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Shara Nelson (born 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She worked 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 ...
in the early 1990s, and as a solo artist had five UK top 40 hit singles. Her 1993 debut album, ''
What Silence Knows
''What Silence Knows'' is the debut solo album by English singer Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 on Cooltempo Records. It includes five singles which reached the UK Singles Chart: " Down That Road", " One Goodbye in Ten", "Inside Out", ...
'', was shortlisted for the
Mercury Music Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
.
Career
Early work
Nelson's first release was the 1983 single "Aiming at Your Heart", which was credited to Shara Nelson & The Circuit. She then released her debut solo single, "Can't Get Over You", in 1986 under the name "Shara". Nelson released two further solo singles in the 1980s, "Standing Invitation" as Sharon Nelson and "Love's Hit You" as Shara Nelson. In the late 1980s, she began working with the
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
-based DJ/production team
The Wild Bunch
''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw gang on th ...
, from who a spin-off production team/crew would form, named
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 ...
.
1990s
Nelson's first release with Massive Attack was the single "
Daydreaming
Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...
" in 1990. As well as providing vocals, Nelson also co-wrote songs with Massive Attack, including the hit single "
Unfinished Sympathy" which was included on the group's debut album, ''
Blue Lines
''Blue Lines'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 8 April 1991 by Wild Bunch and Virgin Records. The recording was led by members Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "T ...
'', in 1991. The single peaked at No. 13 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 ...
and has been
widely critically acclaimed, particularly in polls conducted by
MTV2 and ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''. A reviewer for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
has said that: "More than a decade after its release it remains one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by
Bacharach
Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not withi ...
or a melody by
McCartney." In total, Nelson co-wrote and provided vocals on four tracks on the ''Blue Lines'' album, including another hit single, "
Safe From Harm" (UK No. 25). Nelson also recorded another track with Massive Attack entitled "Just A Matter of Time", which was exclusively included on a short film the group made of the same name.
In July 1993, Nelson restarted her solo career with the hit single "
Down That Road" which peaked at No. 19 on the UK Singles Chart.
The single was released on Cooltempo Records and both
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...
and
Steve Osborne
Stephen John "Steve" Osborne (born 1963) is a British record producer, living in Bath, England. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, the B-52s, A-ha, New Order, Elbow, U2, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Gregory Porter, Do ...
were involved in remixing the track. Nelson's debut album, ''
What Silence Knows
''What Silence Knows'' is the debut solo album by English singer Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 on Cooltempo Records. It includes five singles which reached the UK Singles Chart: " Down That Road", " One Goodbye in Ten", "Inside Out", ...
'', was released in September 1993 produced and mixed by
Mike Peden
Michael Peden is a British record producer, remixer and composer, best known for his work with the British musical duo Lighthouse Family. With his former band the Chimes, Peden had a hit single with their version of "I Still Haven't Found What I ...
. It peaked at no.22 on the UK album chart,
and was later certified Gold by the
BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. Nelson co-wrote all of the songs on the album, which included co-writes with Prince Be of
P.M. Dawn, and
Saint Etienne. Further singles from the album included "
One Goodbye in Ten" (UK No. 21), "
Uptight" (UK No. 19) and "
Inside Out" (UK No. 34).
The album was shortlisted for the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
for Best Album in 1994. Also in 1994, Nelson was nominated for "Best British Female Solo Artist" and "Best British Breakthrough Act" at the
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 ...
.
Nelson's second album, ''
Friendly Fire
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...
'' also produced by
Mike Peden
Michael Peden is a British record producer, remixer and composer, best known for his work with the British musical duo Lighthouse Family. With his former band the Chimes, Peden had a hit single with their version of "I Still Haven't Found What I ...
was released in 1995, and contained the hit "
Rough with the Smooth" which peaked at no.30 in the UK.
The album was less successful than her previous release, and peaked at no.44 in the UK.
She was again nominated for "Best British Female Solo Artist" at the
1996 BRIT Awards.
In 1997, Nelson contributed to ''
Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project'', performing the song "Moonraker" which had originally been sung by
Shirley Bassey.
In 1998, Nelson collaborated with
Charles Webster's Presence project and released the single "Sense of Danger" which peaked at No. 61 in the UK Singles Chart. The track was included on the Presence album ''All Systems Gone'' which was released in early 1999, along with another track with Nelson on vocals entitled "Matter of Fact".
Also in 1999, Nelson collaborated with
Air Cuba and released the single "
Black Island" on the 4AD label. She also collaborated with the UK artists BLIM and Chris Carter as
Kasha on the track "
U" which was released as a 12" single.
2000s
In 2002, Nelson released a track entitled ", Realise", which was remixed and included on the mix compilation album ''4 Vini: Forever Young''.
In 2003, Nelson collaborated with
Adrian Sherwood
Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques ...
on the track "
Hari Up Hari", which was released as a 12" single. Sherwood was the founder of
On-U Sound Records which released Nelson's first record 20 years earlier. Also in 2003, Nelson collaborated with Futurasound on the track "
Right Now".
In 2004, Nelson released her first solo single since 1996, the song "
Nobody Else". Other tracks released around this time were "Push Me Away" with 10th Planet and "Say My Name" with Little Axe.
In December 2007, Nelson was featured on a new single by NUfrequency entitled "
Go That Deep", which included a remix by Charles Webster. Doug Wimbish released an album ''CinemaSonics'' on Yellowbird in 2008, where Nelson has contributed on a song "I Wanna Know" as a co-writer and a vocalist.
2010s
In 2011, DJ
Pete Tong obtained a restraining order against Nelson following her 12 month community order and community service sentence for harassment of Tong and his wife.
Several new tracks have been posted on Nelson's official website, including "Promise to You", "Different" and "If". In February 2012, NUFrequency released their debut album ''Connected'', which includes a new extended version of "Go That Deep" featuring Shara Nelson. A newly remixed and remastered version of Massive Attack's ''Blue Lines'' was released in 2012. The album features Nelson on four songs, including the classics "Unfinished Sympathy" and "Safe From Harm". In September 2012, Nelson performed live for the first time in many years, sparking further rumours of an imminent comeback in 2013. She performed her hit "Unfinished Sympathy" (originally with Massive Attack) at the concert in aid of
Cool Earth produced by Angelica Campion-Armstrong.
Nelson contributed vocals to the track "Badger Swagger" by The Artful Badger in May 2013. The song was made in support of Team Badger and the "Stop The Cull" petition and was released in June 2013.
Summer 2014 brought the release of a new single called "Promised", again in collaboration with NUfrequency. It was recorded in 2010 and released on Rebirth as a limited hand-stamped white label coloured 10" vinyl. In December 2014, Nelson contributed to "The Peace Collective" with her vocals appearing on the charity single "All Together Now" Other contributors include David Gray and Holly Johnson.
Nelson, Britton and
John Power wrote and recorded the title track, "Looking", for the film ''
Anti-Social''. Nelson released a single on 27 April 2018 called "Looking (Meghan Markle's Theme)".
2020s
Nelson is the featured vocalist on Charles Webster's latest single "This Is Real", released in October 2020. Nelson and Webster have collaborated together before on the Presence album and NUFrequecny remixes. In 2022 a remix of the track This Is Real (Dazzle Drums Mix) was released on vinyl and digital release.
Nelson is currently continuing work in the studio with
Simon Britton and various collaborators for her next solo album with the first single due in 2023.
Discography
;Studio albums:
*1991: ''
Blue Lines
''Blue Lines'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 8 April 1991 by Wild Bunch and Virgin Records. The recording was led by members Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "T ...
'' with Massive Attack
*1993: ''
What Silence Knows
''What Silence Knows'' is the debut solo album by English singer Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 on Cooltempo Records. It includes five singles which reached the UK Singles Chart: " Down That Road", " One Goodbye in Ten", "Inside Out", ...
'' (UK No. 22)
*1995: ''
Friendly Fire
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...
'' (UK No. 44)
*1999: ''
All Systems Gone'' (with
Charles Webster's Presence)
;Collaborations and rare:
*1983: "Aiming at Your Heart"/"Just as Long as We Have Love" (with The Circuit)
*1984: "Savanna Prance" (with The Missing Brazilians), "In Another World" (with Voice of Authority)
*1985: "Love's Hit You" (vinyl-only solo single)
*1985: "Love Mystery" (with Jah Wobble)
*1986: "Can't Get Over You" (single as Shara)
*1986: "Standing Invitation" (single as Sharon Nelson)
*1989: "Je T'Aime" (with Dub Syndicate)
*1991: "Safe from Harm"/"Unfinished Sympathy"/"Lately"/"Daydreaming" (with Massive Attack)
*1994: "On the Shore" (with Saint Etienne), "Heart of Stone"/"Welcome to the Suburbs" (with Dave Stewart)
*1995: "Nobody Knows" (with Guru)
*1996: "Good Intentions"/"Faraway Places" (with Groove Corporation)
*1998: "Moonraker" (with David Arnold)
*1999: "Sense of Danger"/"Matter of Fact" (with Presence), "Black Island" (with Cuba), "U" (with Kasha)
*2002: "Be My Lighthouse" (with Bim Sherman), "Realise" (with Jason Sparkes)
*2003: "Right Now" (with Futurasound), "Hari Up Hari" (with Adrian Sherwood)
*2004: "Nobody Else" (vinyl-only single), "Say My Name" (with Little Axe)
*2007: "Push Me Away" (with 10th Planet)
*2008: "Go That Deep" (with NUfrequency), "I Wanna Know" (with Doug Wimbish)
*2013: "Badger Swagger" (with The Artful Badger)
*2014: "Promised" (with NUfrequency), "All Together Now" (with The Peace Collective)
*2015: "Looking" (from the film "Anti-Social" OST)
*2018: "Looking (Megan Markle's Theme)" solo single, digital release
*2020: "This Is Real" (with Charles Webster)
*2022: “This Is Real” Dazzle Drums Mix (with Charles Webster)
Awards and nominations
*1994: Nominated for
Mercury Music Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
(Best Album – ''What Silence Knows'')
*1994: Nominated for
BRIT Award
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 Female Solo Artist" and "Best British Breakthrough Act")
*1996: Nominated for
BRIT Award
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 Female Solo Artist")
References
External links
*
*
AllMusic profile
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Shara
1965 births
Living people
English dance musicians
Singers from London
Massive Attack members
20th-century Black British women singers
21st-century Black British women singers
On-U Sound Records artists
Virgin Records artists