Tanita Tikaram
Encyclopedia
Tanita Tikaram is a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

/folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, best known for the hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

 "Twist in My Sobriety
Twist in My Sobriety
"Twist in My Sobriety" is a song written and recorded by Tanita Tikaram. Released as a single in 1988 from her debut album Ancient Heart, it was a top ten hit in many European countries, peaking at #2 in Austria and Germany, though it achieved only moderate success in the US and Australia.In 1996,...

" and "Good Tradition
Good Tradition
"Good Tradition" is a song, written and originally recorded by Tanita Tikaram and released as the first single in 1988 from the album Ancient Heart.-Story:...

" from her 1988 debut album, Ancient Heart
Ancient Heart
Ancient Heart is a 1988 album by Tanita Tikaram. The album had huge success and was a hit globally, launching Tanita's mainstream career. Guest musicians included Rod Argent, Mark Isham, Peter Van Hooke, Paul Brady and Brendan Croker...

. She is known for her jazzy, unusually deep and raucous voice.

Career

Tanita Tikaram started singing in nightclubs while she was still a teenager, and got the attention of WEA Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

. Her debut album Ancient Heart, produced by Rod Argent
Rod Argent
Rod Argent is an English rock musician and a founding member of the 1960s English pop group The Zombies and the 1970s band Argent....

 and Peter Van Hooke
Peter Van Hooke
Peter Van Hooke was drummer in the English band Mike + The Mechanics as well as having drummed for Cliff Richard, Van Morrison's band, Headstone, and Ezio. During the 1980s he successfully co-produced many of Tanita Tikaram's hits.Van Hooke grew up in Stanmore, Middlesex and attended Mill Hill...

, was released in September 1988 when she was 19 years old. It became an international hit and led to a world tour. The singles "Good Tradition" and "Twist In My Sobriety" were top 10 hits in Europe. "Twist in My Sobriety" was accompanied by an award-winning sepia coloured video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

, set in a rural village in the Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

n Altiplano
Altiplano
The Altiplano , in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet...

, and directed by Gerard de Thame.

Her second album, The Sweet Keeper
The Sweet Keeper
The Sweet Keeper is a 1990 album by Tanita Tikaram. Like her debut album Ancient Heart, it was produced by Peter Van Hooke and Rod Argent...

was released in 1990 and while it was a Top 10 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

, it was less successful than her debut. Everybody's Angel
Everybody's Angel
Everybody's Angel is a 1991 album by Tanita Tikaram. Jennifer Warnes provided backing vocals on some tracks on the album. One of these songs, "Only the Ones We Love", was released as lead single...

followed in 1991, with Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...

 providing vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...

 on two tracks, including the lead single "Only The Ones We Love
Only the Ones We Love
"Only The Ones We Love" was the first track to be released as a single from the album Everybody's Angel by Tanita Tikaram. This song contains backing vocals by Jennifer Warnes...

". In this album Tikaram also co-produced for the first time.

1992 saw the release of Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness
Eleven Kinds of Loneliness
Eleven Kinds of Loneliness is a collection of short stories written by Richard Yates from 1951 to 1961. It was published in 1962, a year following his first novel, Revolutionary Road...

. In this album she ceased collaborating with Argent and Van Hooke, and produced the album herself. It was her worst seller yet, not charting in the UK.

In 1995, she released Lovers in the City
Lovers in the City
Lovers in the City is a 1995 album by Tanita Tikaram. Jennifer Warnes provided backing vocals on four tracks on the album. One of these songs, "I Might Be Crying", was released as lead single. A video for this single was filmed in Vietnam...

, which she co-produced with Thomas Newman
Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman is an American composer and conductor, best known for his many film scores. He is one of the more respected and recognized composers for modern film and has scored over fifty feature films in a career which spans nearly three decades.Newman has received a total of ten...

. In 1996 she terminated her contract with WEA with the release of a best of compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

. Signed to Mother Records, in 1998 she released The Cappuccino Songs
The Cappuccino Songs
The Cappuccino Songs is an album by Tanita Tikaram, released in 1998 via Mother Records. The Japanese version of the album contains two extra tracks: "And I Think of You - E penso a te" and "Feeling is Gone"...

