Barefoot Contessa were a UK
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
band active in the late 1990s. Their music was blues-tinged country, a style which would later become known as
Americana
Americana may refer to:
*Americana (music), a genre or style of American music
*Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States
Film, radio and television
* ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...
.
The band formed in London in 1994 after Helene Dineen and Graham Gargiulo met at a
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments.
Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...
concert.
Early in their career they received UK-wide radio airplay on
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
courtesy of
Mark Radcliffe for whom they recorded a couple of live sessions in 1995 and 1996. In 1997 they performed live on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's
Kaleidoscope
A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...
.
They disbanded after the release of their fourth studio album, however, in 2002, several members of ''Barefoot Contessa'' formed a new band named ''Helene''. Singer Helene Dineen later explained the significance of the change of name, saying "there was a shift in the musical direction at that time. It seemed right to acknowledge it and start afresh".
Discography
''Barefoot Contessa'' released four albums, one EP and one single.
Studio albums
* Barefoot Contessa (1995)
* You Can't Go Home Again (1996)
* Blues for a Honey (1999)
* Oh, the Sweet Power! (2000)
Singles & EPs
* To Be Continued (Definitive Version) (1995)
* Happy Together EP (1997)
References
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups from London
{{UK-band-stub