Skye Edwards

Skye Edwards (born Shirley Klaris Yonavieve Edwards; 27 May 1974[1]), sometimes simply Skye, is a British singer-songwriter. Her career began in 1994 when she and the Godfrey brothers (Paul Godfrey, a DJ, and Ross Godfrey, a multi-instrumentalist) formed the band Morcheeba, which released five albums with Skye as lead vocalist. In 2003, the band split, after which Skye released two solo albums: Mind How You Go in 2006, and Keeping Secrets in 2009. In 2010, Edwards returned to Morcheeba, again as lead vocalist. In 2012, she released her third solo album, Back to Now, while in 2015 she released her fourth one, In A Low Light.

Skye Edwards
Shirley (Paris, 2010)
Shirley (Paris, 2010)
Background information
Birth nameShirley Klaris Yonavieve Edwards
Also known asShirley, Skye
Born (1974-05-27) 27 May 1974
London, England
Genres
Years activeWith Morcheeba: 1995–2003, 2010–present
Solo artist: 2006–2010, 2012–present
LabelsIndependent

Edwards decided to shorten her name to Skye by taking the first letter of each of her names and putting them together. She is married to bass player Steve Gordon and they have four children. Edwards has sung on two charity collaborations: "Perfect Day" (1997, in aid of Children in Need) and Band Aid 20 (2004, in aid of famine relief in Sudan, Africa).[2]

Early life

Edwards was born in London and grew up in the East End. Of Jamaican heritage, she was fostered by ethnic English parents from an early age.[3] She described her growing up as 'I always say it was fish and chips, not rice and peas in our house'. Her first musical influences were the country and western records of her mother.[4]

Solo music career

Mind How You Go album

Produced by Patrick Leonard, Edwards' first solo album, Mind How You Go, was released on 27 February 2006 in Europe. The first single, "Love Show", was a radio hit throughout Europe.[5] The next single was "What's Wrong With Me". Music videos were released with both songs.[6] She has said: "People ask what this record means to me, but that's an alien question because I've been living and breathing it. It's not a question of what it means to me. This record is me."[7]

Keeping Secrets album

In October 2009, Edwards released her second album, Keeping Secrets independently via her own label, Skyewards Recordings. Produced by Alexis Smith and Emmy nominated Grace Jones collaborator Ivor Guest. A single, "I Believe", was released along with a music video and she completed a tour of several weeks around Europe.[8]

Back to Now album

This album was released on 29 October 2012 and produced by Steve Fitzmaurice, Irish record producer of, among others, Depeche Mode and U2.

Cover songs

In 2007, Edwards performed the Gorillaz song "Feel Good Inc." live on KCRW radio station, along with other tracks from her album,[9] and also at some live shows. In 2008, Edwards collaborated with Marc Collin of the French group Nouvelle Vague who put together Hollywood, Mon Amour, an album of popular songs from films of the 1980s. Edwards sang several songs on this album, including Blondie's "Call Me" and Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" from the James Bond film of the same name.

As a Christmas gift to her fans, Edwards recorded a version of "River" by Joni Mitchell which was uploaded to YouTube in November 2011. On the John Martyn tribute album Johnny Boy Would Love This....A Tribute to John Martyn, released also in 2011, Edwards sang the track "Solid Air" from Martyn's 1973 album Solid Air.

In February 2013, Edwards performed "As Long as You Love Me" by Justin Bieber on KCRW, Morning Becomes Eclectic. She also sang on Uncovered: QOTSA, by Olivier Libaux of the French band Nouvelle Vague; it is an album of Queens of the Stone Age songs covered by female singers, which was released on June 10, 2013 digitally and on vinyl in limited edition.[10]

In 2020, Edwards performed the Yazz song "The Only Way Is Up" for the compilation Goodnight Songs for Rebel Girls produced by Rebel Girls, which involved a lineup of 19 female singers including Ani DiFranco, Macy Gray, Alicia Keys, Carole King and Anastacia.[11]

Discography
  • Mind How You Go (2006)
  • Keeping Secrets (2009)
  • Back to Now (2012)
  • In a Low Light (2015)

References
  1. "Skye". Retrieved 17 July 2020 – via BnF Catalogue général (http://catalogue.bnf.fr).
  2. Kelly, Emma (11 November 2014). "The Band Aid 20 line-up: Where are they now?". Daily Star. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  3. Ann Powers,Profile, latimes.com, 30 July 2006.
  4. Teddy Jamieson,"Skye Edwards interview", heraldscotland.com, 15 November 2013.
  5. Sinclair, Emma (19 November 2012). "How Morcheeba's Skye Edwards became an accidental businesswoman". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  6. "Myspace.com". Myspace.com. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  7. "Angel of the Month: Skye Edwardss". Angelic Voices. 1 September 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  8. "Skye "I Believe"". Youtube. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  9. "Kcrw.com". Kcrw.com. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  10. Danton, Eric R. (9 July 2013). "Queens of the Stone Age Gets a Feminine Touch (Album Premiere)". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  11. Pingitore, Silvia (19 November 2020). "From Rome Wasn't Built in a Day to singing lullabies: interview with Morcheeba's Skye Edwards". the-shortlisted.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
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