UK in April and May 2010 to showcase new material from her album Merchants & Thieves and made a number of appearances at Festivals in the UK including The Tiree festival in Scotland and The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival in Colne Lancashire in England.
A second Merchants and Thieves tour took place in September and early October. Thom announced a tour of "Intimate" venues in the UK for early 2011 as well as details of a record to be recorded in Nashville in 2011. Four dates in Germany were also announced but were later cancelled. Festival appearances, including Rhythm Festival
, were also added for 2011.
Compilation albums
Banff, Aberdeenshire
Banff is a town in the Banff and Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Banff is situated on Banff Bay and faces the town of Macduff across the estuary of the River Deveron...
, Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and multi-instrumentalist. She became widely known in 2006 after a series of webcast
Webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
s and the success of the single "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)
I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (with Flowers in My Hair)
"I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker " is the debut single by Sandi Thom. The song was written by Tom Gilbert and Thom herself. The song was originally released in October 2005 by Viking Legacy Records, reaching number fifty-five in the UK Singles Chart...
".
1984–2004: Early life
Thom was born in BanffBanff, Aberdeenshire
Banff is a town in the Banff and Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Banff is situated on Banff Bay and faces the town of Macduff across the estuary of the River Deveron...
, Aberdeenshire. She attended Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery-S6.-History:...
in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
.
At the age of 17, Thom became the youngest student to be accepted at the prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). In 2003, Thom graduated from LIPA with a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
.
Thom has assisted charity appeals for Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
's work in Malawi.
2004–2007: Signing with Sony and Smile, It Confuses People
In 2004, Thom moved to London to pursue her songwriting career, working with three co-writers: Jake Field, Duncan Thompson and Tom Gilbert. Thom signed to Windswept Pacific Music in 2005, an independent music publishing company, and its UK arm, P&P Songs, and received 25,000 pounds. She signed a record contract with the small record label Viking Legacy, who released her debut single, "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)" in late 2005. The song failed to garner major airplay or sales and release of her debut was delayed.21 Nights from Tooting was a "tour" consisting of 21 performances from the basement of her Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
flat, from 24 February to 16 March. These were recorded and then webcast by professional hosting company Streaming Tank. Tickets were sold, but the venue had a capacity of "six people" ("10 including the band"). The MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
post announcing the gigs was posted in the early hours of 22 February. Thom's website states that "the idea [...] popped into her head" after her car broke down traveling from a gig in York (on the 22nd) to one in Wales (on the 23rd) and following the very first live webcast she did at a gig in Edinburgh organized by her PR manager, Paul Boyd. Thom's first ever video webcast was at the Edinburgh Left Bank venue in October 2005. Prompted by a contact from Thom's manager, news services noted Thom's promotion efforts. In a story first published 5 March 2006, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
ran a piece, This was quickly reported on by other news sources. The audience for the first day was around 60 or 70 and at its peak rose to a claimed 70,000. The 7 March Reuters story mentioned that "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" was being re-released the following week, with the album following in April. However, the publicity surrounding the tour led to major label interest, with music label representatives attending the gigs in question, and the release of the records was put back until a deal was signed.
Thom subsequently accepted an offer by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. This led to the single re-release being delayed until May, when it was released on Sony's RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
label. The news of this broke on 3 April 2006, the official signing itself being webcast. The single was placed on Music Week Daily's playlist that day. Paul Kelly of the Independent and others have questioned how she was able to sustain production of the webcast, and it viewership figures. Her manager, Ian Brown, in an interview with the Guardian, said the idea came from her, whilst her management and Music PR team, Quite Great Communications, claim to have conducted a large publicity campaign, including a million "virtual flyers" [unsolicited emails].
Thom described Streaming Tank as "friends of my managers", since she could not have afforded commercial rates for the streaming. Craig Logan
Craig Logan
Craig Logan is a British music manager. He began his career as bassist in the pop band Bros.- Background :After a year of major UK success with Bros during 1988, Logan left the band in early 1989. After this, Logan focused on song-writing and producing and was nominated for an Ivor Novello award...
, the managing director of RCA said that the label was "drawn to" Thom after hearing of the webcasting, as has Thom herself.
