Rose McDowall (née Porter; born 21 October 1959) is a Scottish musician, forming

Strawberry Switchblade Strawberry Switchblade were a Scottish new wave/ pop duo formed in Glasgow in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" from 1985, and their flamboyant clothing with bows and polka-dots. History Before ...

with Jill Bryson in 1981.

History

McDowall was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1959. Her first venture into music was in the Poems, an art-

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

trio formed in 1978 with her then-husband

Drew McDowall Drew McDowall (born 28 January 1961) is a Scottish musician who has been a member, collaborator, and remixer for various influential music groups. McDowall was formerly a full-time member of Coil. History McDowall formed art-punk trio Poems in ...

. She then formed

in 1981 with Jill Bryson. After signing with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, they enjoyed chart success with their single "

Since Yesterday "Since Yesterday" is a song performed by Scottish synth-pop duo Strawberry Switchblade, the lead single from their self-titled album. It became their only major hit. Background and composition "Since Yesterday" (primarily written by Rose McDo ...

" in 1984; however, later singles and an album did not sell as well as expected. This and internal problems led to an acrimonious split in 1986. For the next six years, McDowall was primarily a guest vocalist or "floating member" of several different alternative bands, particularly in the

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumenta ...

genre. She contributed backing or lead vocals for Coil,

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only const ...

Death in June Death in June are a neofolk group led by English musician Douglas P. (Douglas Pearce). The band was originally formed in the United Kingdom in 1981 as a trio, but after the other members left in 1984 and 1985 to work on other projects, the gro ...

Felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

, Alex Fergusson,

Into a Circle Into a Circle (also as In Two a Circle and In2a0) were an English new wave duo, formed in April 1985 by Paul "Bee" Hampshire and Barry Jepson, two former members of the band Getting the Fear.Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry R ...

Megas Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is a vocalist, songwriter, and writer who is well known in his native Iceland. Interest in music Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed the arrival of ...

, Nature and Organisation, Nurse with Wound, Ornamental, Psychic TV and

Boyd Rice Boyd Blake Rice (born December 16, 1956) is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s, archivist, actor, photographer, author, member of the ''Partridge Family Temple'' religious group, co-founder of ...

on recordings as well as singing or playing guitar for live appearances. In 1993, she collaborated with Boyd Rice under the band name Spell, producing two singles and an album of 1960s-style pop,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...

covers for

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

. At the same time, she formed a

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band called Sorrow with then-husband Robert Lee. Between 1993 and 2001, they released two albums and one EP through

World Serpent Distribution World Serpent Distribution was a British record label and music distribution house formed in the 1990s by David Gibson, Alan Trench and Alison Webster. Douglas Pearce of Death In June coined the company name in 1991, ''World Serpent'' being anot ...

and performed in Europe and the US. During this time, McDowall continued to record and perform with Current 93 and Coil, including the short-lived group Rosa Mundi. Robert Lee left the band in 2002. McDowall and her remaining bandmates continued to perform as Rosa Mundi until 2005 when she began performing under her own name. McDowall is best known as a vocalist, but also plays guitar, keyboards,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

, and drums. Her signature instruments are a

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influen ...

12-string acoustic guitar, a

Fender Coronado The Fender Coronado is a double-cutaway thin-line hollow-body electric guitar, announced in 1965. It is manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The aesthetic design embodied in the Coronado represents a departure from previous F ...

electric 6-string guitar and an electric

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

. She has two daughters and a son: Keri McDowall, from her marriage to Drew McDowall, and Bobi and Velocity Lee, from her marriage to Robert Lee.

Discography

Rose McDowall

Strawberry Switchblade

Spell

Sorrow

Track appears on: *'' Not Alone''

Current 93

''See:

Nature and Organisation

Backworld

References

External links

A 12-page January 2002 interview with Rose McDowall
(single screen version)
Rose McDowall on Discogs
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDowall, Rose 1959 births Living people Musicians from Glasgow 21st-century Scottish women singers Scottish new wave musicians" Women new wave singers Coil (band) members Current 93 members 20th-century Scottish women singers Rosa Mundi (group) members