Barbara Gaskin
Encyclopedia
Barbara Gaskin is a British
singer (born 1950 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
) who, with her musical partner, the keyboardist Dave Stewart, formed a duo in 1981. In September of that year they had a number one single in the UK
with a cover version
of the song
"It's My Party
". Subsequent singles "Busy Doing Nothing" (1983), and "The Locomotion
" (1986) also entered the UK Singles Chart
, without reaching the heights of their debut release. Five albums followed, released on the duo's own Broken Records label. Gaskin and Stewart continue to work together and occasionally play live concerts with Andy Reynolds on guitar.
Gaskin was formerly lead vocalist in British folk-prog
band Spirogyra
(1969–1974). In the 1970s she also sang backing vocals in Stewart's band Hatfield and the North
.
(The Civil Surface
), National Health
, Peter Blegvad
(The Naked Shakespeare), Phil Miller
, Nigel Planer
(Neil's Heavy Concept Album
), Jane Wiedlin
(Tangled
), Rick Biddulph and Mont Campbell
(Music from a Round Tower).
Barbara Gaskin was born and grew up in Hatfield (SE England). She had formal training in piano and cello from the age of 10. In her early teens she taught herself very basic acoustic guitar (Lesson 1: The strings face outwards) and performed in local folk clubs.
In 1969 she moved from Hatfield to Canterbury to study for a degree in Philosophy and Literature at Kent University, but immediately became involved in the Canterbury music scene, joining folk rock group Spirogyra as vocalist. Spirogyra quickly procured a recording contract and subsequently made 3 albums, namely:- 'St Radigunds' B & C Records
(CAS 1042), 'Old Boot Wine' Pegasus Records (PEG 13), and 'Bells, Boots, & Shambles' Polydor (2310 246), while gigging extensively on the UK college circuit, as well as completing numerous successful tours of Europe. During the same period, Barbara met guitarist Steve Hillage
(also a student at Kent University) and via Steve, the members of Canterbury band Caravan, and Steve's old friend and musical colleague Dave Stewart. Barbara guested both live and on record with Dave's band 'Hatfield & The North', and was a member of the 'Ottawa Music Company', brainchild of Dave Stewart and `Henry Cow' drummer Chris Cutler. The intricate, largely instrumental music of bands such as Egg, Hatfield & The North and Henry Cow, and by contrast, the more spontaneous, lyrically driven approach of Spirogyra, were both powerful formative musical influences on Barbara during the six years she lived in Canterbury.
When Spirogyra split up, Barbara left England to travel in Asia for nearly three years, following her interest in Eastern philosophy and culture while earning money by teaching English. She continued to sing - in Japan, professionally - and while living in Java and Bali became very interested in gamelan music. She also lived in India for a total of 18 months.
On returning to England, Barbara was invited by drummer Germaine Dolan to play keyboards and sing in the all female band Red Roll On. Based in Canterbury, the band played in clubs and art colleges in the London area. But Barbara also renewed her musical association with Dave Stewart by contributing vocals to his compositions on Bill Bruford's "Gradually Going Tornado" album. In 1981 Dave & Barbara joined forces and recorded the hit single "It's My Party
". The collaboration has continued to this day with a series of singles and albums on their own Broken Records label and Rykodisc
Records.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
singer (born 1950 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
) who, with her musical partner, the keyboardist Dave Stewart, formed a duo in 1981. In September of that year they had a number one single in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with a 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 the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"It's My Party
It's My Party (song)
"It's My Party" is a song most famously sung by American singer Lesley Gore in 1963. This song hit #1 on the pop and rhythm and blues charts in the United States. "It's My Party", peaked at #9 in the United Kingdom, becoming Gore's only major hit there...
". Subsequent singles "Busy Doing Nothing" (1983), and "The Locomotion
The Loco-Motion
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The song is notable for appearing in the American Top 5 three times – each time in a different decade: for Little Eva in 1962 ; for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 ; and for Kylie Minogue in 1988 "The...
" (1986) also entered the 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 ...
, without reaching the heights of their debut release. Five albums followed, released on the duo's own Broken Records label. Gaskin and Stewart continue to work together and occasionally play live concerts with Andy Reynolds on guitar.
Gaskin was formerly lead vocalist in British folk-prog
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....
band Spirogyra
Spirogyra (band)
This article refers to the British folk band. For the American jazz fusion band, see Spyro Gyra.Spirogyra are a British folk/prog band that recorded three albums between 1971 and 1973, with further original albums in 2009 and 2011.-History:...
(1969–1974). In the 1970s she also sang backing vocals in Stewart's band Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter.-Career:...
.
Collaborations
Gaskin has sung with EggEgg (band)
Egg were an English progressive rock band formed in January 1969.-Career:The founding members of the group were Dave Stewart who played organ , Mont Campbell on bass and vocals and drummer Clive Brooks...
(The Civil Surface
The Civil Surface
The Civil Surface is Egg’s third and final album. It was released in 1974. The band had broken up in 1972, not before performing some new material during their last concerts. The new songs were very well received by the audience, so the trio decided to re-unite to record these songs...
), National Health
National Health
National Health were a progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Founded in 1975, the band included members of keyboardist Dave Stewart's band Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's band Gilgamesh, the band also included guitarists Phil Miller and Phil Lee and bassist Mont...
, Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
(The Naked Shakespeare), Phil Miller
Phil Miller
Phil Miller is an English progressive rock/jazz guitarist who was part of the Canterbury scene.He was a member of the bands Delivery, Matching Mole, Hatfield and the North, National Health, Short Wave and has since worked in solo projects and in his band In Cahoots, which he founded in 1982...
, Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
(Neil's Heavy Concept Album
Neil's Heavy Concept Album
The cassette version of the album is very similar but features the track "Cassette Jam" following "Cosmic Jam" where Neil does an impression of the album being broken on tape like in "Cosmic Jam" and then "Brown Sugar" where Neil discovers some buskers performing the track by The Rolling Stones and...
), Jane Wiedlin
Jane Wiedlin
Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's.-Early life:...
(Tangled
Tangled (album)
Tangled is the third album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1990 on EMI Records. It was also her third solo album after leaving New Wave group The Go-Go's.It sold poorly, eventually leading to her departure from EMI Records....
), Rick Biddulph and Mont Campbell
Mont Campbell
Hugo Martin Montgomery Campbell , formerly known as Mont Campbell, now Dirk Campbell is a British progressive rock musician, best known as a member of progressive rock band Egg.-Biography:...
(Music from a Round Tower).
Barbara Gaskin was born and grew up in Hatfield (SE England). She had formal training in piano and cello from the age of 10. In her early teens she taught herself very basic acoustic guitar (Lesson 1: The strings face outwards) and performed in local folk clubs.
In 1969 she moved from Hatfield to Canterbury to study for a degree in Philosophy and Literature at Kent University, but immediately became involved in the Canterbury music scene, joining folk rock group Spirogyra as vocalist. Spirogyra quickly procured a recording contract and subsequently made 3 albums, namely:- 'St Radigunds' B & C Records
B & C Records
B&C stood for Beat & Commercial and was a British record label run by Trojan Records' owner, Lee Gopthal. It existed primarily between May 1969 and September 1972....
(CAS 1042), 'Old Boot Wine' Pegasus Records (PEG 13), and 'Bells, Boots, & Shambles' Polydor (2310 246), while gigging extensively on the UK college circuit, as well as completing numerous successful tours of Europe. During the same period, Barbara met guitarist Steve Hillage
Steve Hillage
Steve Hillage is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s...
(also a student at Kent University) and via Steve, the members of Canterbury band Caravan, and Steve's old friend and musical colleague Dave Stewart. Barbara guested both live and on record with Dave's band 'Hatfield & The North', and was a member of the 'Ottawa Music Company', brainchild of Dave Stewart and `Henry Cow' drummer Chris Cutler. The intricate, largely instrumental music of bands such as Egg, Hatfield & The North and Henry Cow, and by contrast, the more spontaneous, lyrically driven approach of Spirogyra, were both powerful formative musical influences on Barbara during the six years she lived in Canterbury.
When Spirogyra split up, Barbara left England to travel in Asia for nearly three years, following her interest in Eastern philosophy and culture while earning money by teaching English. She continued to sing - in Japan, professionally - and while living in Java and Bali became very interested in gamelan music. She also lived in India for a total of 18 months.
On returning to England, Barbara was invited by drummer Germaine Dolan to play keyboards and sing in the all female band Red Roll On. Based in Canterbury, the band played in clubs and art colleges in the London area. But Barbara also renewed her musical association with Dave Stewart by contributing vocals to his compositions on Bill Bruford's "Gradually Going Tornado" album. In 1981 Dave & Barbara joined forces and recorded the hit single "It's My Party
It's My Party
It's My Party may refer to:*"It's My Party" , a 1963 number-one single by Lesley Gore*It's My Party , a 1996 film*It's My Party , a weekly reality TV show broadcast by RTÉ in summer 2006...
". The collaboration has continued to this day with a series of singles and albums on their own Broken Records label and Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
Records.
Singles (Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin)
- "It's My PartyIt's My PartyIt's My Party may refer to:*"It's My Party" , a 1963 number-one single by Lesley Gore*It's My Party , a 1996 film*It's My Party , a weekly reality TV show broadcast by RTÉ in summer 2006...
" (Broken, 1981) - "Johnny Rocco" (Broken, 1982)
- "Siamese Cat Song" (Broken, 1983)
- "Busy Doing Nothing" (Broken, 1983)
- "Leipzig" (Broken, 1983)
- "I'm In a Different World" (Broken, 1984)
- "The LocomotionThe LocomotionThe Locomotion may refer to:*The Loco-Motion; a 1962 song by R&B singer Little Eva and covered by several artists*Locomotion No 1; an early railway locomotive...
" (Broken, 1986) - "Walking the Dog" (Line (Germany) 1992)
- "Hour Moon" (EP) (Broken, 2009)
Albums (Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin)
- Up From The Dark (compilation), Rykodisc (USA) RCD 10011 (1986)
- Broken Records - The Singles, MIDI Records (Japan) (1987)
- As Far As Dreams Can Go, MIDI Records (Japan) (1988)
- The Big Idea, Rykodisc RCD 20172 / MIDI Records (1989)
- Spin, Rykodisc RCD 20213 / MIDI Records (1991)
- Selected Tracks (compilation), Musidisc (France) / Disky (Holland) (1993)
- Green and Blue, Broken Records BRCDLP-05 (March 2009)
- The TLG Collection, Broken Records BRCDLP-06 (October 2009)