Gabrielle (singer)

Louise Gabrielle Bobb (born 19 July 1969), known professionally as Gabrielle, is a British singer and songwriter. Bobb was born in Hackney, London. She released her debut single, "Dreams", in 1993, and it topped the UK Singles Chart the same year. Her other singles include " Going Nowhere", "Give Me a Little More Time", " Walk On By", and " If You Ever" — a duet with East 17.

After a few quiescent years, Gabrielle made a comeback with "Rise", which became her second UK number one, in 2000. Her album of the same name reached the top spot on the UK Albums Chart, where it stayed for three weeks. The song " Out of Reach", from the soundtrack to ''Bridget Jones's Diary'', reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. She released the compilation '' Dreams Can Come True, Greatest Hits Vol. 1'' in 2001.

Early life

Gabrielle was born in London as Louise Gabrielle Bobb to parents from Dominica. She and her three brothers were brought up by their mother, Patricia. Gabrielle credited her mother for her love of soul and reggae music.

Gabrielle has had ptosis, the drooping of one eyelid, since childhood; in public, she covers her eye with sunglasses, an eyepatch, or hair. In school, she suffered from depression and was sometimes suicidal. After finishing her A-levels, she abandoned an idea to study law and began singing in nightclubs.

Career

1993–1998: ''Find Your Way'' and ''Gabrielle''

In June 1993, Gabrielle released her debut single entitled "Dreams". "Dreams" was co-written by Gabrielle and Tim Laws and produced by Richie Fermie. In its earliest version, the song sampled the melody of Tracy Chapman's 1988 hit "Fast Car". It was later removed after copyright infringement. The single reached number one on the UK singles chart for three weeks in June 1993 having entered the British charts at number 2 which was the highest chart entry a debut act had ever scored in the UK at that time. The song also peaked at number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US and at number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart. In Australia, the song made number two on the ARIA Chart. The second single "Going Nowhere" from the same album was written by Gabrielle and George McFarlane and produced by Pete Cragie. "Going Nowhere" reached number nine on the UK singles chart and number 18 ranking in Ireland. It was the second biggest hit from the album ''Find Your Way''. In December 1993 Gabrielle released her third single from her debut album. "I Wish", written by Gabrielle and Jon Douglas, it was not as successful as its predecessors, which both reached the UK top ten. "I Wish" charted at number 26 on the UK singles chart. "Because of You" was the fourth and final single from Gabrielle's debut album Find Your Way. Written by Gabrielle, George McFarlane and Ray Saint John, "Because of You" peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart. "Find Your Way" peaked at number nine on the UK Albums Chart.

Gabrielle released her self-titled second studio album in 1996, reaching number 11 in the UK Album Chart eventually going platinum. "Gabrielle" also reached number 80 on the MegaCharts in the Netherlands. The album's lead single "Give Me a Little More Time", returned Gabrielle to the UK top ten, peaking at five, spending ten weeks inside the UK top 20. The song also peaked at nine in Ireland. It is her fourth biggest selling single in the UK and has been certified silver. "Forget About the World" was released as the second single from the album. Written by Gabrielle, Wolff, Dean, Barson, who wrote previous single, "Give Me a Little More Time", "Forget About the World" did not perform as well as its predecessor, peaking at 23 in UK. It was the lowest charting single from the album and the only single to miss the top 15. The third single "If You Really Cared" was written by Gabrielle, Wolff, Dean, Barson, who wrote previous single, "Give Me a Little More Time" and "Forget About the World", "If You Really Cared" returned Gabrielle to the UK top 20 after the last single missed out. "If You Really Cared" peaked at 15 in the UK Singles Chart. Shai's " If I Ever Fall in Love" was covered in 1996 as a duet by East 17 and Gabrielle, and renamed ''If You Ever''. It reached number two in the UK and four in Latvia. It was also one of only three songs by Gabrielle to reach the Top 20 in Australia, peaking at 16. It was the highest-charting single from both aforementioned albums. The song was also the 11th biggest selling boyband single of the 1990s in the UK selling 510,000 copies and has received a Gold sales status certification. In 1997, UK singer Gabrielle released her version of "Walk On By" as the fifth and final single from her album. It reached number seven in the UK.

1999–2001: ''Rise'' and ''Greatest Hits''

Gabrielle began recording her third studio album ''Rise'' in 1998 through 1999. ''Rise'' was released on 18 October 1999 in the United Kingdom, and 15 August 2000 in the United States. The album became Gabrielle's biggest selling album to date with it becoming her only number one album. The album became a huge commercial success, spending three weeks at number one in the UK Albums Chart, and achieving 4× Platinum status. "Sunshine" was the album's first single and peaked at number nine in the UK giving her her sixth UK top ten hit. "Rise" was released as the album's second single. It was her second number one single in the UK (and thus far, last). Written by Gabrielle, Ollie Dagois, Ferdy Unger-Hamilton and Bob Dylan, and produced by Johnny Dollar, the song used a sample from Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". The song reached number one on the UK singles chart for two weeks in January 2000. The song has sold 460,000 copies in the UK as stated by the Official UK Charts Company making the song one of the 14th best selling of 2000 in the UK. The album of the same name also reached the top spot in the UK Albums Chart, where it stayed for three weeks. It spent 87 weeks in the charts.
"When a Woman" was released as the third single from ''Rise'' in June 2000. The song reached number six on the UK Singles Chart and was the second-highest-charting single from the album. It became Gabrielle's eighth top ten hit. "Should I Stay" was released as a single in 2000 and was the fourth and final single released from the ''Rise'' album. The song charted at 13 in the UK Singles Chart, the fourth top 15 hit from the album. The video for the single is very moody and depicts the atmosphere of the song more so than having a linear storyline. The song samples part of the BBC News theme. In 2004, it was used in the second episode of the BBC
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