Melanie Garside
Encyclopedia
Melanie Garside is a songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

 and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 whose long career in music has been diverse and often surprising. Currently releasing material under the name of Maple Bee, she is about to release her third solo album entitled These Four Worlds on Xie Recordings. Garside is also a practicing Music Therapist working in and around London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Tabitha Zu

Starting out as a well known teenage busker in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

, Garside soon moved on to college near Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

 where she began playing solo shows under the name Tabitha Zu. During this period she met her first band mates, Jon Hamilton and Phil Stevenson - and Tabitha Zu became three. The band's chaotic and intense live shows quickly caught the attention of the alternative press, Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

 and Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...

.The band released two singles Heard It Before and On Reality on TLF records, both landing in the alternative chart top 20. The band played Reading Festival in 1992 to rave reviews, toured Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 and landed themselves a place on an extensive university tour of the UK named StrollerCoaster. The tour featured five regular bands a night with a special guest appearance from top names of the time including Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...

 and Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...

. After the departure of the band's bassist Stevenson, Tabitha Zu seemed to undergo an extensive series of changes. Garside appeared solo (with a violinist) supporting Suede at the Underworld, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and with the support of drummer Hamilton, set about looking for a replacement for Stevenson. Hamilton also left the Zu's to join underground noise makers Part Chimp
Part Chimp
Part Chimp is a band from Camberwell in London that were formed by Tim Cedar, Jon Hamilton and Nick Prior in 2000. Current line-up is Tim , Jon , Joe McLaughlin and Iain Hinchliffe ....

 soon after and Garside appeared some months later re-named Zu.

Zu

Also a three piece, Zu was made up of Paul Godfrey on Bass and Adam Woods on Drums. After only a few live shows the band were quickly signed by Echo Records. They released one EP, produced by John Fryer
John Fryer (music)
John Fryer is an English record producer. Best known for his production work, he also branched out as a musician as one of only two constant members of This Mortal Coil , providing keyboards, strings and synthesizer sequencing for the band, and its offshoot, The Hope Blister.- Career :Starting out...

 The Apart EP received air play on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 and went on to receive more great live reviews in the alternative press. Their second unreleased EP Break was produced by Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...

 (Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...

, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...

). The promo video was directed and filmed by Cardiacs
Cardiacs
Cardiacs are an English alternative rock/psychedelic pop band formed in 1977 and led by Tim Smith. Noted for their complex, varied and intense compositional style and for their eccentric, theatrical stage shows, they have been hailed as an influence by bands as diverse as Blur, Faith No More and...

 frontman Tim Smith
Tim Smith
Tim Smith, may refer to:* Tim Smith , former NFL wide receiver* Tim Smith , American professional basketball player* Tim Smith , of The Brew...

. However, Echo Records seemed to pull the plug on the band around this time. The Break EP and video never saw the light of day. Godfrey left the band and after a year of recording demos with producer Dave Dix, Garside underwent a huge change in styling and sound directed by the record label. Garside went on to release her first solo album on Echo Records, Fossil, produced by Julian Mendelsohn
Julian Mendelsohn
Julian Mendelsohn is a British record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Records bearing his work have been featured on English top ten charts...

 - who had worked with the likes of Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...

 and the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

.

Melanie Garside

The record was well received by the music business achieving Album of the Month in Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...

 and receiving critical acclaim from the broadsheet press - The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

 likening Garside's musical force and talent to that of Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...

. The alternative press who had previously championed Garside, did not take to the new direction. London Underground stations were full of promotional posters for the first single and BBC Radio 1 gave Big White Room extensive daytime play. The videos for the single featured on Saturday morning TV show, The Chart Show
The Chart Show
The Chart Show is a music video programme which ran in the UK on Channel 4 between 1986 and 1988, then on ITV between 1989 and 1998. The production company was Video Visuals, and was credited as "A Yorkshire Television Presentation" from 1993 and 1998...

. Garside also appeared on The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...

(Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

) with cult puppet act Zig and Zag
Zig and Zag (puppets)
Zig and Zag are an Irish puppet duo performed by Mick O'Hara and Ciaran Morrison.The characters are a pair of furry extraterrestrial twins from the planet Zog. They made their television début on RTÉs Dempsey's Den in 1987. A year later they won a Jacob's Award for TV Personalities of the year...

