Alice Temple
Encyclopedia
Alice Temple is an English
musician
, singer and songwriter
, born in London
. She is best known for her collaboration with Eg White
under the name Eg and Alice. She is also notable for having been the first female UK and European BMX
champion.
champion. Tim March, ex-European BMX Champion, has said of Temple "She was the first Shanaze
, she beat the boys easy".
, at the age of twenty. Their collaboration, Eg and Alice, released only one album, 24 Years of Hunger
(1991), but this was described by Allmusic as "one of the finest, most refined and fully realized recordings of the era, employing a much more sophisticated and romantic style than anything else out of England at the time". Allmusic also notes the accolades that 24 Years of Hunger received from other music critics:
While writing and collaborating with White, Temple caught the attention of James Lavelle
of the electronic group UNKLE
. She was then brought in to contribute to UNKLE's Psyence Fiction
album. Her piece for the album, Bloodstain, won critical acclaim. Temple is also featured on the track Mistress, the B-side
of the UNKLE single
Burn my Shadow. The same track appeared on some editions of UNKLE's third album War Stories
.
In 1999 Temple returned to working with White, and together they put together her debut solo album Hang Over, released on V2
.
In 2005 Temple joined co-songwriter Lucie Barât
to form the band The Fay Wrays, with Temple on guitar and vocals.
After 24 Years of Hunger, Eg White concentrated mainly on songwriting and production, in which he was highly successful, but he also released two solo albums. His 2009 album, Adventure Man, included the song Pull Me Through, described in the pre-release sleeve notes as "a beautiful, harrowing ballad of survival written and sung nearly completely by Alice Temple... which was a way of 'closing the circle'".
In 2008 Temple wrote, recorded and produced a second solo album entitled Be With You in A Minute, which she released on her own label.
, Nick Knight
and Bruce Weber
. She appeared on the cover of i-D magazine in May 1986, and in another feature in 2009.
during the 1980s. They were both part of London's Blitz Kids
scene, which is credited with launching the New Romantic
cultural movement. She is believed to be the subject of George's song A Boy Called Alice, on his 1988 UK CD single Don't Cry, in which she can be heard declaring "My name's Alice and I am not a boy". She can also be seen in the video for Culture Club
's 1986 single Move Away
.
After 24 Years of Hunger Temple moved to the USA for several years. She had a well-publicized relationship with American model Rachel Williams
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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....
, singer and 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...
, born in 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...
. She is best known for her collaboration with Eg White
Eg White
Francis Anthony "Eg" White is a British musician, songwriter and producer. White is primarily known for his work with successful commercial pop acts such as Adele, Duffy, Will Young and James Morrison...
under the name Eg and Alice. She is also notable for having been the first female UK and European BMX
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
champion.
BMX
In her teens, Temple was the first female UK and European BMXBMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
champion. Tim March, ex-European BMX Champion, has said of Temple "She was the first Shanaze
Shanaze Reade
Shanaze Danielle Reade is a professional British Bicycle Motocross racer and track cyclist whose prime competitive years began in 2002. She has won the UCI BMX World Championships three times...
, she beat the boys easy".
Music
Temple began her music career with Eg White, founding member of 80s boyband Brother BeyondBrother Beyond
Brother Beyond were a British boy band / pop group who had mainstream success in the late 1980s.-Biography:The group's first four singles, "I Should Have Lied", "How Many Times", "Chain-Gang Smile" , and an early version of "Can You Keep a Secret?" , were all written by band members Eg White...
, at the age of twenty. Their collaboration, Eg and Alice, released only one album, 24 Years of Hunger
24 Years of Hunger
24 Years of Hunger is a pop music album released in 1991 by Eg & Alice, the collaboration of Eg White and Alice Temple. 24 Years of Hunger was critically acclaimed, although it failed to chart...
(1991), but this was described by Allmusic as "one of the finest, most refined and fully realized recordings of the era, employing a much more sophisticated and romantic style than anything else out of England at the time". Allmusic also notes the accolades that 24 Years of Hunger received from other music critics:
- "Recorded by the pair when they were mere twentysomethings, and predominantly in Eg White's home, it is nevertheless about as grown-up and elegant as pop music gets. A decade after the recording had all but vanished from circulation, rainsound.net had taken to calling it "one of the classic albums of the '90s," while Q Magazine went a step further when it placed the record on its list of best albums of the 20th century, describing it as having "the class of Steely DanSteely DanSteely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
and the intriguing detachment of the Blue NileBlue NileThe Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. With the White Nile, the river is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile...
