Kirsty Hawkshaw (born 26 October 1969) is an English electronic music vocalist and songwriter. In addition to her work as a solo artist, she is known as the lead vocalist of early 1990s dance group Opus III, and her collaborative work with other musicians and producers.

Career

Kirsty Hawkshaw is the daughter of the late British

production music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Background ...

film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

composer and disco record producer

Alan Hawkshaw William Alan Hawkshaw (27 March 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a British composer and performer, particularly of library music used as themes for movies and television programs. Hawkshaw worked extensively for the KPM production music company ...

, who was known for composing themes for TV programmes such as ''Grange Hill'' 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 ...

game show ''

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''. Her mother is German-born Christiane Bieberbach.''The Champ (The Hawk Talks)'', Alan Hawkshaw autobiography, published 2011. At a rave in 1990, she was noticed by producers Ian Munro, Kevin Dodds and Nigel Walton, who at the time were known as A.S.K. and were signed to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

UK. The trio had released a single called "Dream", when she was invited to appear on stage as their dancer. It was through this meeting that they would form a dance act called Opus III. Their first single, a cover version of the song "

It's a Fine Day "It's a Fine Day" is a song written by English poet and musician Edward Barton. It was originally recorded in a cappella in 1983 by Jane, and later by Opus III for whom it was a major international hit in 1992. Original recording by Jane Bar ...

" from their debut album '' Mind Fruit'', was an international success and Top 10 hit on

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and reached No. 1 on the US '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1992. A reversed sample of Hawkshaw's singing from this track was used in the Orbital track "

Halcyon Halcyon is a name originally derived from Alcyone of Greek mythology. Halcyon or Halcyone may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''Halcyon'' (TV series), a Virtual Reality murder mystery on SyFy * '' The Halcyon'', British period ...

", the music video for which featured Hawkshaw. Opus III also had another US number 1 hit on the same chart in 1994 with "

When You Made the Mountain "When You Made the Mountain" is an "environmentally themed" electronica/dance song recorded by English electronic music group Opus III with vocals by Kirsty Hawkshaw. It was released in 1994 as the lead single from their second album, '' Guru Mo ...

", from their second and final album, '' Guru Mother''. In a 2009 interview, she recalled her decision to end her association with Opus III, saying she felt that she did not want to be part of a "commercialized" act, wanted to go in a different direction, and felt that she did not have sufficient input in writing and production, which led to conflict with the rest of the band; she has also ruled out any plans for a reunion if it ever happens. She has also been critical of the dance music industry more broadly, especially performers

lip synching Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

other people's songs, and using original artists' vocals without permission or credit. After the group broke up in 1994, Hawkshaw pursued a solo career and has since been in demand by other acts in the dance, house,

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

, trance, and electronica community, including

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was v ...

Delerium Delerium is a Canadian new-age ambient electronic musical duo that formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act Front Line Assembly. Throughout the band’s history, their musical style has encompassed a ...

, BT,

Fragma Fragma are a German vocal trance music group, originally comprising three producers. The group was successful in the early 2000s when they released several singles that charted successfully across Europe, especially the United Kingdom and Irel ...

Seba Seba or SEBA may refer to: Places * Seba, Indonesia, on the Savu Islands *Seven Brothers Islands, also known as the Seba Islands, part of the Republic of Djibouti Institutions *Secondary Education Board of Assam, India * Systematic and Evolutionar ...

, and

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

, among others. Her solo single "Fine Day" peaked at number 62 in the

in November 2002. Hawkshaw contributed a track titled "Telephone Song" to the children's compilation album ''For the Kids Too!'', released in 2004. On 10 October 2005, she released ''Meta-Message'', a collection of older and newer songs, after a growing interest in her out-of-print album, ''O.U.T.'' The record label

Magnatune Magnatune is an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, founded in spring 2003. It only sold music for download through its website but added a print-CD-on-demand service in late 2004 and in October 2007 began selling co ...

released her ambient album, ''The Ice Castle'', in 2008.