Following her online webcast concerts from her basement in Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" was re-released on 22 May 2006, on RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
UK. The song had been gaining in airplay exposure, and on download sales it achieved #15 in the general charts (and #7 in the official downloads chart). The physical release had three formats: two CD versions (one featuring the radio mix and "A Light As Bright As Ours", another featuring the radio mix, the album version, a further remix, "May You Never" and the video), and also as a 7" vinyl record backed with "No More Heroes". In the week of 22 May, the song reached #2 in both charts. She performed on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
on 28 May, making her major terrestrial television debut, and on 4 June, the song replaced the deleted "Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo comprising Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green. Their first studio album St. Elsewhere was released in 2006; along with its first single "Crazy". Both single and album were a major commercial success and have been noted for their large sales by download...
" single "Crazy"
Crazy (Gnarls Barkley song)
"Crazy" is the debut single from Gnarls Barkley, a musical collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green, and is taken from their 2006 debut album St. Elsewhere...
at #1 in the singles chart. Her debut album, Smile... It Confuses People
Smile... It Confuses People
Smile... It Confuses People is the first studio album by Scottish singer Sandi Thom, released in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland on 5 June 2006 by RCA Records...
was released in the United Kingdom
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...
on Monday 5 June 2006, and debuted at number one in the chart dated 11 June, selling over 700,000 copies worldwide. The song was later nominated at the Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
for Best British Single. In the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker" entered the singles chart at #10 (week ending 25 May 2006), and rising to #2 in the following week (ending 1 June), and then to #1 the week after, but was then knocked off the top spot by Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
's "Hips Don't Lie
Hips Don't Lie
"Hips Don't Lie" is a Latin pop song based in a salsa and cumbia performed by Colombian singer Shakira and Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released in 2006 as the second single from Shakira's second English album Oral Fixation Vol. 2...
". The single also enjoyed success overseas, where it reached number 1 on the Australia "ARIA Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
" for ten consecutive weeks making it Australia's highest selling single of 2006.
"I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" was the 47th biggest selling UK single from a female artist since 2000 according to the Official Charts Company as of January 2009. The follow-up single "What If I'm Right
What If I'm Right
"What If I'm Right" is a pop folk song written by Tom Gilbert and Sandi Thom, and was recorded for Thom's debut album Smile... It Confuses People. The song was released in the UK on 28 August 2006 as a CD single and digital download...
" reached the lower reaches of the charts, but "Lonely Girl", the third single from the album, failed to enter any charts.
2007–2009: The Pink & the Lily
On 26 May 2008, Thom released her second album entitled The Pink & The LilyThe Pink & The Lily
The Pink & The Lily is the second studio album by the Scottish singer Sandi Thom, released in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland on 26 May 2008 by RCA Records. The album had been released on iTunes on 24 May 2008...
, preceded by the first single, "The Devil's Beat
The Devil's Beat
"The Devil's Beat" is a pop folk song taken from Sandi Thom's second album, The Pink & The Lily. It was the first single taken from the album and marked Thoms return after almost two years...
", available on CD from 19 May 2008. Prior to the release, journalists were doubtful about its appeal. The album and single received extensive airplay on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
. In the UK, the single reached a high of 58 and dropped out of the Top 75 after two weeks; the album entered the chart at 25, dropping to 65 the next week, and then dropped out of the Top 75. The following single "Saturday Night" failed to chart on its release.
Thom has said:
"I feel like my second album was too rushed. I felt under quite a lot of pressure when I was making it. I was out on the road and my label was really hassling me to get it finished. "I admit I was disappointed with it and now, when I look back, it was released too soon.
"There were some things that were overlooked. It wasn't thought out properly. So, with my next album, I'm going to put my foot down and spend as long as it takes to make it."
Although in an interview in the same newspaper dated 2 February and prior to the album's release Thom is quoted as saying "I'm surprised how long it has taken to make this new album. It has been like therapy. I have progressed as an artist", also in the same interview she confirmed her position as a Nationalist supporter, which she was to deny in the months to come.
In February 2009, Thom announced that she would be making her third album as an independent artist, and expressed reservations over future music being released by record label RCA, who she claimed pressured her during the making of her second album (The Pink and the Lily) by demanding changes to lyrics on songs like "Saturday Night"; she said that the song was actually about taking drugs. She was also unhappy with their choice of singles. Along with other positioning decisions and demands centered on their desire for her to deliver bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
that Thom claimed the record company had made, she was unwilling to carry on working with RCA.
