Danielle Dax (born 23 September 1958) is an English

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

musician and producer most active from the late-1970s to the mid-1990s.

Early life

She was born Danielle Gardner, in

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. Dax's first performance on stage in London was when she was a pre-teen. She sang in

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's opera, ''

Noye's Fludde ''Noye's Fludde'' is a one-act opera by the British composer Benjamin Britten, intended primarily for amateur performers, particularly children. First performed on 18 June 1958 at that year's Aldeburgh Festival, it is based on the 15th-century ...

'' (Noah's Flood), at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. Preceding this, the first time Dax appeared on stage was at the age of three as an orange

Jelly Baby Jelly Babies are a type of soft sugar jelly sweets in the shape of plump babies, sold in a variety of colours. They were first manufactured in Lancashire, England, in the nineteenth century. Their popularity waned before being revived by Basset ...

on the Southend bandstand. After a short modelling career (she won the "Miss Evening Echo" competition in 1976), she turned music.

Career

Dax made her "pop" musical debut in 1979, within three weeks of joining the group Amii Toytal and the Croixroads – this was a pseudonym for the Lemon Kittens – as keyboardist, flautist and saxophonist. It was their first gig and took place at Reading University's Student Union Airport Bar.

Karl Blake Karl Blake (born 1956 in Reading, Berkshire, England) is a vocalist, bassist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Most of his own music can be described as Progressive rock, progressive-experimental music, experimental and sometimes psychedelic ...

from the Lemon Kittens had met her some three weeks earlier after he read an article about her in a local newspaper. Blake was in urgent need of an artist, so he attended the next meeting of Dax's arts group and was introduced to her. Upon learning that she could also play saxophone and flute, he immediately recruited her for the band; in addition, he also got her to agree to do the cover artwork for the planned release. She ended up doing the cover artwork for all of Lemon Kittens releases. During Dax's time in the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...

band Lemon Kittens, she was included on

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

's band

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives o ...

's 1981 eponymous album, performing vocals (credited as "Hamsprachtmusic") on the song "Minor Man". However, that song was not included on the album when it was released on the CD compilation entitled ''God Save The King''. Her artwork was retained for the cover. She also painted the cover for Robert Fripp's solo album, ''Let the Power Fall''. Dax supplied vocals to an unreleased track by the Bombay Ducks in which she sang a duet with

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

, although they never met. The duet was done in studio, separately. In early 1982, after the Lemon Kittens went into "extended hibernation", Dax embarked on her solo career, recording and producing the albums ''

Pop-Eyes ''Pop-Eyes'' is the first solo album by Danielle Dax, an English experimental musician and former member of the Lemon Kittens. It was originally recorded in the fall of 1982 and released on 22 April 1983 on the Awesome Records label. The alb ...

'' (1983) wherein she played all the instruments herself, initially released on the IRC nitial Recording Companylabel with her own art cover, and re-released on Awesome Records with a Holly Warburton cover. On the mini-album that followed ''

Jesus Egg That Wept ''Jesus Egg That Wept'' is the second solo album by Danielle Dax, an English experimental musician and former member of the Lemon Kittens. It was originally recorded and released in 1984 on the Awesome Records label. The album was re-released ...

'' (1984), she was aided on some tracks by Karl Blake or David Knight. Her third album ''

Inky Bloaters ''Inky Bloaters'' is the third solo album by Danielle Dax, an English experimental musician and former member of the Lemon Kittens. It was originally recorded between 1985 & 1987, and released in 1987 on the Awesome Records label. This was th ...

'' (1987), cemented her collaborative recording work with David Knight; this as well as various EPs, up to that time, were released on the label Awesome Records. In 1988, she signed with

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

, which released her album ''

Dark Adapted Eye ''Dark Adapted Eye'' is a compilation album by Danielle Dax, an English experimental musician, formerly of The Lemon Kittens. Released in 1988 on Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned ...

'', which contained material from her previous recordings. In 1984, she made her first film appearance as the Wolfgirl (a non-speaking role) in ''

The Company of Wolves ''The Company of Wolves'' is a 1984 British gothic fantasy horror film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Micha Bergese and Sarah Patterson in her film debut. The screenplay was written by Jordan and Angela C ...

'' by

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academy ...

. In 1988, her film credits came to include writing music for the short avant-garde film ''Axel'' by

Nigel Wingrove Nigel Wingrove (born 26 October 1957) is the founder of the horror film company Salvation Films and the Redemption film label and creator of the online alternative female collectivethe Satanic Sluts He is also a film director and the only direct ...

. In 1989, Dax appeared on the

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 ...

show ''

Star Test The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), known until February 2014 as the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress (MAPP), measures the performance of students undergoing primary and secondary education in Cali ...

'', where she was interviewed for 30 minutes by "computer". In 1990, she released her one major-label studio album, ''Blast the Human Flower'', produced by Stephen Street, except for the tracks "Bayou" and "Daisy", which they produced together. The album's single, "

Tomorrow Never Knows "Tomorrow Never Knows" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released in August 1966 as the final track on their album ''Revolver'', although it was the firs ...

", joined " Blue Christmas" (her cover of an

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

tune), "

Kites A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

" by

Simon Dupree and the Big Sound Simon Dupree and the Big Sound were a British psychedelic band formed in 1966 by brothers Derek (vocals), Phil (vocals, saxophone, trumpet), and Ray Shulman (guitar, violin, trumpet, vocals); also known for their later prog rock band, Gentle Gian ...

(during the Lemon Kittens period) and "Hate on Sight", a track by

Shock Headed Peters Shock Headed Peters were a British post-punk band, formed in 1982. The band took their name from the 19th-century German's children book ''Der Struwwelpeter'' ("Shockheaded Peter") by Heinrich Hoffmann. History In 1982, Karl Blake formed Sho ...

(included on her ''Comatose etc.'' release) as an addition to her covers of other artists' work. Her last two album releases were in 1995 and consisted of a career retrospective double-album entitled ''Comatose Non-Reaction: The Thwarted Pop Career of Danielle Dax'' and an EP of new

and almost completely

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

material called ''Timber Tongue'' (both on her own Biter of Thorpe label). Dax's career in the music business then went on indefinite hiatus and is often referred to as a 'retirement'. Since 1996, she has worked in interior design and has appeared several times on the

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 exam. ...

...

Early life

Career

Discography

with Lemon Kittens

Solo

Studio albums

EPs

Compilations

Singles

Cover versions

References

External links