Collaborations

* 1992 "It's A Fine Day" (with Opus III) * 1992 "I Talk To The Wind" (with Opus III) * 1994 "When You Made The Mountain" (with Opus III) * 1996 "Valencia" (with

Rachid Taha Rachid Taha ( ar, رشيد طه, Latn, ar, Rashīd Ṭāhā, ; 18 September 1958 – 12 September 2018) was an Algerian singer and activist based in France described as "sonically adventurous". His music was influenced by many different styles i ...

) * 1997 "Isolation" (with Pulusha) * 1998 "State Of Grace" (with Swayzak) * 1999 "Stereo" (with Stereo People) * 2000 "Dreaming" (with BT) – UK No. 38 * 2000 "Hidden Agenda" (with Sandor Caron) * 2000 "Inner Sanctum" (with Delerium) * 2000 "Nature's Kingdom" (with

) * 2000 "Running Down The Way Up" (with BT &

Hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

) * 2000 "Visions" (with

Ian Pooley Ian Pooley (born Ian Pinnekamp in 1973) is a German record producer and DJ. While incorporating samples of various musical genres, Pooley's creations are usually classified as house or tech house with Brazilian influence. Biography Pooley's mu ...

) * 2000 "Where The Sidewalk Ends" (with Silent Poets) * 2001 "

Battleship Grey Variations of gray or grey include achromatic grayscale shades, which lie exactly between white and black, and nearby colors with low colorfulness. A selection of a number of these various colors is shown below. Chart of computer web color ...

" (with

) * 2001 " Urban Train" (with Tiësto) – UK No. 22 * 2001 "Stealth" (with Way Out West) – UK No. 67 * 2002 "Killing Me" (with Slovo) * 2002 "Sertão Blues" (with Slovo) * 2002 "Whisper" (with Slovo) * 2002 "Underwater Lady" (with Harmonic 33) * 2003 "Blackout" (with Hybrid) * 2003 "

Calling You "Calling You" is a song from the 1987 film, ''Bagdad Cafe''. It was originally recorded by Jevetta Steele. Bob Telson, the songwriter, also recorded his version. Both versions appeared on the movie soundtrack. The song was nominated for the A ...

" (with Ikon) * 2003 "Science Of Life" (ALBUM) (with Dave Hewson & Derek Austin) * 2004 "Don't Sleep Tonight" (with Clashing Egos) * 2004 "

Just Be ''Just Be'' is the second studio album by Dutch DJ Tiësto. It was released on 6 April 2004 in the Netherlands and 15 May 2004 in the United States (see 2004 in music). The album features BT, Kirsty Hawkshaw, and Aqualung on vocals, as well a ...

" (with Tiësto) – UK No. 43 * 2004 "Walking On Clouds" (with Tiësto) * 2004 "Maris Stella" (with Digitonal) * 2004 "Sincere For You" (with

Lange Lange may refer to: People *Lange (surname), a German surname * Lange (musician) (born 1974), British DJ * Lange (Brazilian footballer) (born 1966), Brazilian footballer Companies * Lange (ski boots), a producer of ski boots used in alpine (dow ...

) * 2005 "All I Want" (with Hybrid) * 2005 "Faith In Me" (with

Pole Folder Benoît Franquet, better known as Pole Folder, is a Belgian electronic musician and live club performer, based in Brussels. A former protégée of British DJ John Digweed, Pole Folder entered the limelight in 2001 as a DJ and producer at the foref ...

) * 2005 "Halcyon And On And On (Live)" (with Orbital) * 2005 "Reach For Me" (with Jamie Cullum, Steve Isles) * 2005 "Split" (with

Mr. Sam Samuel Joël Paquet (; born 28 February 1975), better known by his stage name, Mr. Sam, is a French techno and trance music DJ, and record producer. Biography and career Early career (1990–2002) Born in a small town, where he grew up li ...

) * 2006 "Don't Look Behind You" (with

Judie Tzuke Judie Tzuke ( ; born Judie Myers, 3 April 1956) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1979 hit " Stay with Me till Dawn", which reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. Life and career Early life Tzuke's family relocated ...