." "
While writing and collaborating with White, Temple caught the attention of James Lavelle
James Lavelle
James Lavelle is a DJ, electronic recording artist and record label boss.-Early years:Born into a family with a strong tradition of music, Lavelle first began by learning the cello with his grandmother in Oxford....
of the electronic group UNKLE
UNKLE
Unkle are a British musical outfit founded in 1994 by school friends James Lavelle and Tim Goldsworthy. Originally categorized as trip-hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and have employed a variety of guest artists and producers.-First incarnation :Lavelle and Goldsworthy were joined...
. She was then brought in to contribute to UNKLE's Psyence Fiction
Psyence Fiction
-Samples:*"Intro "**Quannum MCs – "Blue Flames"**Massive Attack – "Teardrop"**Air – "All I Need"**Invisibl Skratch Piklz – "Invisibl Skratch Piklz vs...
album. Her piece for the album, Bloodstain, won critical acclaim. Temple is also featured on the track Mistress, the 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...
of the UNKLE single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
Burn my Shadow. The same track appeared on some editions of UNKLE's third album War Stories
War Stories (album)
War Stories is the third album from Unkle. The album was released in Japan on 20 June 2007 Europe and the UK on 9 July 2007, followed by a 24 July release date in North America. War Stories debuted at #58 in Australia. The album was promoted by three singles: "Burn My Shadow", "Hold My Hand" and...
.
In 1999 Temple returned to working with White, and together they put together her debut solo album Hang Over, released on V2
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
.
In 2005 Temple joined co-songwriter Lucie Barât
Lucie Barât
Lucie Barât is a British actress, writer, lyricist and musician. She is the lead singer of rock group The Fay Wrays.The sister of successful actor/guitarist and singer Carl Barât of The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things, Barât won a scholarship to drama school as a teenager...
to form the band The Fay Wrays, with Temple on guitar and vocals.
After 24 Years of Hunger, Eg White concentrated mainly on songwriting and production, in which he was highly successful, but he also released two solo albums. His 2009 album, Adventure Man, included the song Pull Me Through, described in the pre-release sleeve notes as "a beautiful, harrowing ballad of survival written and sung nearly completely by Alice Temple... which was a way of 'closing the circle'".
In 2008 Temple wrote, recorded and produced a second solo album entitled Be With You in A Minute, which she released on her own label.
Modelling
Temple modeled in the mid 1980s, and was photographed by Mario TestinoMario Testino
-Early Life:Testino grew up in Lima, the eldest son of a businessman. When he was young he wanted to be a priest. Testino recalls being unpopular at school because of his flamboyance. He was good at math and went on to study economics at Universidad del Pacífico, where his insistence on wearing...
, Nick Knight
Nick Knight (photographer)
Nick Knight OBE is a British fashion photographer, documentary photographer, and web publisher—as director of SHOWstudio.com.-Life and career:Knight studied at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design....
and Bruce Weber
Bruce Weber (photographer)
Bruce Weber is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone...
. She appeared on the cover of i-D magazine in May 1986, and in another feature in 2009.
Personal life
Temple was noted as a friend of Boy GeorgeBoy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
during the 1980s. They were both part of London's Blitz Kids
Blitz Kids
The Blitz Kids were a group of young people who frequented the Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden, London in the very early 1980s, and are credited with launching the New Romantic cultural movement...
scene, which is credited with launching the New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
cultural movement. She is believed to be the subject of George's song A Boy Called Alice, on his 1988 UK CD single Don't Cry, in which she can be heard declaring "My name's Alice and I am not a boy". She can also be seen in the video for Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
's 1986 single Move Away
Move Away
"Move Away" is the first single from Culture Club's fourth album, 1986 From Luxury to Heartache. The song became the group's eighth top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number seven...
.
After 24 Years of Hunger Temple moved to the USA for several years. She had a well-publicized relationship with American model Rachel Williams
Rachel Williams
Rachel Williams is an American model, actress, and TV presenter now living in the United Kingdom.- Biography :Her father Tod Williams and stepmother Billie Tsien are architects in the Manhattan firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, well known for their American Folk Art Museum, which many...
.
External links
- [ Bio on Allmusic]
- Bio on ArtistDirect
- Alice Temple at last.fm