Melanie Williams (born 28 October 1964) is a British singer. She sang on the hit single " Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" alongside the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

-based electronic group

Sub Sub Sub Sub were an English dance act from Handforth, Cheshire composed of Jimi Goodwin and twin brothers Andy and Jez Williams. The threesome met at school in 1985 and became regulars at The Haçienda The Haçienda was a nightclub and mu ...

Career

Williams was a friend of Sub Sub at the time, and the band, searching for a female guest vocalist, featured her vocals. This helped expose her talents to the public, and was followed by further critical success. Williams and her writing colleague Eric Gooden, found Square One Studios in Bury, Greater Manchester. The proprietor Trevor Taylor, liked what he heard and they began recording a string of tracks assisted by house engineer and musician Stephen Boyce-Buckley. They released the single "Showdown" under the name No Sovereign on Geffen Records in 1987, and subsequently landed a recording contract with 10 Records; a sub-division of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

. They released a self-titled album as the duo Temper Temper in 1991. Williams launched a solo career in 1994 as a

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

/dance singer, signed to Columbia Records. Her debut solo single, "All Cried Out!" peaked at No. 60 on the

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 ...

. The follow-up, "Everyday Thang", did better, hitting the UK top 40, peaking at No. 38. Her next single, the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

"Not Enough?" managed a No. 65 chart placing. Her debut album, ''Human Cradle'', failed to reach the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. Williams has also featured on the

Adrian Snell Adrian Snell (born 1954) is an English pianist, keyboard player, singer and composer. Biography Classically trained at the Leeds College of Music and with a music diploma to his name (LGSM), Snell's musical career spans nearly four decades. Dur ...

album, ''Father'', in which she read Psalm 139. Early in 1995, Williams returned to the UK

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

with a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of "

You Are Everything "You Are Everything" is a soul song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed and originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. The Stylistics version An R&B ballad, it was the sixth track from their 1971 debut self-titled albu ...

" (a duet with Joe Roberts). The song reached No. 28. Williams and Roberts teamed up again in 2001 and released the album ''Feed My Soul'' as Dark Flower. They re-teamed in 2007 to release the single "Mire" as Bodhi. They then changed their name to Butterfly Jam and released the album ''Bodhi'' in 2011 and the single "Wag" in 2014. The Other Two's second album, '' Super Highways'', featured Williams on some tracks as co-writer and guest vocalist.

Discography

Albums

Solo *''Human Cradle'' (1994) As Temper Temper *'' Temper Temper'' (1991) As Dark Flower *''Feed My Soul'' (2001) As Butterfly Jam *''Bodhi'' (2011)

Album appearances

- ''Father'' (reading of Psalm 139) (1990)

References

External links

Melanie Williams
at discogs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Melanie 1964 births Living people British dance musicians British women singers British women in electronic music Place of birth missing (living people)