Beth Rowley
Encyclopedia
Background
Rowley was born to British parents who moved back to BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England from Peru when Rowley was two years old.
Early career
She was influenced by her family's love for many different musical styles, particularly bluesBlues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, 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....
, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n music. When aged 16, Rowley formed The Apogee, an original 5 piece funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
/soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
/acid jazz
Acid jazz
Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...
group. At age 17, she was spotted at an open mic night in the London entertainment club, Ginglik, in Shepherd's Bush.
Rowley studied music and art at Weston-super-Mare College
Weston College
Weston College is a further education college situated in Weston-super-Mare, England. The college has 7,500 students who are taught at facilities in Weston-super-Mare and Nailsea...
and in 2003, went on to the Brighton Institute of Modern Music
Brighton Institute of Modern Music
BIMM Brighton & Bristol Institutes of Modern Music in England is an independent college of popular music based in the cities of Brighton & Hove and Bristol...
with the particular help and encouragement of soulsinger Carleen Anderson
Carleen Anderson
Carleen Anderson is an American soul singer, who has had success in the United Kingdom. She is the daughter of the singer Vicki Anderson and stepdaughter of Bobby Byrd, and is most well known as the lead singer in the Young Disciples as well as for her own solo career.-Early career:Anderson was...
. During her time at the school, Rowley toured with Ronan Keating
Ronan Keating
Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish recording artist, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Keating debuted on the professional music scene alongside Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately, in 1994 as the lead singer of Boyzone. His solo career started in 1999, and...
and Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...
providing backing vocals.
She attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School is a Church of England voluntary aided school for students aged 11 to 18, situated in the inner-city suburb of Redcliffe, Bristol...
, in Bristol.
2000-present
In 2000, Rowley teamed up with Jazz saxophonist Ben CastleBen Castle
Ben Castle is a British jazz musician, the son of the late television actor and entertainer Roy Castle . He placed first in the Jazz category of the 2003 International Songwriting Competition with his song "The Heckler"....
(son of Roy
Roy Castle
Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
), well known for his work with Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
. She began writing her own material and with Ben's encouragement and assistance she released three EPs, Beth Rowley (2004), Sweet Hours (2006) and Violets (2007). From the Violets EP she released a single entitled, 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' which was the iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
'Single of the Week' for December 2007.
Rowley has collaborated with other artists and bands, including Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
on their Time on Earth
Time on Earth
Time on Earth is the fifth studio album by the pop-rock band Crowded House. Tracks have been produced by both Ethan Johns and Steve Lillywhite and the album was released on 30 June 2007 in Australia, 2 July in the United Kingdom and 10 July in North America...
album providing backing vocals for the song "Transit Lounge" and Duke Special
Duke Special
Duke Special, real name Peter Wilson, is a songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A piano-based songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, he has a distinctive look, with his long dreadlocks, eyeliner and outfits he describes as "hobo chic"...
, who joined her for a duet on her début album, Little Dreamer.
Rowley's album entitled "Little Dreamer
Little Dreamer (Beth Rowley album)
Little Dreamer is the first full studio album by English singer-songwriter Beth Rowley. It was released on 19 May 2008 in the UK and the day after in North America...
" was released in the UK on the 19 May 2008, and went straight into the UK album charts at number 6. On 4 February 2008, the lead single, "Oh My Life"(released on 3 March 2008) from the forthcoming album was featured as 'BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
Record of the Week'. The second single of from the album is called 'So Sublime' and was released on 12 May 2008.
Rowley attended The Edge of Love world premiere on the 18 June, which marked the opening of the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
Film Festival. Based on the life of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, The Edge of Love opened nationwide from 27 June. The soundtrack to the film, for which Rowley recorded the exclusive track, 'Careless Talk'.
In 2006, Rowley recorded a song entitled 'Too much too late' written by Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
based singer/songwriter Steven Reid Williams in a collaboration featured on the album 'Corners'. In the same year she provided the vocals on Nostalgia77's track 'Quiet Dawn' from their album 'Everything Under the Sun'.
Rowley recorded a song called "Careless Talk" for the soundtrack to the new film featuring Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
called The Edge of Love
The Edge of Love
The Edge of Love is a 2008 John Maybury film starring Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys from a script by Sharman Macdonald, Knightley's mother...
.
On 22 October 2008, Rowley appeared with Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
on the BBC Electric Proms series, singing 24 Hours from Tulsa.
On 9 January 2009, a short clip of her song "Sweet Hours" was played on UK soap Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
on E4. On 20 January 2009, Rowley was nominated for a Brit Award in the category for Best British Female Solo Artist.
Rowley featured in the nightclub scene in the 2009 film An Education
An Education
An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film, based on an autobiographical article in Granta by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, and stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David,...
, directed by Lone Scherfig. Her track, "You Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger", is featured prominently in the official movie soundtrack and the Sony Classics promotional website.
Touring
She has supported various artists on tour including David GrayDavid Gray (musician)
David Gray is an English singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later...
, Tom Baxter
Tom Baxter
Tom Baxter is an English singer-songwriter based in London. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew up in Cornwall with his sister Vashti Anna, two brothers, Jo Spencer and Charlie Winston, and parents Jeff and Julie Gleave...
and Duke Special
Duke Special
Duke Special, real name Peter Wilson, is a songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A piano-based songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, he has a distinctive look, with his long dreadlocks, eyeliner and outfits he describes as "hobo chic"...
. In March 2008, Beth performed at the Play.com
Play.com
Play Ltd., trading as Play.com, is a Jersey-based online retailer of DVDs, CDs, books, gadgets, video games, DRM-free MP3 downloads, and other electronic products, as well as clothes and accessories. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rakuten Group....
Live event inside Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, London. On 4 April 2008, Rowley appeared on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
's 'Friday Night is Music Night
Friday Night is Music Night
Friday Night is Music Night is a long running live BBC radio concert programme featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra, broadcast most Fridays on BBC Radio 2 at 8.00pm. It is the world's longest-running live music radio programme....
' performing two tracks with the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
at the Mermaid Theatre
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
, London She has also made guest appearances on 'Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
', 'Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
', This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
and more recently, 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 also The Charlotte Church Show
The Charlotte Church Show
The Charlotte Church Show was a Channel 4 entertainment television show presented by Welsh singer Charlotte Church. It was first broadcast on 1 September 2006 and ran for 6 subsequent Fridays. The show was commissioned for a further two series, the first of which aired from 23 February to 6 April...
. Beth started her first headline tour at London's Bush Hall on 16 April 2008. She also made an appearance at the Christian arts festival, Greenbelt, in 2008, though it was not her first time at the festival. On 25 February 2011, Beth supported Katie Melua in an Eva Cassidy style duet on a Radio 2 In Concert at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Discography
- 2007: Violets (EP)
- 2008: Little DreamerLittle Dreamer (Beth Rowley album)Little Dreamer is the first full studio album by English singer-songwriter Beth Rowley. It was released on 19 May 2008 in the UK and the day after in North America...