Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

for the band Portishead, which has released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, '' Out of Season'', in 2002, followed by an album with the

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR), is one of Poland's radio orchestra and premier musical institutions. It was founded in 1935 in Warsaw. In 1945 the orchestra was re-established in Katowice and since 2006 it has become a "Nati ...

in 2019.

Early life

Gibbons was born in Exeter,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England and raised on a farm with three sisters. Her parents divorced when she was young."Solo album bio"
Biography previously published on a Finnish site (archived), Retrieved 15 August 2014. At 22, she moved to Bath, then

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

to pursue her singing career, where she met

Geoff Barrow Geoffrey Paul Barrow (born 9 December 1971) is an English music producer, composer, and DJ. He is a member of the bands Portishead, Beak and supergroup Quakers, and has scored several films. Portishead—formed in 1991—was named after the s ...

, her future collaborator in Portishead.

Career

With

Adrian Utley Adrian Francis Utley (born 27 April 1957) is an English musician and producer, and a member of the band Portishead.Jurek, ThomAdrian Utley Biography, Allmusic. Retrieved 31 December 2016 Career Born in Northampton,Mejia, Paula (2015)In Search ...

, Gibbons and Barrow released the first Portishead album '' Dummy'' in 1994 and have produced two other studio albums, a live album, and various singles in the years since. She has also collaborated on a separate project with former

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles " Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " ...

bassist

Paul Webb Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

(Rustin Man). Before she joined Geoff Barrow in Portishead, she had auditioned for the singer's slot in

.O.rang .O.rang (or 'O'rang) is an English experimental music project led by former Talk Talk members Lee Harris and Paul Webb, with a shifting cast of guest musicians. .O.rang's music exhibits more culturally diverse influences than Talk Talk. We ...

, 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 under the name Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man. The album peaked at number 28 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. It was released in the United States a year later: while touring in North America, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' favourably described her performance with Rustin as "

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

fronting Siouxsie and the Banshees". Beth Gibbons All Tomorrow's Parties NJ 2011 (6209687714)

Gibbons was also a judge for the 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. In June 2013, Gibbons announced plans for a new solo album with Domino Records. She contributed vocals to a cover of the song "

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

" with the British metal band Gonga, released on 24 April 2014. In 2018, Gibbons contributed vocal performances, along with Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, to the Spill Festival held in Ipswich in an audio installation entitled 'Clarion Calls', which uses the voices of 100 women to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 2014, Gibbons performed Symphony No. 3 by

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

with the

, conducted by

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', ' ...

. Gibbons sang in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

. The performance was released in 2019; reviewing the album for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

,'' Jayson Greene wrote: "Part of the tension comes from hearing her untrained voice scale these rocky heights. Her vibrato, tight and trilling and barely controlled, sounds an awful lot like someone fighting off a panic attack. This would get her dismissed from a traditional opera audition, probably, but it is magnificently effective at sending raw shudders through what can be a pretty well-worn work." In 2022, Gibbons featured on the track "Mother I Sober" from

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

's album '' Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers''. For her collaboration in the album she received a nomination for Album of the Year at the

65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It will recognize the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2021, to September 3 ...

as a featured artist and songwriter.

Style and inspiration

She has cited

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

, Bono of U2 for his performance on ''

The Joshua Tree ''The Joshua Tree'' is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, ' ...

'',

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and Jimmy Cliff as a musical inspiration. She has covered Janis Joplin songs and enjoys the music of

Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...

Discography

Portishead

*'' Dummy'' (1994) *'' Portishead'' (1997) *''

Roseland NYC Live ''Roseland NYC Live'' is a live album by English electronic music band Portishead (band), Portishead. It was released on 2 November 1998 by Go! Beat. A PAL format VHS video was released the same year, with a DVD version following four years late ...

'' (1998) *'' Third'' (2008)

Solo

*'' Out of Season'' (2002) with Rustin Man *''Henryk Górecki: Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)'' (2019) with

Other works

*"Orang" on

's album ''Herd of Instinct'' (1994) *"Jalap" on .O.rang's album ''Fields and Waves'' (1996) *"Lonely Carousel" on

Rodrigo Leão Rodrigo Costa Leão Muñoz Miguez (born 15 October 1964), known professionally as Rodrigo Leão, is a Portuguese musician and songwriter. He became known in the 1980s as a member of the Portuguese groups Sétima Legião and Madredeus. In the 1990 ...

's album ''Cinema'' (2004) *"Strange Melody" on

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin, OBE (born 14 December 1946) is an English-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She also had a prolific career ...

's album ''Rendez-Vous'' (2004) *"Killing Time" on Joss Stone's '' Mind Body & Soul'' (2004) *"Love is a Stranger" on Fried's album ''Fried'' (2004) *"Mysteries" with Rustin Man from "

The Russian Dolls ''Russian Dolls'' (french: Les Poupées russes) is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film, the sequel to (2002) and the second part of the ''Spanish Apartment'' trilogy, which is concluded with ''Chinese Puzzle'' (, 2013). Cédric Klapisch wrote a ...

" soundtrack (2005) *Soundtrack for

Diane Bertrand Diane Bertrand (born 20 November 1951) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her film ''A Saturday on Earth, Un samedi sur la terre'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmography * '' ...

's film " L'Annulaire" (unreleased, 2005) *"My Secret" on

's album '' Fictions'' (2006) *"Requiem for Anna" on ''

Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited ''Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited'' is a tribute album to the works of late French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. First released on Virgin Records in 2006, it consists of English language cover versions of Gainsbourg songs, performed by a diver ...

'' - performed as Portishead (2006) *" Sing" with Annie Lennox from '' Songs of Mass Destruction'' (2007) *Soundtrack for

's film '' Baby Blues (2008)'' *Soundtrack for

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...

's film " The Tempest" - "Prospera's Coda" by

Elliot Goldenthal Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and film and theatrical scores. A student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, he is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various ...

(2010) *"GMO" on

JJ Doom JJ DOOM was an American alternative hip-hop duo composed of Jneiro Jarel and MF DOOM. History On 15 February 2012 the website ''Pitchfork'' ran an article stating that JJ DOOM's debut album would be called ''Key to the Kuffs'' and released via ...

's ''

Key to the Kuffs ''Key to the Kuffs'' is a collaborative album by alternative hip hop artists Jneiro Jarel and MF DOOM under the moniker JJ Doom. It was released on Lex Records on August 20, 2012. Recording Jneiro Jarel produced the music in his studio in New ...

'' (2012) *"Black Sabbeth" with Gonga (2014) *''

Mandela Effect In psychology, a false memory is a phenomenon where someone recalls something that did not happen or recalls it differently from the way it actually happened. Suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinforma ...

'' with

Gonjasufi Sumach Ecks (born 1978), better known by his stage name Gonjasufi, is an American vocalist, producer, disc jockey, and yogi. Life and career Ecks was born in 1978 to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father. He spent his formative year ...

(2017) *"Mother I Sober" with

(2022)

References

External links

Beth Gibbons website
*
Portishead band website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Beth 1965 births 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers English women guitarists English guitarists English songwriters Living people Musicians from Bristol Musicians from Exeter Portishead (band) members Mezzo-sopranos British trip hop musicians English women in electronic music 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers English folk singers Alternative rock singers Go! Beat artists