2009–2010:
The Best of Sandi Thom A "Best of" album was released in July 2009 on the budget label Camden (a part of the Sony/BMG group). The 18 track collection was compiled from Thom's two previous albums and various B-sides. The album did not enter any chart on release.2010–present:
Merchants and Thieves Thom's third studio album Merchants and Thieves was released on 17 May 2010 with "This Ol' World" as the lead single. The album was published by Thom on her own "Guardian Angels" label, which she formed after being dropped by RCA. Musically it moves from pop folk towards blues and roots. The album entered the UK official chart at 118 on its first week of release before dropping out of the top 200. The single was made available as a download-only release in April 2010, but failed to enter the official UK Chart.A second single "Gold Dust" (smoking gun remix) was released as a download-only in July 2010 but failed to enter the official UK Chart. A deluxe edition with extra tracks and video of the single "Gold Dust" was released as a download in February 2011.This was followed by a physical release made available on Thoms website
Thom's cover version of the classic track "House of the rising sun" was released as a download-only single and extra track on the deluxe edition of the album. It was also given away as a free download to readers of the Scottish Mail newspaper. The single failed to enter the UK official chart. The album was nominated for Best Album in the British Blues Awards 2011.
The album was nominated for Best Jazz/Blues Recording of the Year in the Scottish Music Awards. Thom was also nominated for Artist of the Year and her label "Guardian Angel Recordings" was nominated for Record Label of the Year.
Criticism
Her sudden rise to stardom was scrutinized by the British press and by her fellow artists. James FrostJames Frost
James Martin Frost is the guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist of Welsh band The Automatic, and guitarist and backing vocalist for Cardiff based band Effort. As well as his musical duties for The Automatic, Frost has also directed two of the bands music videos and their tour video daries...
and Robin Hawkins
Robin Hawkins
Robin Hawkins, commonly known as Rob is the primary vocalist and bassist for Welsh band The Automatic.-Personal life:Rob studied at Cowbridge Comprehensive School, completing his A-levels and going on to take a chance with The Automatic in his gap year...
from The Automatic stated that "If she was a punk rocker with flowers in her hair she'd get the s*** kicked out of her by other punk rockers, for having flowers in her hair. [...] I haven't found anyone who's told me they like that song and bought it." This notion that her success has been carefully orchestrated by the use of public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
was echoed by media commentator Charlie Brooker
Charlie Brooker
Charlton "Charlie" Brooker is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism...
: "I've not heard that Sandi Thom single all the way through yet, but I've seen the TV ad about six billion times, and the short, poxy burst on that is more than enough to convince me that if her sudden rise to stardom WASN'T the end result of a shrewd marketing campaign, the implications are terrifying. Because to believe the official story - that thousands of people voluntarily subjected themselves to this s*** online, then recommended it to their friends - is to lose your faith in mankind completely."
Concert tours
Prior to the 21 Nights from Tooting, Thom had been actively touring in the UK in 2005. Thom made an appearance at the Northsound Radio to 40,000 Free at the Dee festival in Aberdeen on 4 September 2005; a charity gig in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
later in September 2005, and was described as "hotly-tipped" by the Daily Record. However, in addition, Thom "has been labeled a fraud" according to the Daily Record. Thom supported The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be ". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents...
on their UK tour in December 2005 and toured with Nizlopi
Nizlopi
Nizlopi were a two-piece band, from 1993–2010, with Luke Concannon on vocals, guitar, and bodhrán, and John Parker on double bass, human beatbox, and providing backing vocals. They were based in Leamington Spa, England. Prior to attending Trinity Catholic Technology College, Luke and John...
. She and her band continued to tour, playing the Pocklington Arts Centre near York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
on 22 February 2006, supported by Edwina Hayes
Edwina Hayes
Edwina Hayes is an English singer-songwriter. She grew up in Preston, Lancashire before moving to the East Riding of Yorkshire where she gained her first musical experience playing cover versions.-Solo career:...
