Tracey Anne Thorn (born 26 September 1962) is a British singer. She is best known as being one half of the duo

Everything but the Girl Everything but the Girl (occasionally referred to as EBTG) are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, producer and singer Ben Watt ...

from 1982 to 1999. She was a member of the band

Marine Girls Marine Girls were an English post-punk group from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The group was formed in 1980, by two sixth form schoolfriends; Tracey Thorn and Gina Hartman. Originally, Thorn just played guitar and Hartman was the lead voca ...

between 1980 and 1983 and since 2007 has been active as a solo artist.

Early life

The youngest of three children, Thorn was born in

Brookmans Park Brookmans Park is a village in Hertfordshire, southeast England, known for its BBC transmitter station. Brookmans Park railway station, on the East Coast Main Line, is operated by Great Northern. It is also a waypoint used in air navigation b ...

, Hertfordshire. She grew up in nearby Hatfield and studied English at the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

, where she graduated in 1984 with First Class Honours. She later took an MA degree at Birkbeck, University of London.

Music career

Stern Bops (1979–1980)

Thorn began her musical career in the punk-pop hybrid group Stern Bops playing guitar and providing some vocal backing.

Marine Girls (1980–1983)

Thorn then formed

as primary songwriter, playing guitar and sharing vocals. The band released two albums (''

Beach Party ''Beach Party'' is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience.Smith, Gary A. Smith (2009) ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland p.2 ...

'' in 1981 and ''

Lazy Ways ''Lazy Ways'' is the second album of the British indie pop group, Marine Girls. The album was released by Cherry Red Records in 1983. The song "Lazy Ways" appears on the Cherry Red showcase compilation ''Pillows & Prayers'', while "A Place in the ...

'' in 1983) and three singles. The group disbanded in 1983.

Everything but the Girl (1982–2000)

Thorn met

Ben Watt Benjamin Brian Thomas Watt (born 6 December 1962) is a British musician, singer, songwriter, author, DJ and radio presenter, best known as one half of the duo Everything but the Girl. Early life Watt was born in Marylebone, London, and grew u ...

at the University of Hull where they were both students, and both signed as solo artists to Cherry Red Records. Their first album together was '' Eden'', released in 1984. Everything but the Girl released a body of work that spanned two decades. Their biggest chart success came in 1995, when DJ

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crosse ...

remixed a song from their ''

Amplified Heart ''Amplified Heart'' is the eighth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 13 June 1994 by Blanco y Negro Records in the U.K. and on 19 July 1994 by Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. The ...

'' album. " Missing" peaked at number three 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 ...

, topped the charts in countries such as Canada, Denmark, Germany and Italy and peaked within the top ten of the charts in many countries, including Australia, France, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden and the United States. Everything but the Girl has been inactive since 2000. Watt has played on some filmed performances of Thorn's solo work and on her 2011 recording of

the xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...

's "Night Time".

Solo career and collaborations (1982–present)

Thorn's first solo work was a mini-album entitled '' A Distant Shore'' (1982). A re-recorded version of the track " Plain Sailing" was released as a single, and was included on the ''

Pillows & Prayers ''Pillows & Prayers'' (subtitled ''Cherry Red 1982-1983'') is a compilation album released Christmas 1982, featuring artists on the Cherry Red record label. The record was originally sold at 99 pence (in fact, "pay no more than 99p" was printed ...

'' Cherry Red records compilation album. In the 1980s, Thorn contributed guest vocals and backing vocals for

The Style Council The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...

on the track "The Paris Match" (from the album ''

Café Bleu ''Café Bleu'' is the official debut album released by the English band The Style Council. It was released on 16 March 1984, on Polydor Records, produced by Paul Weller with Peter Wilson. It followed the compilation '' Introducing The Style Cou ...

''),

The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout ...

on their track ''Head Full of Steam'', Working Week on the single " Venceremos (We Will Win)" and

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British rock/pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK; it also had success in several other countries in ...

on the track "Big Snake". In the 1990s, she collaborated with

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...

on several projects, including the soundtrack for the motion picture ''

Batman Forever ''Batman Forever'' (on-screen title is simply ''Forever'') is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment o ...

'' where she contributed with "

The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" is a 1966 song written by Smokey Robinson. It was a hit single in 1967 for the American girl group The Marvelettes for the Motown label, from their self-titled album released that same year. In 1980, Jamaican ...