, which was produced by Marco Sabiu
Marco Sabiu
Marco Sabiu is an Italian born musician and composer most notable for his work with Take That, Kylie Minogue, Christopher Lee and television.- Biography:...

. One of the singles off the album, "I Don't Wanna Lose At Love
I Don't Wanna Lose At Love
"I Don't Wanna Lose At Love" was the second single to be released from Tanita Tikaram's sixth studio album The Cappuccino Songs. This single peaked at #73 in UK.-Releases:...

", was remixed by the Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...

. She then retired from the music scene for several years.

In 2005, Tikaram released her latest album, Sentimental
Sentimental (album)
Sentimental is a 2005 album by Tanita Tikaram. The album was released only on the French label Naïve Records. It features two collaborations with Nick Lowe...

. The album, which features two collaborations with Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...

, was released on the French label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

, Naïve Records.

Tikaram is preparing what will be her eighth studio album, and in July 2010, she flew to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States to commence recording. She will tour Europe in September and October 2011 with an "Acoustic Sessions" tour. This will be her first tour in 10 years.

Personal life

Tikaram was born in Münster, the daughter of a Malaysian mother Fatimah Rohani and an Indo-Fijian father Pramod Tikaram. Her father's military career meant that she spent her early life in Germany before moving to Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...

 in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, England when she was in her early teens. She is the younger sister of actor Ramon Tikaram
Ramon Tikaram
Ramon Pramod Junior Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Malaysian descent.-Early and personal life:...

. Tikaram is the great-niece of Sir Moti Tikaram
Moti Tikaram
Sir Moti Tikaram, KBE, has been a judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji, the first ombudsman of independent Fiji and a soccer administrator. He was the first local person to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji...

, who was the first Lord Chief Justice of an independent Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

 and the world's longest-serving national ombudsman.

She studied A-level Politics, Sociology & English at Queen Mary's College
Queen Mary's College
Queen Mary's College is a sixth form college in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England.-The College:The majority of the college's classrooms are housed in a single, two-storey, wide spread main building with a few smaller buildings and four temporary buildings providing most of the rest of the teaching...

, Basingstoke: her final grades were AAB.

She had a place at Manchester University to study English and American Literature but left in order to follow her musical career.

Albums

  • Ancient Heart
    Ancient Heart
    Ancient Heart is a 1988 album by Tanita Tikaram. The album had huge success and was a hit globally, launching Tanita's mainstream career. Guest musicians included Rod Argent, Mark Isham, Peter Van Hooke, Paul Brady and Brendan Croker...

    (1988) UK
    UK Albums Chart
    The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

     #3, US
    Billboard 200
    The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

     #59 - 3 million copies
  • The Sweet Keeper
    The Sweet Keeper
    The Sweet Keeper is a 1990 album by Tanita Tikaram. Like her debut album Ancient Heart, it was produced by Peter Van Hooke and Rod Argent...

    (1990) UK #3, US #124
  • Everybody's Angel
    Everybody's Angel
    Everybody's Angel is a 1991 album by Tanita Tikaram. Jennifer Warnes provided backing vocals on some tracks on the album. One of these songs, "Only the Ones We Love", was released as lead single...

    (1991) UK #19, US #142
  • Eleven Kinds of Loneliness
    Eleven Kinds of Loneliness (album)
    Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness is a 1992 album by Tanita Tikaram. Al songs have been written and produced by the singer herself. "You Make The Whole World Cry" was the only single to be released from this album.- Track listing :...

    (1992)
  • Lovers in the City
    Lovers in the City
    Lovers in the City is a 1995 album by Tanita Tikaram. Jennifer Warnes provided backing vocals on four tracks on the album. One of these songs, "I Might Be Crying", was released as lead single. A video for this single was filmed in Vietnam...

    (1995) UK #75
  • The Best of Tanita Tikaram
    The Best of Tanita Tikaram
    The Best of Tanita Tikaram is the first compilation by pop singer Tanita Tikaram, released in 1996 by East West Records. Containing fifteen songs from 1988 to 1995, it also included one new track "And I Think of You - E penso a te" which was released as a promotional single and a special remix of...

