Sarah Joyce (born 3 June 1979), better known by her stage name, Rumer, is a Pakistan-born British singer- songwriter. Supported by leading music industry figures including

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

, and

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

, Rumer was nominated for two Brit awards on 13 January 2011. Her debut album, '' Seasons of My Soul'', released in 2010, peaked on the UK Charts at #3, was certified platinum in 2013 having sold over one million copies, and was listed at #26 in the Official Top 40 Biggest Debut Albums of the Decade in 2019. Rumer's voice has been described by '' The Guardian'' and many others as being reminiscent of Karen Carpenter. Her stage name was inspired by the author

Rumer Godden Margaret Rumer Godden (10 December 1907 – 8 November 1998) was an English author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably ''Black Narcissus'' in 1947 and '' The River'' in ...

. ''Boys Don't Cry'', released in 2012, peaked on the UK Charts at #3. She has performed at several festivals such as

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

. Her album ''This Girl's in Love (A Bacharach & David Songbook)'' was released in November 2016. In August 2020, she released her fifth album, ''Nashville Tears (The Songs of Hugh Prestwood)''.

Early life

Rumer, the seventh of eight children, was born in 1979 in Tarbela Dam, Pakistan. Rumer's family lived there from 1977 to 1984 while her British father was contracted as Chief Engineer of the Tarbela Dam Project. Her parents split and her Streatham-born mother moved back to England with Rumer and her siblings. Rumer moved to Carlisle aged 11 and attended Newman Catholic School, where she won the school's annual talent show in 1994. Rumer became fascinated with the work of Judy Garland at a young age, and sought solace from difficulties at home and school by listening to artists such as

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

and Tracy Chapman. She was encouraged by her musical family, who all played instruments and played in their local Catholic church. This began her interest in becoming a performer. Rumer later discovered her biological father was the family's Pakistani cook, with whom her mother had had an affair when living in Pakistan. While her mother was dying of breast cancer in 2001, she asked Rumer to make the journey to Pakistan to search for her real father, with her mother reportedly saying "I want to leave this planet with my house in order". She discovered on arriving he had only recently died in a freak accident. Rumer briefly attended the drama course at

Dartington College of Arts Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts college located at Dartington Hall in the south-west of England, offering courses at degree and postgraduate level together with an arts research programme. It existed for a period of almost 50 ...

, in Devon before dropping out, moving to London at 18 and getting a job as a waitress.

Musical career

2001–2010: La Honda and Stereo Venus

Under the name of Sarah Prentice, Sarah sang with a moderately successful London-based folk/indie band called La Honda between 2000 and 2001. In 2004, she formed the band Rumer & The Denials and released an early version of "Come To Me High" on 7" in 2007. Their Myspace page, now closed, included an acoustic recording of "Slow", which was included on the compilation album ''A Very Magistery Valentine''. A collection of material was recorded in 2008 with Rory Moore under the name Stereo Venus. This was aimed at television and film and was originally distributed in Europe. An album was released in 2012 entitled ''Close to the Sun'' and the band played support for Saint Etienne. The material was also released under her real name, Sarah Joyce in South Korea in April 2010 as ''Coffee And Honey''.

2010–2011: Solo career as Rumer, ''Seasons of My Soul'' and ''Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas''

Rumer's debut album '' Seasons of My Soul'' was released on 1 November 2010, produced by her mentor, British composer Steve Brown. Her debut single, "Slow", was featured on Smooth FM, and the single "Aretha" on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

's Record of the Week feature, and she is signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. '' Seasons of My Soul'', peaked on the UK Charts at #3, was listed at #26 in the ''Official Top 40 Biggest Debut Albums of the Decade'' in 2019, and was certified platinum in 2013 having sold over one million copies. She supported

on his UK tour in the Autumn of 2010 which included a performance at the Albert Hall in London. Rumer received a personal note from Richard Carpenter (musician) regarding her debut album, "''You not only sing beautifully,"'' writes Carpenter, "''but what you've created is actually musical, something that has been in short supply in recent years. The fact that the album is a sales success as well is reassuring to me, as I still firmly believe that if the public is exposed to music that is natural and of high quality, they will respond positively. Congratulations''". After

invited Rumer to his California home to hear her sing, Atlantic Records released ''Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas'' on 13 December 2010. It featured "Some Lovers" from the musical ''Gift of the Magi'' by Bacharach and Steven Sater. A limited edition 7-inch vinyl version was also released with a cover personally designed by Rumer. Rumer also contributed to a memorial concert to film composer, John Barry, which took place on 20 June 2011 at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London where the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

Dame Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

, David Arnold, Wynne Evans, trumpeter Derek Watkins and others performed Barry's music.Burlingame, Jon
"John Barry Dies at 77"
'' Variety'', 31 January 2011
WebCitation archive
Rumer performed the John Barry/ Hal David song "We Have All the Time in the World" accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Dodd. She recorded the track "I Believe in You" for the end credits to '' Johnny English Reborn'', released in October 2011. In January 2012 she started her first American tour in Los Angeles. A multi-national Facebook fan group, "Rumer Worldwide Fans", was founded by a fan in San Francisco on 25 January 2012.