, and the Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
in Narberth
Narberth, Pembrokeshire
Narberth is a town in Pembrokeshire, Wales. . It was founded around a Welsh court, but later became a Norman stronghold on the Landsker Line. It became the headquarters of the hundred of Narberth. It was once a marcher borough...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
on 23 February 2006.
Thom has played live in several unconventional venues. She had previously performed at the opening of the World Skiing Championships in Sweden, where the stage was set up at the top of a mountain range; she performed at the top of the BT tower in London on behalf of the DMA's (Digital Music Awards), performed for a Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
auction winner who paid the charity £17,000 for Thom to play her living room. She played the Main Stage at T in the Park 2006, having been booked for the lowest billed stage. She headlined the acoustic tent at the 2006 V festival with Kasabian. In early 2007, Thom spent 6 weeks in France performing in every city across the country alongside a French artist at a free concert called the Ricard Live Tour. The concert attracted an average of 25,000 a night. She performed at English festivals such as Glastonbury, Guilfest and Redbourne; and in Scotland, the Wizard festival and the Belladrum Heart festival. Other festivals further afield included the Oxegen music festival and the World Fleadh in Ireland, and the Fuji Rock Festival. Thom supported George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
for two nights of his stadium tour in Denmark. Concert dates scheduled for Ireland following the album's release were cancelled at the last minute No reason was given at the time for the cancellations. An announcement by Thom on her official website said that the cancelled performances were to be re-scheduled for September. However, this did not happen. In June, Thom performed a free 50-minute acoustic gig in front of 200 people at the broadcast center of WDR radio station in Cologne, Germany; the gig was broadcast twice during the course of the month.
The tour's mainland UK dates ran from 16 June to 1 July, followed by Germany 10–19 July. Only the Munich Festival performance on the 19th went ahead, the remaining German dates where Thom was the only artist performing were cancelled. An announcement on Thom's German website stated this was due to 'studio commitments'. although this explanation was not given on Thoms UK site for the cancellations and Diary entries by Thom do not give any mention of Studio commitments or activity at this time.
A full concert performance planned for Edinburgh as part of the Fringe Festival in August was also cancelled and replaced by a mixed bill in which Thom featured.
A number of one-off performances and promotional appearances including Blackpool illuminations were also played.
Thom also confirmed she would be taking part in Busk Cancer week with interviews and articles given to the press and on her official website in conjunction with the promotional campaign for her latest album and single although all references to it were removed after the release of the single "Saturday Night" and no explanation was given as to why she had not taken part. A performance at Butlins Minehead Holiday Camp was also added.
Thom appeared second on the bill at the Aberdeen Hogmanay celebrations followed by an appearance on the BBC hogmanay show from Edinburgh where she sang one song Thom performed "By Afton Water" at the official Burns Supper in celebration of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
's 250th birthday. The event was held in Alloway, Ayrshire, where Burns was born.
Thom dedicated her tour of 2009 to the Homecoming Scotland campaign.
The support acts for each show were local artists with special guests ranging from Phil Cunningham
Phil Cunningham
Phil Cunningham may refer to:*Phil Cunningham , Scottish accordionist with the folk group Silly Wizard*Phil Cunningham , English guitarist, member of New Order, Bad Lieutenant and Marion...
in Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson is a Scottish singer-songwriter. He won the fourth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2007. Following his win, Jackson was the main star of his on-web series entitled Leon's Life, which ran from 2007 until 2008...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and her original guitarist Marcus Bonfanti appearing at the final show of the English leg of the tour in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
.
The first official date of the tour in Edinburgh was cancelled after the venue suffered significant fire damage, and tickets already purchased for the show were made valid for the second date of the tour in Dunfermline.
A duet with the first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
, took place at one of the shows in Banff where he is the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, but during this period Thom gave interviews to the press trying to distance herself from politicians and politics by stating she was not the SNP's mascot and had not endorsed the SNP although her image and name had been used by the party and its leader Mr Salmond on numerous occasions, and Thom had endorsed publicly the SNP and its policies at the last election.
Thom apologised to the artist/producer Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
after being quoted in an interview as saying "Im not coming back as Nitin Swahney" which led to the artist contacting Thom to explain why she had made the comment. Thom's apology said the quote had "Come out all wrong" and she admired Sawhney as an artist.