    (1996) - compilation
    Compilation album
    A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

  • The Cappuccino Songs
    The Cappuccino Songs
    The Cappuccino Songs is an album by Tanita Tikaram, released in 1998 via Mother Records. The Japanese version of the album contains two extra tracks: "And I Think of You - E penso a te" and "Feeling is Gone"...

    (1998) UK #69
  • Sentimental
    Sentimental (album)
    Sentimental is a 2005 album by Tanita Tikaram. The album was released only on the French label Naïve Records. It features two collaborations with Nick Lowe...

    (2005)

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

US Modern Rock
1988 "Good Tradition
Good Tradition
"Good Tradition" is a song, written and originally recorded by Tanita Tikaram and released as the first single in 1988 from the album Ancient Heart.-Story:...

"
10 - Ancient Heart
"Twist in My Sobriety
Twist in My Sobriety
"Twist in My Sobriety" is a song written and recorded by Tanita Tikaram. Released as a single in 1988 from her debut album Ancient Heart, it was a top ten hit in many European countries, peaking at #2 in Austria and Germany, though it achieved only moderate success in the US and Australia.In 1996,...

"
22 25
1989 "Cathedral Song
Cathedral Song
"Cathedral Song" is a song released as a single from the album Ancient Heart by Tanita Tikaram. It received a nice treatment on music video with an extended length video, portraying love story between two swimmers in a summer. The video was shot in black & white, and Tanita is featured only in...

"
48 -
"World Outside Your Window
World Outside Your Window
"World Outside Your Window" was the fourth and last single to be released from Ancient Heart, the highly successful debut album of Tanita Tikaram...

"
58 -
1990 "We Almost Got It Together
We Almost Got It Together
"We Almost Got It Together" was the first song to be released as a single from the album The Sweet Keeper by Tanita Tikaram.- Releases :*We Almost Got It Together b-side: Love Story...

"
52 - The Sweet Keeper
"Little Sister Leaving Town
Little Sister Leaving Town
"Little Sister Leaving Town" was the second track to be released as a single from the album The Sweet Keeper by Tanita Tikaram. This single peaked at #83 in UK. As b-sides the demo versions of "I Love The Heaven's Solo" and "Hot Pork Sandwiches" were used...

"
- -
"Thursday's Child" - -
1991 "Only the Ones We Love
Only the Ones We Love
"Only The Ones We Love" was the first track to be released as a single from the album Everybody's Angel by Tanita Tikaram. This song contains backing vocals by Jennifer Warnes...

"
69 - Everybody's Angel
"I Love The Heaven's Solo
I Love the Heaven's Solo
"I Love The Heaven's Solo" was the second track to be released as a single from the album Everybody's Angel by Tanita Tikaram.For this release, a new version of the song was recorded...

"
- -
1992 "You Make the Whole World Cry
You Make the Whole World Cry
"You Make The Whole World Cry" was the only single to be released from the album Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness by Tanita Tikaram.- Releases :*You Make The Whole World Cry ) b-side: Rock Me 'Til I Stop, Me You & Lucifer...

"
- - Eleven Kinds of Loneliness
1995 "I Might Be Crying
I Might Be Crying
"I Might Be Crying" was the first single to be released from Tanita Tikaram's fifth studio album Lovers In The City. This single peaked at #64 in UK. The song contains backing vocals by Jennifer Warnes...

"
64 - Lovers in the City
"Wonderful Shadow
Wonderful Shadow
"Wonderful Shadow" was the second single to be released from Tanita Tikaram's fifth studio album Lovers In The City. This single peaked at #198 in UK.- Releases :*Wonderful Shadow b-sides: You Have Lost Your Way?, Good Tradition...

"
198 -
"Yodelling Song
Yodelling Song
"Yodelling Song" was the third and last single to be released from Tanita Tikaram's fifth studioalbum Lovers In The City. The single was released only in some countries of continental Europe.- Releases :...