2012–2013: ''Boys Don't Cry''

Rumer's second album '' Boys Don't Cry'' was released on 28 May 2012. It contains a selection of songs by male artists and writers from the 70s and 80s period. Covers of songs by artists such as Todd Rundgren, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Neil Young and Terry Reid were chosen to mirror the solace and anguish Rumer experienced since achieving success and fame (BBC Music review). The majority of ''Boys Don't Cry'' was recorded at the same time as, or before ''Seasons of My Soul'', but two weeks before the deadline Rumer and Steve Brown irreparably fell out. Rumer sought urgent help to finish the record and enlisted family friend Jennie Muskett, a notable film and TV composer to step in and help realise her vision in Steve's absence. A lot of the music had to be re-recorded at RAK Studios with John Paraceli on guitar, Ian Thomas and Steve Pierce on drums and Dave Hartley on piano. Rumer's version of PF Sloan written by Jimmy Webb was released as a single, followed by a second single written by Hall and Oates, "Sara Smile". She appeared on The Andrew Marr show with Jools Holland at the end of 2012 and performed with Jimmy Webb on CBS Second Cup Cafe in September 2013. Rumer was interviewed on The Graham Norton show and performed PF Sloan, just previous to the release of ''Boys Don't Cry''. Rumer later performed "''P.F. Sloan"'' as a duet with P.F. Sloan on 14 June 2014. Webb invited her to perform the song at ''Live at MacArthur Park'', Los Angeles on 15 June 2013. Webb then invited Rumer to record, ''Still Within The Sound of My Voice'', (written by Jimmy Webb) which was the title track on Webb's album, Still Within the Sound of My Voice which included other guest performances by Keith Urban,

, among others, released later in 2013.

2014–2015: ''Into Colour'', ''B Sides & Rarities'' and ''Love is the Answer''

Rumer released her second album of all original material, and her third total studio album, ''

Into Colour 'Into Colour' is the third album by the British singer-songwriter Rumer. It was released on 10 November 2014. Singles * "Dangerous" was the first single released from the album. * ''Billboard'' premiered "Reach Out" in the United States via strea ...

'' on 10 November 2014 in the UK, Ireland and Japan, peaking at #12 on the UK Charts. The record was then released worldwide in early 2015 by Atlantic Records. The first song to be released from the album was "Dangerous", which takes Rumer in a more

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

direction. The song was made available on her SoundCloud page in September 2014. In 2015, Rumer released a collection of unreleased tracks and B-sides from her back catalog entitled, ''B Sides & Rarities''. The collection features collaborations with the likes of

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

, Stephen Bishop and Michael Feinstein. On 11 December 2015, Rumer released a four-track EP entitled ''Love is the Answer''.

2016–2019: ''This Girl's in Love (A Bacharach & David Songbook)''

Rumer's fourth album, released under the East West Records label, features Rumer's take on select tracks from the songbook of

and Hal David. It was released on 25 November 2016. Rumer remarked about how this album "was one she couldn't have made five years ago" and that how she felt that she had the right "emotional palette" to draw on the songs she recorded. It was produced by her husband and producer

Rob Shirakbari Rob (Shrock) Shirakbari is an American musician, composer, record producer, and arranger, best known for being long-time music director for Dionne Warwick (1985–present) and Burt Bacharach (1996 - 2010) and as producer, co-writer, and music dire ...

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios are recording studios located at the landmark Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capitol Records. While t ...

in early 2016. In October, Rumer played her first London gig in over 2 years at London's

Cadogan Hall Cadogan Hall is a 950-seat capacity concert hall in Sloane Terrace in Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. The resident music ensemble at Cadogan Hall is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), the first ...

. Rumer contributed to Trevor Horn's album ''

Reimagines the Eighties ''Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties'' is a studio album by English music producer Trevor Horn, released in 2019. It was recorded over about a year.https://www.facebook.com/trevorhornofficial/videos/299788337344805/ Track listing #"Everybody Wan ...

'', released in January 2019.