The Glasgow leg of Homecoming 2009, which was to hold the largest concert of the tour, was moved from the Clyde Auditorium to the smaller Lomond suite after tickets failed to sell. On the day of the show it was announced that X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
winner Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson is a Scottish singer-songwriter. He won the fourth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2007. Following his win, Jackson was the main star of his on-web series entitled Leon's Life, which ran from 2007 until 2008...
was to be the special guest.
Ten Concerts were performed in Scotland of which two were advertised as sold out
Three concerts were played in England of which one was advertised as sold out.
During the tour Thom released two EP's. A "Live EP" featuring recordings from the Aberdeen Castlegait Hogmanay celebrations and the "Caledonia EP" featuring a series of covers including "Patience Of Angels" (originally by Eddi Reader) and the official Homecoming Scotland 2009 song "Caledonia" written by Dougie MacLean. These recordings were only available to purchase at concerts performed on the Homecoming Tour.
Thom appeared at the SXSW festival in Texas in March 2009. Her appearance was hoped to create interest in the American market to further her career.
In April, a sold out performance took place at the 200 capacity Crown Hotel Ballroom as part of the Nantwich Jazz Festival.
The Scotsman ran an article about expenses for gigs she performed for the SNP between 2007 and 2008. Thom dismissed this as petty. A series of dates as support act for The New Beautiful South was announced for November 2009. She also played a 30 minute set at the Avo Session Basel
Avo Session Basel
AVO SESSION Basel is an indoor music festival, which takes place every October/November in Basel, Switzerland. The festival features international as well as national artists of diverse music genres in an intimate club setting...
, supporting Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
.
This was followed by a support slot for Joe Bonamassa on his UK and Irish tour dates.
Thom appeared at the Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
Hogmanay celebrations 2009. She performed alongside The MacDonald Brothers
The MacDonald Brothers
The MacDonald Brothers are a Scottish pop rock duo from Ayrshire in Scotland, consisting of brothers Brian and Craig MacDonald. They first rose to prominence in the third UK series of television talent show The X Factor in 2006, and have since gone on to release four albums.The brothers are...
, The Shermans
The Shermans
The Shermans were an indie rock band from Stirling, Scotland, not to be confused with the Swedish indie pop band of the same name. They included various styles such as punk, pop, and alternative rock in their music....
and Gary Mullen
Gary Mullen
One Night of Queen is a touring two-hour stage show, paying tribute to the stage theatrics and music of Queen. It is performed by Gary Mullen and The Works, a five piece band headed by Stars in Their Eyes winner and Freddie Mercury sound-alike Gary Mullen on vocals, with Davie Brockett on Guitar,...
. Thom toured the UK in April and May 2010 to showcase new material from her album Merchants & Thieves and made a number of appearances at Festivals in the UK including The Tiree festival in Scotland and The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival in Colne Lancashire in England.
A second Merchants and Thieves tour took place in September and early October. Thom announced a tour of "Intimate" venues in the UK for early 2011 as well as details of a record to be recorded in Nashville in 2011. Four dates in Germany were also announced but were later cancelled. Festival appearances, including Rhythm Festival
Rhythm Festival
The Rhythm Festival is an outdoor music festival held at The Mansion House, Old Warden Park, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire from 2011. From 2006 until 2010 it was held at Twinwood Arena, near the village of Clapham, Bedfordshire, England.. Rhythm Festival was founded by music promoter Jim Driver...
, were also added for 2011.
Discography
Studio albums- Smile... It Confuses PeopleSmile... It Confuses PeopleSmile... It Confuses People is the first studio album by Scottish singer Sandi Thom, released in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland on 5 June 2006 by RCA Records...
(2006) - The Pink & The LilyThe Pink & The LilyThe Pink & The Lily is the second studio album by the Scottish singer Sandi Thom, released in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland on 26 May 2008 by RCA Records. The album had been released on iTunes on 24 May 2008...
(2008) - Merchants and ThievesMerchants and ThievesMerchants and Thieves is the third studio album release by Scottish pop singer Sandi Thom, released on 17 May 2010. The album was released through Thom's own record label 'Guardian Angels' after being dropped by her former label Sony BMG....
(2010)
Compilation albums
- The Best of Sandi Thom (2009)