Sarah Cracknell (born 12 April 1967) is an English singer-songwriter and lead singer of the

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band Saint Etienne.

Career

Cracknell's career started with the Windsor-based indie band The Worried Parachutes in 1982. Following the demise of the band she released a solo single, ''Love Is All You Need'', in 1987. With friend Mick Bund, she then formed a new band, Prime Time, who released a handful of singles. She appeared on 1990 dance track ''Fingertips'' by Lovecut DB. Sarah Cracknell 2007

Saint Etienne was originally to be an

indie dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...

act featuring various vocalists. After

Moira Lambert Moira Lambert is a British singer and recording artist. She is probably best known for her collaboration with the electronica group Saint Etienne on the Neil Young cover "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (which went Top 40 in the UK and to No 1 in ...

sang on their initial 1990 single "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and Donna Savage was heard on the follow-up single "Kiss and Make Up", Cracknell lent her vocals to "Nothing Can Stop Us" and ended up doing the rest of the singing on their debut album ''

Foxbase Alpha ''Foxbase Alpha'' is the debut studio album by English band Saint Etienne, released on 16 September 1991 by Heavenly Recordings. The album was recorded in a style which drew on the club culture and house music of the time, but also incorpora ...

''. Cracknell has been Saint Etienne's permanent vocalist since then. Preceded by the single "Anymore" in 1996, Cracknell released a solo album, ''

Lipslide ''Lipslide'' is the debut solo album from Saint Etienne lead singer Sarah Cracknell. The album was co-produced by Cracknell and a variety of producers and released in the UK by Gut Records in 1997. Upon its release ''Lipslide'' earned favor ...

'', in May 1997. Originally released in the UK only by

Gut Records Gut Records was a British independent record label, based in Maida Vale in London, England. Formed in 1991, Gut was founded by Guy Holmes, who had been Head of Promotions at Island Records. The first single released on the label, Right Said ...

, the album featured dance, indie and pop tunes and received good reviews from critics, but was not a big seller (Cracknell has in interviews placed some of the blame on lack of proper promotion by Gut). ''Lipslide'' finally surfaced in the U.S. three years later, when

Instinct Records Instinct Records is a New York City electronic-music record label that first gained prominence in 1989. It is best known for releasing much of Moby's early work. Moby produced a number of tracks under various monikers so that in the early days, t ...

released it in February 2000. With completely different cover art, the original album's track listing was also modified: five tracks were removed and four new songs plus a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

were added. Months later, Instinct released the ''Kelly's Locker'' EP, which contained the five tracks originally removed from the UK version of ''Lipslide'', along with two previously unreleased songs and a new remix. Cracknell was Spiller's first choice for the vocals of his number-one hit " Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" in 2000, but never got to record the song. She has recorded tracks with various artists such as David Holmes ("Anymore", "Gone"),

Xploding Plastix Xploding Plastix is a Norwegian electronic music duo, consisting of Jens Petter Nilsen and Hallvard Wennersberg Hagen. Biography Jens Petter Nilsen and Hallvard Wennersberg Hagen (formerly in Norwegian black metal band Kvist) formed the group ...

("Sunset Spirals"), Cheapglue ("You've Just Won Me Over") and

Paul Van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...

("The Riddle (Tell Me Why)," although billed as a collaboration between Van Dyk and St. Etienne but with Cracknell on vocals). She recorded a duet of

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

's 1968 song "

I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" is a song written by Clive Westlake and recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield. Recorded on 1 June 1968 at Chappel Studios in London, "I Close My Eyes..." was released that August to reach No. 4 in the UK ...

" with

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...

for his album ''

Stardom Road ''Stardom Road'' is the thirteenth solo studio album by the British singer/songwriter Marc Almond. It was released by Sanctuary Records on 4 June 2007. Background ''Stardom Road'' was Almond's first new album after his involvement in a near-fat ...

'', released in June 2007. In December 2007, BBC radio began playing "The Journey Continues" by Mark Brown featuring Cracknell. The song consists of extensive samples from a composition by

Elena Kats-Chernin Elena Davidovna Kats-Chernin (born 4 November 1957) is a Soviet-born Australian pianist and composer, best known for her ballet ''Wild Swans''. Early life and career Elena Kats-Chernin was born in Tashkent (now the capital of independent Uzbek ...

entitled Eliza's Aria, well known to UK TV viewers as the music from the computer-animated 'For the Journey' commercials for Lloyds TSB bank. The single was released in February 2008 on Positiva. The song peaked at #11 in the UK after being released. Cracknell has collaborated with French pop star Etienne Daho on several occasions. She co-wrote and sang back-up vocals on "Les passagers" from his 1996 album '' Eden'', and also co-wrote "Le premier jour" which was released as a single from his greatest hits compilation ''Singles''. With Saint Etienne, they collaborated on the ''

Reserection EP ''Reserection'' is an extended play (EP) by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne and French singer Étienne Daho, under the collective name St. Etienne Daho. It was released on 29 September 1995 by Virgin Records. The title is a portmant ...

''. Saint Etienne's single "He's on the Phone" (which featured both Cracknell and Daho) was actually an English-language adaptation of Daho's French language 1984 single "Weekend à Rome". On 21 August 2014,

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

announced that it had signed Cracknell to a worldwide deal under which she would release a new solo album. The album, entitled ''Red Kite'', was recorded in December 2014 and released on 15 June 2015. A series of live shows by Cracknell in support the album were planned for the weeks following its release.

Personal life

Cracknell married Martin Kelly (joint managing director of

Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves (band), Doves, and early singles by Manic Street P ...

and Heavenly Films) in Kensington and Chelsea,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 5 December 2004. They have two children, born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

in 2001 and 2004. Cracknell is the daughter of

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's first assistant director Derek Cracknell.

Discography

The

discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

consists of two studio albums, two compilations, six solo singles and four singles as a featured artist.

Albums

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

As lead singer

As featured artist

Guest appearances

References

External links

Sarah Cracknell Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cracknell, Sarah 1967 births Living people Alternative rock singers Alternative dance musicians British alternative rock musicians British indie pop musicians English dance musicians English electronic musicians English house musicians English women singer-songwriters Musicians from Essex Gut Records artists Synth-pop singers English women pop singers English women in electronic music Instinct Records artists