". Their first project together was the song "

Protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

" (for which she wrote the lyrics and melody) from the album by Massive Attack of the same name. She also co-wrote and sings on the track "Better Things". She also sang "The Tree Knows Everything" on

Adam F Adam Fenton (born 8 February 1972) is an English record producer and DJ who has worked across various genres. He is also the co-founder of the drum and bass label Breakbeat Kaos along with DJ Fresh. He found initial success with the 1990s drum ...

's debut album, ''Colours''. Just prior to her return to recording in 2007, Thorn contributed vocals to the song "Damage" by the band

Tiefschwarz Tiefschwarz () are a German house group consisting of brothers, Alexander "Ali" (June 7, 1967-) and Sebastian "Basti" (December 28, 1969-) Schwarz, which formed in Stuttgart in 1996.IMO Records"Tiefschwarz Biography", '' IMO Records''. Retrieve ...

on the album ''

Eat Books Tiefschwarz () are a German house group consisting of brothers, Alexander "Ali" (June 7, 1967-) and Sebastian "Basti" (December 28, 1969-) Schwarz, which formed in Stuttgart in 1996.IMO Records"Tiefschwarz Biography", '' IMO Records''. Retrieve ...

''. In March 2007, Tracey Thorn released her second solo album '' Out of the Woods'' on

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 ...

(Worldwide) and on Astralwerks (USA). It was produced by

Ewan Pearson Ewan Pearson (born 1 April 1972) is an English electronic music producer/remixer who works under various aliases including Maas, Sulky Pup, Villa America, World of Apples, and Dirtbox. He is also in Partial Arts with Al Usher. He has remixed ...

, who kept collaborating with her in subsequent releases. The first single from the album, " It's All True", accompanied by remixes from the likes of

Kris Menace Kris Menace (born Christoph Hoeffel) is a German electronic musician and music producer. History Christophe Hoeffel began to work as a producer and writer in the mid-1990s for different projects and started using the pseudonym "Kris Menace" in 2 ...

& Martin Buttrich, was released on 7 February and reached No. 75 on the UK singles chart while the album met critical acclaim and peaked at No. 38 on the Albums Chart. In 2008, Thorn collaborated with the Hungarian acoustic downtempo group

The Unbending Trees The Unbending Trees are a musical project that hail from Budapest, Hungary. They specialize in sparse chamber ballads and slo-core pop. History Kristóf Hajós-Dévényi (vocals, words) was involved in various musical projects before founding The ...

on their single "Overture", which also featured on their album ''Chemically Happy (Is The New Sad)'', released by her partner

. In 2009, Thorn collaborated with the Swedish singer-songwriter

Jens Lekman Jens Martin Lekman (; born 6 February 1981) is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. His work is heavily influenced by Jonathan Ri ...

for a cover of

The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields (named after the André Breton/Philippe Soupault novel '' Les Champs Magnétiques'') are an American band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as fr ...

' "Yeah! Oh Yeah!" for a compilation album commemorating twenty years of

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

, ''Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers!''. Thorn's third solo album ''

Love and Its Opposite ''Love and Its Opposite'' is the third solo studio album by former Everything but the Girl singer Tracey Thorn, released on 18 May 2010. The album was released on Thorn's husband Ben Watt's label Strange Feeling in the UK, and on Merge Records in ...

'' was released in May 2010 on Ben Watt's Strange Feeling Records in the UK, and on

in the US. Recorded in London and Berlin and produced by Ewan Pearson, it contained eight new songs and two cover versions, "Come on Home to Me" by

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960 ...

, and "You Are a Lover" by

. Thorn's fourth solo album was a Christmas album entitled '' Tinsel and Lights''. It was released in late October 2012, and included covers of songs by

Carol Hall Carol Hall (April 3, 1936 – October 11, 2018) was an American composer and lyricist. She was best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway stage musical '' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1978, adapted as a film in 1982) ...

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has s ...

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

, Joni Mitchell, Sufjan Stevens, Low and Scritti Politti, plus two original songs and contributions from Green Gartside and

. The original song "Joy" is featured in the 2012 film ''

All Is Bright ''All Is Bright'' (released as ''Almost Christmas'' in the UK) is a 2013 comedy-drama film directed by Phil Morrison. It stars Paul Giamatti and Paul Rudd, with Sally Hawkins and Amy Landecker in supporting roles. The film debuted at the 2013 ...

