Rose McDowall
Encyclopedia
Rose McDowall is a Scottish
musician
, most notably as a vocalist
in the pop
band Strawberry Switchblade
.
was in the Poems, an art-punk
trio
formed in 1978 with her then-husband Drew McDowall
. She formed Strawberry Switchblade
in 1981 with Jill Bryson. After signing with Warner Bros. Records
they enjoyed chart success with their single
"Since Yesterday" in 1984, however later singles and an album
did not sell as well as expected. This and internal problems lead to an acrimonious split in 1986.
For the next six years Rose was primarily a guest vocalist or "floating member" of several different alternative bands. She contributed backing or lead vocals for Coil
, Current 93
, Death in June
, Felt
, Alex Fergusson
, Into A Circle
, Megas
, Nature and Organisation, Nurse With Wound
, Ornamental
, Psychic TV
and Boyd Rice
on recordings as well as singing or playing guitar for live appearances. In 1993 she collaborated with Boyd Rice under the band name Spell
producing 2 singles and an album of 1960s style pop
, country
and psychedelia covers
for Mute Records
.
At the same time she formed a folk rock
band called Sorrow with then-husband Robert Lee
. Between 1993 and 2001 they released two albums and one EP
through World Serpent Distribution
and performed in Europe
and the U.S.
During this time McDowall continued to record and perform with Current 93 and Coil, including the short lived group Rosa Mundi
. Robert Lee left the band in 2002. Rose and her remaining bandmates continued to perform under the name until 2005 when she began performing under her own name.
McDowall is best known as a vocalist
but also plays guitar
, keyboards
, melodica
and drums
. Her signature instruments are a Washburn
12 string acoustic guitar
, a Fender Coronado
electric 6 string guitar and an electric harmonium
.
Rose McDowall has two daughters, and a son. Keri McDowall from her marriage to Drew McDowall, and Bobi and Velocity Lee from her marriage to Robert Lee.
Track appears on:
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
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....
, most notably as a vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
in the 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...
band Strawberry Switchblade
Strawberry Switchblade
Strawberry Switchblade was a female pop rock band formed in Scotland in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" in 1985.-Before being signed:...
.
History
McDowall's first venture into musicMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
was in the Poems, an art-punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
formed in 1978 with her then-husband Drew McDowall
Drew McDowall
Drew McDowall is a Scottish musician, most notably as a member, collaborator and remixer for influential music groups...
. She formed Strawberry Switchblade
Strawberry Switchblade
Strawberry Switchblade was a female pop rock band formed in Scotland in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" in 1985.-Before being signed:...
in 1981 with Jill Bryson. After signing with Warner Bros. 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...
they enjoyed chart success with their 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...
"Since Yesterday" in 1984, however later singles and an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
did not sell as well as expected. This and internal problems lead to an acrimonious split in 1986.
For the next six years Rose was primarily a guest vocalist or "floating member" of several different alternative bands. She contributed backing or lead vocals for Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
, Current 93
Current 93
Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
, Death in June
Death in June
Death in June are a neofolk group led by English folk musician Douglas Pearce, better known as Douglas P. The band was originally formed in Britain in 1981 as a trio, but after the other members left in 1984 and 1985 to work on other projects, the group became the work of Douglas P. and various...
, Felt
Felt
Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
, Alex Fergusson
Alex Fergusson (musician)
Alex Fergusson is a Scottish guitarist / record producer.Fergusson formed the punk band Alternative TV with Mark Perry in 1977, and a few years later Psychic TV with Genesis P Orridge...
, Into A Circle
Into a Circle
Into A Circle were an English New Wave/Goth duo, formed in April 1985 by Bee and Barry , two former members of Getting the Fear.-Career:...
, Megas
Megas
Megas , is a rock and roll singer, songwriter and writer who is well-known in his native country of Iceland.-Interest in music:...
, Nature and Organisation, Nurse With Wound
Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
, Ornamental
Ornamental
Ornamental may refer to:*Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration*Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work*Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qualities...
