"I was obsessed with the singers of the 30s, the 40s and 50s," she says, eyes wide with enthusiasm, "and just fascinated by voices. I would often retreat upstairs into the attic with my grandmother's' 78s, and lose myself in them. Really, I was like the girl from the film Little Voice, a geek - though obviously an entirely adorable one. But then there was nothing else to do with my days. Our village was tiny, nothing ever happened there. I remember we had a party once, the day they built a bypass through it. It gave us something to look at..."
By 15, she was still singing in the attic and had become rather a good mimic, "which was a fun thing to be able to do," she notes, "but on the downside, I wasn't able to find my own voice until I was 27 years old!"
A student of the organ, piano and clarinet, she went on to study music at the University of Wolverhampton, and upon graduation entered a national competition to find the country's best Billie Holiday soundalike: "Don't ask me why they wanted to find a soundalike when the original still sounded perfectly good to me," she says, "but I came second."
Her near victory didn't land her an automatic deal, however, and after a bout of unemployment, she landed a job writing jingles. "I'd write these jingles, and then sing them in the manner of Julie Andrews, Madonna, my old favourite Billie Holiday and, well, anybody, really," she recalls. "They were singing telegrams, effectively, and it was actually a lot of fun. I could also do Tina Turner, you know, albeit rather terribly, but then times were hard. You did what you could."
There next followed a stint selling advertising space on the phone, a career path Clare found herself singularly unqualified for. Not the job itself, but rather its clock-in/clock-out restrictions. "I could never get my head around that whole 9-5 thing," she says. "It wasn't for me."
At 27, fate then stepped in. A pianist she'd met years earlier during her Billie Holiday episode called, requiring a singer to perform alongside him for one night only and wondering whether Clare would be interested. Yes, she said, she would, jumping in the car and heading straight for the venue, "shedding at least two stone in weight along the way with anxiety". It proved to be the night of her life, where everything suddenly felt natural and right and good.
"This was my toe in the door of the industry," she says, "and I was going to make the very best of it." This entailed making a selection of demos paid for by partner Muddy, guesting with various jazz bands, playing locally and losing a lot of money. But she was nevertheless gradually making a name for herself, and people were beginning to take notice. In 2001, she inked a deal with independent label Candid, for whom she wrote and recorded three albums.
By 2004, she had signed with the Sony Jazz label, which spawned what would become her breakthrough album, "Don't Talk", an exquisite record of tender jazz that perfectly exemplified just what a talent she was. Critical acclaim poured in from the broadsheets and, if you will, jazz mags, and most persuasively from Michael Parkinson, who gave her heavy rotation on his Radio 2 programme, and invited her to perform on his ITV chat show. "Don't Talk" topped the British jazz charts and cracked the UK Top 20, shipping 60,000 copies and winning several awards, among them "British Jazz Vocalist of the year 2005" and "BBC Jazz Vocalist of the year 2006" not to mention the "Marlborough Jazz Festival's Best Live Performer" which she won two years running. At last, she was on her way.
2007 saw a move towards more mainstream pop music with the release of Clare's fifth studio album "Paradisi Carousel" whilst Clare further strengthened her relationship with Radio 2 presenting the Big Band Special series and Clare Teal's Jazz Divas. In September she was awarded Jazz Vocalist Of The Year 2007 at the British Jazz Awards.
In January Clare is presenting a series on Radio 2 profiling 1930s singer Al Bowlly and, if further evidence of her multi-faceted talents were needed, Clare also has a weekly lifestyle column in the Yorkshire Post.
Newly signed to the Universal imprint W14 Music, Clare is embracing a return to her first love – jazz - with the release in February 2008 of a brand new album "Get Happy".
By 15, she was still singing in the attic and had become rather a good mimic, "which was a fun thing to be able to do," she notes, "but on the downside, I wasn't able to find my own voice until I was 27 years old!"