2020: ''Nashville Tears (The Songs of Hugh Prestwood)''

Rumer released her fifth studio album, and her third album of covers, ''

Nashville Tears ''Nashville Tears'' is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Rumer. It was released on 14 August 2020 on Cooking Vinyl Records and debuted at number one on the Americana Album UK Charts and at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. The ...

(The Songs of Hugh Prestwood)'', on 14 August 2020. The album, which originally was scheduled for a May 2020 release, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ''Nashville Tears'' includes covers of songs from singer-songwriter

Hugh Prestwood Hugh Loring Prestwood (born April 2, 1942) is an American Hall of Fame songwriter, whose work is primarily in country music. He was discovered by Judy Collins, who gave him his first hit "Hard Time for Lovers", which was recorded in 1978. Prestw ...

. "Creating this album was the beginning of a joyful time in my life," Rumer explained about the record. "I was listening to Hugh Prestwood's catalog all day and doing the dishes and walking the dog and taking care of my baby. It was a wonderful time....with this record, through Hugh Prestwood's words, I wanted to create a piece of work that would, to me be like a tapestry of America how I felt it and saw it, and I feel like I did just that."

Television and radio appearances

In September 2010, Rumer performed three songs on ''

Later with Jools Holland ''Later... with Jools Holland'' (also known as ''Even Later... with Jools Holland'', and previously known as ''Later Live... with Jools Holland'' and ''...Later with Jools Holland'') is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jo ...

''. She performed with British jazz singer Jamie Cullum in the 2010

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

. Also in 2010,

invited Rumer to be his special guest at his

BBC Electric Proms The BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms (formerly the BBC Electric Proms) was an October music festival in London run by the BBC for five years, 2006–2010. On 31 January 2011, the BBC announced that the event would be discontinued with immediate effec ...

concert. On 9 May 2012, Rumer performed at the White House in a tribute concert honouring the songwriting team of

and Hal David, singing the Bacharach-David song " A House Is Not a Home". She also participated in the finale, " What the World Needs Now Is Love". The concert, ''Burt Bacharach & Hal David: The Library of Congress

Gershwin Prize The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is an award given to a composer or performer for their lifetime contributions to popular music. Created in 2007 by the United States Library of Congress, the prize is named after brothers Ge ...

for Popular Song in Performance at the White House'', was broadcast on PBS on 21 May 2012. On 15 August 2012, Rumer appeared on episode #57 of Daryl Hall's webcast 'Live From Daryl's House' where they performed 'Sara Smile' together as well as other songs including 'Take Me As I Am' and 'I Can't Go For That'. Rumer and her husband Rob Shirakbari recorded two songs for the BBC's Radio 2 from their home in Macon, Georgia while self-isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two live songs "Hard Times for Lovers" and "Aretha" were aired on Ken Bruce the morning of 5 May 2020 along with an interview.

Personal life

In 2010, Rumer began a relationship with Sam Winwood, the son of English songwriter, former member of the Spencer Davis Group and record producer Muff Winwood. The two separated the following year. Rumer began dating

, Burt Bacharach's former musical director, whom she met after moving to Los Angeles following the release of ''Boys Don't Cry''. The pair moved to Shirakbari's home state of Arkansas, and married there in 2015. In an interview she gave to '' The Independent'', she said the pressures brought about by the music industry after releasing her debut album led her to being diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. She also said in the same interview that she had a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

.Rumer's New Album: Her debut caused her post-traumatic stress – how will she cope as she releases her third record?
'' The Independent''. 21 September 2014.

Awards and nominations

*2011: Nominated for the Brit Award for ''Best British Breakthrough Act'' and ''Best British Female Solo Artist'' *2011: Nominated for the

UK Asian Music Award The UK Asian Music Awards, also known by the abbreviation UK AMA, was an awards show that was held annually in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2012. The awards show has been produced and broadcast by B4U Music since 2008. Awards winners were deci ...

for ''Best Alternative Act'' and ''Best Newcomer'' *2011: Won the

for Best Alternative Act *2011: Nominated for the MOJO Award for ''Best Breakthrough Act'', ''Best Album'' with "Seasons of my Soul" and ''Song of the Year'' with "Slow" *2011: Won the MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Radio singles

Videography

Other appearances

*" Slave to the Rhythm" on Trevor Horn ''

'' *"Still Within The Sound Of My Voice" on Jimmy Webb Still Within The Sound Of My Voice

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumer 1979 births Living people People from Islamabad British women pop singers British women singer-songwriters Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom People with bipolar disorder Atlantic Records artists 21st-century British women singers East West Records artists