, she made an evening appearance on The James Whale Show, GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...

 and sang with The James Taylor Quartet
James Taylor Quartet
The James Taylor Quartet are a British four-piece jazz funk band who have become renowned for their live performances. They were formed by Hammond organ player James Taylor following the break-up of his former band The Prisoners in the wake of Stiff Records' bankruptcy...

 on The Gaby Roslin Show. Staffing issues at the record label meant that although Big White Room was well received the record was not actually available to buy in the shops and it disappeared fairly quickly. The second single She Knows was available to buy but received very little press. Garside spent the next year touring and traveling in South East Asia, promoting Fossil in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. The following year Garside had a baby and was released from her deal with Echo Records.

Our Lady of Miracles/Vertigo Angels

After a year out of the spotlight and some low-key solo London shows, Garside soon formed a new three piece noise band called Our Lady of Miracles. Re-united with Tabitha Zu's original drummer and long time friend Jon Hamilton and French bassist Blaise Merino, the band made a fearsome noise, selling packed out shows on London's alternative live circuit. Their first singles Burned and Firefly received a low-key release on Hijack Records and live reviews in Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...

 and Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...

 were glowing. After issues arose around the use of their name, Our Lady of Miracles re-named themselves after one of their songs, Vertigo Angels, releasing their debut album Eradicate Apathy on Cargo Records/Livewire records in 2003. The album, like the inter-band relationship between Garside and Merino, was intense, dark and wild and the band were not set to last, breaking up in 2005 after a final show at Camden's Koko featuring Robin Goodridge
Robin Goodridge
Robin Goodridge is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Bush.-Biography:...

 (formerly of Bush
Bush (band)
Bush are an alternative rock band formed in London in 1992 shortly after vocalist/guitarist Gavin Rossdale and guitarist Nigel Pulsford met in a London nightclub. Realising they shared a love for such diverse artists as the Pixies, Bob Marley, The Jesus Lizard, MC5, Nirvana, Hüsker Dü, and Big...

) on drums.

QueenAdreena and Mediæval Bæbes

Around this period Garside also lent herself to two other projects, Mediæval Bæbes
Mediæval Bæbes
The Mediæval Bæbes are a British ensemble of female musicians founded in the 1990s by Katharine Blake and included some of her colleagues from the band Miranda Sex Garden, as well as other friends who share her love of mediaeval music...

 and her sister KatieJane Garside
KatieJane Garside
KatieJane Garside is an English vocalist, lyricist, artist and writer who fronted the first incarnation of the '90s noise rock band Daisy Chainsaw and now fronts Queen Adreena, an independent rock band from London....

's cult rock band QueenAdreena
Queenadreena
QueenAdreena are an independent rock band from London, currently signed to One Little Indian Records. Vocalist KatieJane Garside and guitarist Crispin Gray had previously collaborated in the celebrated but short-lived band Daisy Chainsaw...

. Over the next two years Garside recorded and co-wrote with both acts.

During her time in Mediæval Bæbes, Garside toured extensively around Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, USA and UK, going on to sing on the Mediæval Bæbes 2005 album, Mirabilis
Mirabilis (album)
Mirabilis is the fifth album by British vocal group Mediæval Bæbes.-Track listing:# Star of the Sea# Trovommi Amor# Temptasyon# San'c Fuy Belha Ni Prezada# All for Love of One# The Lament# Musa Venit Carmine# Kilmeny# Lhiannan Shee# Umlahi...

. She wrote, arranged and performed the lead vocal on featured album track All For Love Of One, and the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 to the 2005 BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

 series The Virgin Queen
The Virgin Queen (TV show)
The Virgin Queen is a 2005 BBC and Power co-production, four-part miniseries based upon the life of Queen Elizabeth I, starring Anne-Marie Duff...

. The 2006 Mediæval Bæbes Live album, also featured Garside. From 2004 to 2005, she also played bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 in her sister, KatieJane Garside's band, QueenAdreena
Queenadreena
QueenAdreena are an independent rock band from London, currently signed to One Little Indian Records. Vocalist KatieJane Garside and guitarist Crispin Gray had previously collaborated in the celebrated but short-lived band Daisy Chainsaw...

, and appeared on their album, The Butcher and the Butterfly
The Butcher and the Butterfly
The Butcher and the Butterfly is the third album by British Alternative Rock band QueenAdreena, released in 2005.-Track listing:#"Suck" – 3:19#"Medicine Jar" – 3:48#"Ascending Stars" – 4:21#"Join the Dots" – 4:22#"Pull Me Under" – 4:23...

. She toured with them for a short time, before leaving both bands to really focus on her own work as Maple Bee and Huski.