) * 2006 "Fleeting Instant" (with Delerium) * 2006 "Just For Today" (with Hybrid) * 2006 "Insight" (with

) * 2006 "Lodestar" (with

) * 2006 "Lyteo" (with

) * 2006 "Love Is A Rose" (with Pentatonik) * 2006 "The Last One And The First" (with Pentatonik) * 2006 "Outsiders" (with Tenishia) * 2006 "Radio Waves" (with

) * 2006 "The Chauffeur" (with

Sleepthief ''Sleepthief'' is an American electronic music recording project formed by producer and composer Justin Elswick. Elswick began writing music for the album ten years prior to its release. The album was mixed, mastered, co-produced, and co-arranged ...

) * 2006 "View To Me" (with Future Funk Squad) * 2007 "Beatitude" (with Duderstadt) * 2007 "Heaven Sent" (with Andrew Bennett) * 2007 "Loverush" (with Loverush UK!) * 2007 "Reasons To Forgive" (with Tenishia) * 2007 "Silent Stars" (with Pole Folder) * 2007 "Skimming Stones" (with Sleepthief) * 2007 "Star·Kindler" (with Delta-S) * 2007 "The Phoenix Effect" (with Delta-S) * 2007 "Time Is Running Out" (with Ikon) * 2007 "You Will Feel Love Again" (with OpenCloud) * 2008 "Fine Day 2008" (Kirsty Hawkshaw vs. Kinky Roland) * 2008 "Good To Be Alive (Healing Angel)" (Kirsty Hawkshaw vs. Arnold T.) * 2008 "Invisible" (with Tenishia) * 2008 "Invisible Walls" (collaboration with Nektarios and trance singer

Jan Johnston Jan Johnston (born 13th October 1968, Salford, England) is an English professional singer & songwriter, best known for collaborating with some of the world's top trance music DJs and producers. Career In the early 1990s, she was signed to Co ...

) (Nektarios meets F-used) * 2008 "Juneau / Glaciation" (with

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

) * 2008 "Love Calls" (with Headstrong) * 2008 "Love Is No Possession" (with JJoy) * 2008 "Love Like Blood / Sunbathing" (with Outrage and Aperture) * 2009 "Devotion" (with

) * 2009 "Face To Face" (Kirsty Hawkshaw vs. Elucidate) * 2009 "Fearless Soul (Hybrid Mix)" (with Harry Gregson-Williams & Hybrid) * 2010 "A Million Stars" (with BT) * 2010 "Amzinai / Sundog" (with Alaska) * 2010 "One Day" (with Mr. Sam) * 2010 Two Trees EP: "After The Rain" / "Meteors" / "Dreaming Of Now" (with

Ulrich Schnauss Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020. Biography Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...

) * 2010 "The Joy (Face To Face)" (with Seba) * 2011 "Back In Time" (with Liquid Kaos) * 2011 "Clocks (Dandelions)" (with The Felt Dolls) * 2011 "Falling (Chillout)" (with Tenishia) * 2011 "Let Us Think" (with Secret Society & Outrage) * 2011 "The Light" (with Seba & Paradox) * 2011 "Whisper" (with

Blu Mar Ten Blu Mar Ten is a music production outfit based in London, and is made up of Chris Marigold and Michael Tognarelli. History Blu Mar Ten's first track to be released was "The Fountain" / "Lunar" in 1996 on Way Out Records. The track appeared on ...

) * 2012 "Connected" (with John B) * 2012 "Dawn" (with Nektarios) * 2013 "4K" (with Lii) * 2013 "Let It Go" (with Tobias Zaldua) * 2013 "Nothing Can Replace" (with Seba) * 2016 "Motion" (with Eshericks) * 2018 "The Sandshaper" (with Sleepthief) * 2018 "The Wood Beyond The Wall" (with Sleepthief) * 2019 "Smoke" (with Trance Arts and Jan Johnston) * 2019 “It’s A Fine Day 2K19”

References

External links

* **
Interview from 2005 by Progressive Sounds

Interview from 2013 by TranceFixxed
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkshaw, Kirsty 1969 births Living people Singers from London English women singer-songwriters Trance singers English dance musicians English trance musicians British children's musicians English people of German descent English women in electronic music 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers