Dolly James is a British singer-songwriter and

session singer Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...

. She released several singles in the 1990s and toured internationally with such acts as

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...

and

James Taylor Quartet The James Taylor Quartet (or JTQ) are a British four-piece jazz funk band formed in 1985 by Hammond organ player James Taylor following the break-up of his former band The Prisoners (band), The Prisoners, and in the wake of Stiff Records' ba ...

Biography

Born in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

, she began her career singing in local

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. Ne ...

s and being part of a

church choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. In her late teens, she performed at the Mandarin Hotel in Singapore before leaving for the United Kingdom. She worked with

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

bands in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and later as a session singer in London before pursuing her solo career. She started writing and recording with various musicians and eventually was signed to Sony Music Publishing. During that time, she also worked as a backing vocalist in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and most of Europe for Dance with a Stranger, and later

, on the ''

New Flame "New Flame" is a song recorded by American singer Chris Brown. It was originally released as a promotional single from Brown's album on March 5, 2014. This version only featured American rapper Rick Ross as a guest artist. A few months later, a ...

'' tour, in the Far East, Europe and the United States. She also appeared with Simply Red on the

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

show and numerous other US television programmes. She was later signed to Rondor and

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. She also worked as a backing singer for

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

and

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

, making numerous UK television appearances. In 1990, she released a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

with

Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...

, entitled ''Bright Moments'', which she performed on

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

's show. She formed her own band soon after she finished her world tour with Simply Red and won second place in the Yamaha International Musicians at the Marquee in London. Her band also performed at

Womad WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, ...

and went on to do a residency at

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

in Birmingham. She later released a

white label A white label record is a vinyl record with white labels attached. There are several variations each with a different purpose. Variations include test pressings, white label promos, and plain white labels. Test pressings Test pressings, usua ...

single, ''Emotions'', as well as numerous live and television performances with

Driza Bone DRIZABONE is an international dance music / remixing musical group, led by record producer, musician and songwriter Vincent Garcia. Garcia used various female vocalists to provide the vocal element to his output. Driza Bone (sometimes billed as D ...

. In 1992 she released a

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

entitled ''Shine Your Light'', produced by Ian Lodge. In 2006 she released her first solo album, ''The Journey'', which was produced by Dan Bull and released on her own Soular UK label.

Discography

Singles

* ''Shine Your Light'' (1992) * ''Emotions'' *

Feat. Dolly James – ''Bright Moments'' (1990)

Studio albums

* ''The Journey'' (2006)

Guest appearances

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

– ''

Heaven's Open ''Heaven's Open'' is the 14th record album performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1991. It was his last album on Virgin, and also the only album he released under the name Michael Oldfield, instead of Mike Oldfield. The producer of the album, ...

'' (LP) (1991) *

Matt Bianco Matt Bianco are a British band that were formed in 1983. They are mainly known for their success in the mid-1980s and their jazz, Latin-flavoured music. The group's name suggests that Matt Bianco is a person, often assumed to be an alias for th ...

– ''Another Time Another Place'' (Single) (1994)

References

Birmingham Music profile
British women singers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) {{UK-singer-stub