Huski

Garside and Pike Galloway formed their songwriting partnership Huski in 2006. Their first album Love, Peace, Pain was released on Xie Recordings on 17 July 2006, following the three track single Make Me Your Picture (iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 exclusive), which was released on 22 May 2006. The band promoted the album touring the UK with pop-punk due Robots In Disguise
Robots in Disguise
Robots in Disguise are an English electropunk band. The group is composed of Dee Plume , Sue Denim , and a rolling live line-up of backing musicians...

. The live line up was made up of Garside, Pike Galloway, Jules Harley and TC (formerly of Mediæval Bæbes). Their second album Strangelove, was long in the making and while the band have made available online copies of the album, the official release of their third record H is being released soon. The album features production and mixing from the production/DJ Duo, Psychemagik. Huski have collaborated with renowned photographer and video director James Sutton
James Sutton (photographer)
James Sutton is an English photographer & music video director. Inspired by pop culture, art & music, his work is a collision of colour and culture with a subtle hint of his love for surrealism....

 throughout their career, the live shows featuring mesmerising backdrops of disturbing and confusing imagery. The artwork for Strangelove features a series of dark and seductive photos by Sutton in which Garside and Galloway tell their story in a series of clues and apparent misdemeanors.

Maple Bee

Garside has released three albums as Maple Bee to date, Chasing Eva (2003) Hello Eve (2006) and Home (2008). Chasing Eva was originally released as a double album, but was later re-released with a shortened track list and new artwork as in 2004. The album was entirely written and produced by Garside, except two tracks written in collaboration with cello player Andy Nice and an exotic sounding cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...

's Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.

Her second album Home was released on Xie Recordings in 2009. Recorded at in her house and working alone, the album is both intimate and alarming in equal doses. The photos for the artwork for the album were taken by renowned photographer Bill Ling. While You Were Sleeping was released as an exclusive iTunes three track single and received 'Alternative Single of The Week' and glowing reviews in the online press. A video for album track No Place was filmed in Garside's home by Emmy Winning Director and Photographer, Kate Schermerhorn.

Her forthcoming fourth solo album is entitled These Four Worlds. It will also be released on Xie Recordings and is due out in the Spring of 2012. The record also features Sophie Spinoza on Piano and Fender Rhodes and photographer Bill Ling doing Backing Vocals on It Isn't Gonna Be That Way, a cover version taken from Steve Forbert
Steve Forbert
Steve Forbert is an American pop music singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song "Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980....

's 1977 seminal Album, Alive on Arrival
Alive on Arrival
Alive on Arrival is the first album by American popular singer Steve Forbert.-Track listing:All songs written by Steve Forbert#"Goin' Down to Laurel" – 4:39#"Steve Forbert's Midsummer Night's Toast" – 2:49#"Thinkin'" – 3:25...

.

Discography

Tabitha Zu
  • Heard it Before (7" Single)
  • On Reality (EP)
  • Tabitha Zu (Album - Due For Release 2012)


Zu
  • Apart (EP)
  • Break (EP, Unreleased)


Melanie Garside
  • Big White Room (Single)
  • She Knows (EP)
  • She Knows (Live EP)
  • Fossil (Album) (1996, Echo)
  • Sleeping in Ashes (Album - Due For Release 2012)


Vertigo Angels
  • Eradicate Apathy (Album) (2003, Cargo Records/Livewire)


Maple Bee
  • Chasing Eva (Album) (2004, Xie Recordings)
  • Hello Eve (Album) (2006, Prikosnovénie)
  • Home (Album) (2008, Xie Recorings)
  • These Four Worlds (Album - Due For Release 2011)


With QueenAdreena
  • The Butcher and the Butterfly
    The Butcher and the Butterfly
    The Butcher and the Butterfly is the third album by British Alternative Rock band QueenAdreena, released in 2005.-Track listing:#"Suck" – 3:19#"Medicine Jar" – 3:48#"Ascending Stars" – 4:21#"Join the Dots" – 4:22#"Pull Me Under" – 4:23...

    (Album)


With Mediæval Bæbes
  • Mirabilis
    Mirabilis
    Mirabilis is a Latin adjective meaning "amazing, wondrous, remarkable", and is used to refer to:*Mirabilis , the fifth album by British vocal group Mediaeval Baebes*Mirabilis , an ethereal/neo-classical band...

    (Album)
  • Live (Album)
  • The Virgin Queen Soundtrack (Album)


Huski
  • Love, Peace, Pain (Album) (2006, Xie Recordings)
  • Strangelove (Album)
  • H (Album - Due For Release March 2012)

External links

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