Josephine Claire Hamill (born 4 August 1954) is an English singer-songwriter. In addition to her solo career, she has collaborated with

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included ''Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), ''Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and '' ...

and

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...

Life and career

Claire Hamill was born in

Port Clarence Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tees, and hosts the northern end of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. ...

, County Durham. She has been active in the music business since age 17. In 1971, she was launched as one of Britain's first female singer-songwriters and compared by several commentators to

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

. Shortly following the release of her debut album, '' One House Left Standing'', Hamill went on her first UK tour, supporting

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

. She performed at the Concert 10 festival in the United States July 1972 before a crowd of 200,000. By 1973, she had toured the United States with

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have List of best-selling singles, sold over ...

and Jethro Tull, and returned to Britain to record her next album, ''

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...

'', at

Manor Studio The Manor Studio (a.k.a. The Manor) was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. Overview The Manor and its outbuildings are listed Grade II on the Nati ...

in Oxfordshire. She next toured with

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

. In 1973, she met

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

, who signed her to his Konk label for her third album '' Stage Door Johnnies''. She toured America for the second time that year and went on another UK tour supporting

Gilbert O'Sullivan Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair", and " Get Down". O'Sullivan's s ...

. In addition, she recorded what would be her final album of the '70s and the second one for Konk, ''

Abracadabra ''Abracadabra'' is a magic word, historically used as an incantation on amulets and common today in stage magic. Etymology ''Abracadabra'' is of unknown origin, but according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', its first known occurrence i ...

''. In 1979, she provided vocals on the song "Look Over Your Shoulder" on ''

The Steve Howe Album ''The Steve Howe Album'' is Yes guitarist Steve Howe's second solo album. It was released in 1979. The album features Yes band members Alan White, Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz. Also featured is Jethro Tull's former drummer Clive Bunker on per ...

''. In the early 1980s she worked with

, appearing as a guest performer on their albums ''

Just Testing ''Just Testing'' is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Wishbone Ash, released on 18 January 1980 by MCA Records. Recorded primarily at Surrey Sound Studios in England, it was the last to feature the original lead vocalist and bass ...

'' (1980) and ''

Number the Brave ''Number the Brave'' is the 11th studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first album in the band's history recorded without founding bassist/vocalist Martin Turner. Turner was replaced (for this album only) by John Wetton, formerly of ...

'' (1981) and joining the group for their 1981/82 tour. She returned as a guest on '' Bare Bones'' in 1999. In 1980 she cut a single called "First Night in New York", which gained favourable reviews. She formed a group, Transporter (which took its name from

Tees Transporter Bridge The Tees Transporter Bridge, also referred to as the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, is a bridge in northern England. It is the furthest downstream bridge across the River Tees and the longest remaining transporter in the world. The bridge is ...

), which released one single. In 1981, she appeared on the

Jon and Vangelis Jon and Vangelis was a music collaboration between British rock singer Jon Anderson (lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes) and Greek synthesiser musician Vangelis. The duo released four albums between 1980 and 1991. History In 1974, ...

album ''

The Friends of Mr Cairo The Friends of Mr Cairo is the second album by Jon and Vangelis, released in 1981. There are two editions of the album, with different sleeves. Both were released in 1981 within a few weeks of each other. The title track, "The Friends of Mr Cai ...

'' and also sang with British

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

/fusion group

Morrissey–Mullen Morrissey–Mullen were a British jazz-funk/fusion group of the 1970s and 1980s. Considered one of the most popular jazz groups in London, the band was led by Dick Morrissey on tenor and soprano saxes and flute, and Jim Mullen on guitar, who join ...

, appearing on their '' Life on the Wire'' album (1982). In 1983, Hamill recorded a cover of

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

's " 24 Hours from Tulsa", produced by the American musician

Richard Niles Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, record producer, guitarist, broadcaster, and journalist. Biography Early years Niles was born May 28, 1951, in Hollywood. He is the son of Tony Romano, a composer, singer, and guitarist who writ ...

. Another single, "If You Would Only Talk to Me", suffered from a lack of radio exposure. By the mid '80s, Hamill reinvented herself as a

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

artist, which gained her commissions from the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. Her first album of the 80s, ''

Touchpaper Touchpaper or touch-paper is a slow-burning paper fuse treated with solution of potassium nitrate (or "saltpetre") used for lighting flammable or explosive devices such as fireworks. Touchpaper may also refer to: *Touchpaper Television, part of R ...

'' (1984), was followed a year later by ''Voices'', which featured all her work. Her music was used for the five-part

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

series ''Domesday'', broadcast in November and December 1986. Four tracks ("Glastonbury (Jerusalem)", "Tides", "Spring: Awaken Lark Rise" and "Stars") were issued as the ''Domesday'' EP on Coda Records, a label featuring many New Age artists and run by her then-husband Nick Austin. After the next album, ''Love in the Afternoon'', she cut a version of

Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contribut ...

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

in both instrumental and vocal versions, the latter featuring her own words as "Someday We Will All be Together". Both this and the ''Voices'' album were used extensively by Channel 4 for a series of music videos collectively titled The Art of Landscape and shown every morning in the early 1990s. The video for the instrumental version of Canon, with scenes of

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

penguins, was voted by viewers as the favourite. In 1992, Hamill went to live in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, found a new partner in Andrew Warren, and later cut a new album called ''Summer'' at the end of the decade. Since then, she has released ''The Lost & the Lovers'' and a compilation album. Her song "You Take my Breath Away" from ''The Lost & the Lovers'' was previously covered by

Tuck & Patti Tuck & Patti are an American jazz duo consisting of guitarist William Charles "Tuck" Andress (born Oct. 28, 1952 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) and singer Patricia "Patti" Cathcart Andress (born October 4, 1949, in San Francisco). Music career Guitarist Tu ...

on 1988's ''Tears of Joy'' and that version caught the attention of

Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first albu ...

, whose recording of it was used in a movie soundtrack. In 2009, she supported John Lees'

Barclay James Harvest Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004), a ...

on their UK tour. Since 2013, she has been a member of the

tribute band Fragile, in the role of lead vocalist.

Discography

* 1971: '' One House Left Standing'' * 1973: ''

'' * 1974: '' Stage Door Johnnies'' * 1975: ''

'' * 1984: ''

'' * 1986: ''

Voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (19 ...

'' * 1988: '' Love in the Afternoon'' * 1997: ''

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

'' * 2004: '' The Lost & the Lovers'' * 2007: '' The Minor Fall the Major Lift: the Best of Josephine Claire Hamill'' * 2015: '' When Daylight Arrives'' * 2019: '' Over Dark Apples''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamill, Claire 1954 births Living people English women singer-songwriters Island Records artists Wishbone Ash members People from Hastings Morrissey–Mullen members