'' with

Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...

and

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...

. In 2013 Thorn wrote and recorded the original music for '' The Falling'', the debut feature film by filmmaker

Carol Morley Carol Anne Morley (born 14 January 1966) is an English film director, screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her semi-documentary ''Dreams of a Life'', released in 2011, about Joyce Carol Vincent, who died in her North London bedsit i ...

, which premiered at the London Film Festival 2014. A compilation album, '' Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982–2015'', was released in the UK on 23 October 2015. It features 34 tracks on two discs. On 17 January 2018, Thorn announced the release of her album '' Record'', which was released on 2 March. The album was produced by Ewan Pearson, and features contributions from

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

Shura Shura ( ar, شُورَىٰ, translit=shūrā, lit=consultation) can for example take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praisewort ...

, Jona Ma and Stella and Jenny from Warpaint. Along with the announcement, Thorn released the debut single and video from the project, entitled "Queen".

Writing

Virago published Thorn's memoir '' Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star'' early in 2013. It received widespread critical acclaim and was a ''Sunday Times'' Top Ten best-seller. In 2014, she began a regular column ('Off the Record') for the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

''. The column ran until spring of 2022. In 2015 Virago published her second book, ''Naked at the Albert Hall'', about singers and singing. She published a third memoir in 2019: ''Another Planet: A Teenager in Suburbia'' (2019). 2021 saw the publication of a fourth book, ''My Rock 'n' Roll Friend'', focused on her friendship with

Lindy Morrison Belinda "Lindy" Morrison (born 2 November 1951) is an Australian musician originally from Brisbane, Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group the Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all of the band's releases from their first L ...

of the Go-Betweens, and on the experiences of female musicians in the male-dominated music scene.

Personal life

After 28 years as a couple, Thorn and the other half of Everything But The Girl,

, married in 2009 at

Chelsea Register Office Kensington and Chelsea Register Office is an office for the registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships located in Chelsea Old Town Hall in Chelsea, London. It has hosted the weddings of many notable people. According to '' ...

. They live in Hampstead, North London. The couple have twin girls, Jean and Alfie, born in 1998. And son Blake, born in 2001.

Awards and nominations

{, class=wikitable , - ! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result , - , 1995 ,

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...

, rowspan=2, "

" (with

) , Best Video , , - , 1996 ,

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, Best British Video , , - , 2011 ,

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs is an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards have been held every year since the conference's creation in 1985 e ...

, "Why Does the Wind?" , Best House/Garage Track , , - , 2017 , Artist and Manager Awards , rowspan=3, Herself , Artists’ Artist Award , , - , rowspan=5, 2018 ,

AIM Independent Music Awards The AIM Independent Music Awards, hosted by the Association of Independent Music (commonly abbreviated to AIM), began in 2011. It is established through a collection of independent record labels and providing service and support to independent and s ...

, Outstanding Contribution to Music , , - , rowspan=3, Classic Pop Reader Awards , Artist of the Year , , - , '' Record'' , Album of the Year , , - , '"Queen" , Single of the Year , , - ,

Best Art Vinyl Best Art Vinyl is an annual award that began in 2005. It celebrates artists and designers of vinyl record cover art. The nomination process begins in November and the winners are announced in January, and are exhibited at venues across the United K ...

, '' Record'' , Best Art Vinyl , , - , rowspan=2, 2019 , rowspan=2, GAFFA-Prisen Awards , Herself , Best International Artist , , - , '' Record'' , Best International Album ,

Discography

Studio albums

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left;" , + List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions !rowspan="2", Title !rowspan="2" style="width:225px;", Album details !colspan="5", Peak chart positions , - !style="width:4em;font-size:85%", UK
!style="width:4em;font-size:85%", AUS
!style="width:4em;font-size:85%",

GRE The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States and Canada and a few other countries. The GRE is owned and administered by Educational Testing Servi ...