, Psychic TV
Psychic TV
Psychic TV or PTV, is a video art and music group that primarily performs psychedelic, punk, electronic and experimental music...
and Boyd Rice
Boyd Rice
Boyd Blake Rice is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s, archivist, actor, photographer, author, member of the Partridge Family Temple religious group, co-founder of the UNPOP art movement and current staff writer for Modern Drunkard...
on recordings as well as singing or playing guitar for live appearances. In 1993 she collaborated with Boyd Rice under the band name Spell
Spell (band)
Spell was a collaboration between Rose McDowall and Boyd Rice. The two cover a number of songs from the 1960s and 1970s, often modifying the lyrics to make them darker. For instance the line in the original song Seasons in the Sun: "Goodbye Papa, please pray for me" becomes "Goodbye Papa, don't...
producing 2 singles and an album of 1960s style 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...
, 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...
and psychedelia covers
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...
for Mute Records
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
.
At the same time she formed a folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
band called Sorrow with then-husband Robert Lee
Robert Lee
Robert Lee may refer to:* Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield , British peer and politician* Robert Lee , Regius Professor of Midwifery, University of Glasgow* Robert E...
. Between 1993 and 2001 they released two albums and one EP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
through World Serpent Distribution
World Serpent Distribution
World Serpent Distribution was a British record label and music distribution house formed in the 1990s by David Gibson, Alan Trench and Alison Webster...
and performed in 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...
and the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
During this time McDowall continued to record and perform with Current 93 and Coil, including the short lived group Rosa Mundi
Rosa Mundi
Rosa Mundi was the name of a very short lived electronic music supergroup which consisted of Rose McDowall, John Balance and possibly Peter Christopherson. The group is only credited for one song, "The Snow Man" which appeared on the compilations The Final Solstice, The Final Solstice II as well as...
. Robert Lee left the band in 2002. Rose and her remaining bandmates continued to perform under the name until 2005 when she began performing under her own name.
McDowall is best known as a vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
but also plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, melodica
Melodica
The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. Her signature instruments are a Washburn
Washburn Guitars
Washburn Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer. It was established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Washburn is a part of U.S. Music Corporation.- History :...
12 string acoustic guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, a Fender Coronado
Fender Coronado
The Fender Coronado was a double-cutaway thin-line hollow-body electric guitar, manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The very un-Fender like instrument was designed by Roger Rossmeisl in an attempt to capitalise on the increasing popularity of...
electric 6 string guitar and an electric harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
.
Rose McDowall has two daughters, and a son. Keri McDowall from her marriage to Drew McDowall, and Bobi and Velocity Lee from her marriage to Robert Lee.
Rose McDowall
| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Don't Fear The Reaper | 7" and 12" on Rio Digital - unapproved release |
| 1994 | Johnny Remember Me | Pic. 7" on Sympathy for the Record Industry - unapproved release |
| 2004 | Cut With the Cake Knife | CD on Bad Fairy |
| 2005 | Alone | CD EP on Durtro - with John Contreras and Nurse With Wound |
Strawberry Switchblade
Spell
with Boyd Rice of NON| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Big Red Balloon | single on Mute Records |
| 1993 | Seasons in the Sun | CD on Mute Records |
Sorrow
| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Under The Yew Possessed | CD on Piski Disc |
| 1999 | Sleep Now Forever | CD on Piski Disc |
| 1999 | The Final Solstice (I/II) | CD on Piski Disc |
| 2001 | Let There Be Thorns | Maxi CD on Piski Disc |
| 2001 | Let There Be Thorns | Pic. 7" on Piski Disc |
Track appears on:
- Not Alone
Nature and Organisation
| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | A Dozen Summers Against the World | CD on Durtro |
| 1994 | Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude | CD on Durtro |
Backworld
| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Anthems from the Pleasure Park | CD on Harbinger House |
| 2001 | The Fourth Wall | CD on Harbinger House - live recording |
Unofficial
- A 12-page January 2002 interview with Rose McDowall (single screen version)
- Rose McDowall on discogs.com