"
- -
1996 "Twist in My Sobriety (remix)
Twist in My Sobriety
"Twist in My Sobriety" is a song written and recorded by Tanita Tikaram. Released as a single in 1988 from her debut album Ancient Heart, it was a top ten hit in many European countries, peaking at #2 in Austria and Germany, though it achieved only moderate success in the US and Australia.In 1996,...

"
82 - The Best of Tanita Tikaram
"And I Think of You - E penso a te
And I Think of You - E penso a te
"And I Think Of You " is a song recorded by Tanita Tikaram. It's the English version of the Italian "E penso a te" by Lucio Battisti previously recorded by the composer and Mina. The song is the only previously unreleased track on the compilation "The Best of Tanita Tikaram". Promotional singles of...

" (promo only)
- -
1998 "Stop Listening
Stop Listening
"Stop Listening" was the first single to be released from Tanita Tikaram's sixth studio album The Cappuccino Songs. This single peaked at #67 in UK. It is her first recording for her new record label, Mother Records...

"
67 - The Cappuccino Songs
"I Don't Wanna Lose at Love
I Don't Wanna Lose At Love
"I Don't Wanna Lose At Love" was the second single to be released from Tanita Tikaram's sixth studio album The Cappuccino Songs. This single peaked at #73 in UK.-Releases:...

"
73 -
"If I Ever
If I Ever
"If I Ever" was the third and last single to be released from Tanita Tikaram's sixth studio album The Cappuccino Songs. The single was only released in some countries of continental Europe.- Releases :...

"
- -
2005 "Don't Let the Cold
Don't Let The Cold
"Don't Let The Cold" was the only single released from Tanita Tikaram's seventh studio album Sentimental. It was only released as a one-track promo single by Naive Records. The song also features Nick Lowe on vocals....

" (promo only)
- - Sentimental

Music

  • Vocals for Bronte Brothers debut The Way Through The Woods.
  • Vocals for Christie Hennessy
    Christie Hennessy
    Christie Hennessy was an Irish folk singer-songwriter.-Early life:...

     Lord of Your Eyes.
  • Harmony vocals for the 1989 self-titled third album by Brendan Croker
    Brendan Croker
    Brendan Croker is a musician from Leeds who has recorded albums under his own name and with occasional backing band The Five O'Clock Shadows. He was also a member of The Notting Hillbillies...

     and the Five O'Clock Shadows.
  • Cover version
    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 Elvis Presley
    Elvis Presley
    Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

    's 1957 "Loving You
    Loving You
    Loving You is an American motion picture directed by Hal Kanter, released by Paramount Pictures on July 9, 1957. The film stars Elvis Presley, Lizabeth Scott and Wendell Corey...

    ", included in the 1990 tribute album The Last Temptation of Elvis.
  • Vocals for the 1990 Mark Isham
    Mark Isham
    Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...

     album Mark Isham; he covers her B-side
    A-side and B-side
    A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

     "I Never Will Know".
  • Vocals for the 1991 Nanci Griffith
    Nanci Griffith
    Nanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...

     album Late Night Grande Hotel
    Late Night Grande Hotel
    Late Night Grande Hotel is an album by Nanci Griffith released in September 1991 on MCA. It was produced by Peter Van Hooke and Rod Argent, with a slightly more pop-orientated sound than previous albums...

    .
  • Musician for the 1997 Moodswings
    Moodswings (band)
    Moodswings is a musical duo composed of Grant Showbiz and James F.T. Hood. Grant Showbiz was a onetime roadie and guitar tech who later produced albums by The Smiths, Billy Bragg, Silverfish, and Gong. James Hood was a former drummer for The Pretenders, The Impossible Dreamers, Kid Creole & the...

     collaboration, Psychedelicatessen, and also sang vocals on the song "Redemption Song (Oh Happy Day)".
  • Adaptation of "Not Waving But Drowning."

Film

  • Producer of the Jared Katsiane documentary drama Solace, also known as Everyday Is New (similar to a track on her album Sentimental), released 2005.
  • "Twist in my Sobriety" features in the film, Bandits (Bruce Willis
    Bruce Willis
    Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...

     and Cate Blanchett
    Cate Blanchett
    Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...

     on the beach scene)

External links

  • Official website (English language
    English language
    English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

    )
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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