!style="width:4em;font-size:85%", SWE
!style="width:4em;font-size:85%", US
, - !scope="row", '' A Distant Shore'' , * Released: September 1982 * Label: Cherry Red , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , - !scope="row", '' Out of the Woods'' , * Released: 5 March 2007 * Label:

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

/ Astralwerks , style="text-align:center;", 38 , style="text-align:center;", 86 , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", 44 , style="text-align:center;", 172 , - !scope="row", ''

'' , * Released: 17 May 2010 * Label: Strange Feeling/

Merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

, style="text-align:center;", 51 , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", 16 , style="text-align:center;", 22 , style="text-align:center;", 144 , - !scope="row", '' Tinsel and Lights'' , * Released: 29 October 2012 * Label: Strange Feeling , style="text-align:center;", 94 , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , - !scope="row", '' Record'' , * Released: 2 March 2018 , style="text-align:center;", 15 , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", — , style="text-align:center;", —

EPs

*2010 ''Opposites EP'' (contains experimental remixes of tracks from ''Love and Its Opposite'') *2011 ''You Are A Lover EP'' (10" green vinyl released for Record Store Day) *2011 ''Night Time EP'' *2014 ''Molly Drake Songs''

Compilations

*2011 ''Extended Plays 2010–2011'' *2015 '' Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982–2015''

Singles

{, class="wikitable" , - !Year !Title !Album , - , 1982 , " Plain Sailing" , ''A Distant Shore'' , - , rowspan="4", 2007 , " It's All True" , rowspan="4", ''Out of the Woods'' , - , "Raise the Roof" , - , "Grand Canyon" , - , " King's Cross" , - , rowspan="2", 2010 , "Oh, the Divorces!" , rowspan="3", ''Love and its Opposite'' , - , "Why Does the Wind?" , - , rowspan="2", 2011 , "You Are a Lover" , - , "Night Time" , , ''Night Time EP'' , - , rowspan="3", 2012 , "In the Cold, Cold Night" , rowspan="3", ''Tinsel and Lights'' , - , "Tinsel and Lights" , - , "Joy" , - , 2018 , "Queen" , ''Record''

Collaborations

{, class="wikitable" , - !Year !Song !Album , - , rowspan="2", 1984 , " Venceremos (We Will Win)" with Working Week , single only , - , "The Paris Match" with

, ''Chilled Jazz'' with The Style Council and ''

Cafe Bleu A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

'' (Style Council album) , - , rowspan="2", 1986 , "Head Full of Steam" with

, rowspan="2", ''

Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express ''Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express'', the fourth album by The Go-Betweens, was released in March 1986 in the UK on Beggars Banquet Records, the record label that would release the remainder of the original group's LPs through their bre ...

'' , - , "Apology Accepted" with The Go-Betweens , - , 1987 , "Big Snake" with

, ''

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

'' , - , 1993 , " Over the Rainbow" with

James McMillan James (or Jim or Jimmy) McMillan or MacMillan may refer to: Sportspeople * James McMillan (footballer, born c. 1866) (c. 1866–?), played for Sunderland * James McMillan (footballer, born 1869) (1869–1937), played for Scotland,Everton and St ...

, ''Makin' Changes'' by James McMillan , - , rowspan="2", 1994 , "

" with

, rowspan="2", ''

'' (Massive Attack) , - , "Better Things" with Massive Attack , - , 1995 , "

" with Massive Attack , ''

'' , - , 1997 , "The Tree Knows Everything" with

, ''

Colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

'' (Adam F) , - , 2007 , "Damage" with

, ''

'' (Tiefschwarz) , - , 2008 , "Overture" with

, ''Chemically Happy (Is the New Sad)'' , - , 2009 , "Yeah! Oh Yeah!" with

, ''Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers!'' , - , 2010 , "Without Me" with Tevo Howard , , - , 2012 , "Taking Down The Tree" with Green Gartside , '' Tinsel and Lights'' , - , 2015 , "Disappointing" with John Grant , '' Grey Tickles, Black Pressure''

References

Sources

*''Bedsit Disco Queen; How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star'' by Tracey Thorn, , Little Brown (2013)

External links

Official Tracey Thorn website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorn, Tracey 1962 births Living people 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers 21st-century English singers 21st-century English women singers British alternative rock musicians Cherry Red Records artists English contraltos English dance musicians English folk musicians English house musicians English women guitarists English guitarists English women in electronic music English women singer-songwriters Merge Records artists Musicians from Hertfordshire New Statesman people People from Welwyn Hatfield (district)