Sheila Elizabeth Nicholls (born 9 February 1970 in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, England) is an English singer-songwriter, now residing in Highland Park,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States.

Early years

While growing up, Nicholls attended

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

. She first found fame for performing cartwheels while

streaking Streaking is the act of running, often naked, through a public area for publicity, as a prank, a dare, or a form of protest. Streaking is often associated with sporting events, but can occur in more secluded areas. Streakers are often pursued b ...

at an

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

vs. Australia

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

match at Lord's in May 1989, in which she joined fellow school players

Derek Pringle Derek Raymond Pringle (born 18 September 1958) is an English former Test and One Day International cricketer for England, and is now a cricket journalist. Life and career Pringle was born in Nairobi, Kenya. His father Donald Pringle, who had ...

and John Stephenson on the field of play; this footage was later included in the video ''Streaker'', narrated by

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

. Nicholls travelled to the United States later in 1989 and began performing with her band, Sheila Nicholls and the Splendid Frock, in New York City in the mid-1990s.

Critical acclaim

Nicholls then moved to Los Angeles where she recorded a solo album, the critically acclaimed ''Brief Strop'' (1999), and started her own label, Essex Girl Records. Shortly thereafter, Nicholls signed a deal with Hollywood Records, which began distributing ''Brief Strop''. The song "Fallen for You," from the album, became a hit on college radio stations and found its way onto the best-selling soundtrack for the movie High Fidelity. She toured extensively with the album, including several gigs alongside

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

. "After some moral deliberations about taking Disney blood money... I negotiated a deal in which I asked for final creative say across the board and the full ownership of my master copies, both of which I got." In mid-2002, Nicholls released her second album, ''Wake'', in which she worked with producers

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album '' Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Alb ...

and Jez Colin. The album's first single, "Faith," co-written with Ballard, received ample radio play and reached the pop chart. Nicholls third album, ''Songs From the Bardo'', was released in August 2009. "After releasing two albums with Hollywood Records, I decided to lay low for a minute. I built a studio, bought equipment, and taught myself

ProTools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-product ...

. I really wanted to expand my abilities and have more creative independence. Consequently this record took a while because I did it myself, with some help from friends. Oh and I also had a baby." In 2013, Nichols was approached by singer, songwriter, executive producer and former Navy SEAL Curt Campbell, asking her if she would be interested in recording an album of original material. Hence the emergence of her fourth album, ''All of Nature'', which was released in 2016.

Personal life

Sheila has one daughter, born in 2007. In 2011, she spent two months with Occupy Los Angeles, camping outside City Hall and appearing in NPR's coverage.

Discography

*''Brief Strop'' **Released: 16 November 1999, Label: Essex Girl # "Question' (3:53) # "Elevator" (4:19) # "Hannah" (5:15) # "Eiderdown" (4:20) # "Fallen For You" (3:16) # "Peanuts" (5:34) # "Don't Die on the Vine" (3:50) # "Medusa" (3:38) # "Patience" (3:09) # "Perfection" (4:22) # "War Isn't Working" (2:17) # "So One Day" (2:32) # "Rapunzel" (3:32) # "Pan" (3:41) *''Wake'' **Released: 14 May 2002, Label: Essex Girl # "How Strong" (4:23) # "Bread and Water" (4:39) # "Faith" (4:12) # "Love Song" (4:23) # "Maze" (3:50) # "Ruby" (2:51) # "Moth and the Streetlight" (4:43) # "Seven Fat Englishmen" (3:59) # "Won't Get Lost In You" (3:32) # "Come To Me" (3:23) # "Breath" (4:20) # "Ownership" (hidden track) *"Ode To Britney" (4:41) **Released: 8 May 2008 *''Songs from the Bardo'' **Released: August 2009, Label: Essex Girl # "Where None are Afraid" (3:48) # "Pinking Up" (3:57) # "Bardo" (4:32) # "Old Friend" (3:18) # "Natural Law" (3:44) # "Pointless Tackles Vision" (5:03) # "Mighty Love" (3:26) # "Celery Bay" (4:19) # "City Between" (3:20) # "Bed" (3:44) # "Lay Low" (4:36) # "Simplify" (4:04)

References

External links

Official websiteEssex Girl RecordsStreak at Lords Stadium
* ttp://www.laweekly.com/music/unmaterial-girl-2134987 Unmaterial Girlbr>Brief bio on FeistyFemales.netMTV.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Sheila 1970 births Living people English contemporary pianists English women guitarists English rock guitarists English women singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters British feminist musicians People educated at Felsted School Musicians from Colchester Streakers English expatriate musicians in the United States 21st-century English women singers 21st-century British pianists 21st-century British guitarists 21st-century women guitarists 21st-century British women pianists