A student of the organ, piano and clarinet, she went on to study music at the University of Wolverhampton, and upon graduation entered a national competition to find the country's best Billie Holiday soundalike: "Don't ask me why they wanted to find a soundalike when the original still sounded perfectly good to me," she says, "but I came second."
Her near victory didn't land her an automatic deal, however, and after a bout of unemployment, she landed a job writing jingles. "I'd write these jingles, and then sing them in the manner of Julie Andrews, Madonna, my old favourite Billie Holiday and, well, anybody, really," she recalls. "They were singing telegrams, effectively, and it was actually a lot of fun. I could also do Tina Turner, you know, albeit rather terribly, but then times were hard. You did what you could."
There next followed a stint selling advertising space on the phone, a career path Clare found herself singularly unqualified for. Not the job itself, but rather its clock-in/clock-out restrictions. "I could never get my head around that whole 9-5 thing," she says. "It wasn't for me."
At 27, fate then stepped in. A pianist she'd met years earlier during her Billie Holiday episode called, requiring a singer to perform alongside him for one night only and wondering whether Clare would be interested. Yes, she said, she would, jumping in the car and heading straight for the venue, "shedding at least two stone in weight along the way with anxiety". It proved to be the night of her life, where everything suddenly felt natural and right and good.
"This was my toe in the door of the industry," she says, "and I was going to make the very best of it." This entailed making a selection of demos paid for by partner Muddy, guesting with various jazz bands, playing locally and losing a lot of money. But she was nevertheless gradually making a name for herself, and people were beginning to take notice. In 2001, she inked a deal with independent label Candid, for whom she wrote and recorded three albums.
By 2004, she had signed with the Sony Jazz label, which spawned what would become her breakthrough album, "Don't Talk", an exquisite record of tender jazz that perfectly exemplified just what a talent she was. Critical acclaim poured in from the broadsheets and, if you will, jazz mags, and most persuasively from Michael Parkinson, who gave her heavy rotation on his Radio 2 programme, and invited her to perform on his ITV chat show. "Don't Talk" topped the British jazz charts and cracked the UK Top 20, shipping 60,000 copies and winning several awards, among them "British Jazz Vocalist of the year 2005" and "BBC Jazz Vocalist of the year 2006" not to mention the "Marlborough Jazz Festival's Best Live Performer" which she won two years running. At last, she was on her way.
2007 saw a move towards more mainstream pop music with the release of Clare's fifth studio album "Paradisi Carousel" whilst Clare further strengthened her relationship with Radio 2 presenting the Big Band Special series and Clare Teal's Jazz Divas. In September she was awarded Jazz Vocalist Of The Year 2007 at the British Jazz Awards.
In January Clare is presenting a series on Radio 2 profiling 1930s singer Al Bowlly and, if further evidence of her multi-faceted talents were needed, Clare also has a weekly lifestyle column in the Yorkshire Post.
Newly signed to the Universal imprint W14 Music, Clare is embracing a return to her first love – jazz - with the release in February 2008 of a brand new album "Get Happy".
Reviews of Clare Teal's album "Get Happy".
"Wonderful. Worth raving about."
Sir Michael Parkinson. January 2008
"Please go out and buy Clare Teal’s record!”
Michael Bublé. January 2008
"Music to melt to.”
Jamie Cullum. January 2008
"Clare Teal is one of my favourite artists.”
Paul Gambaccini. January 2008
Program:
"Wonderful. Worth raving about."
Sir Michael Parkinson. January 2008
"Please go out and buy Clare Teal’s record!”
Michael Bublé. January 2008
"Music to melt to.”
Jamie Cullum. January 2008
"Clare Teal is one of my favourite artists.”
Paul Gambaccini. January 2008
Program:
Brindley Theatre Chester, -, UNITED KINGDOM
Brindley Theatre Chester, -, UNITED KINGDOM
Ronnie Scotts London (Soho), n/a, UNITED KINGDOM
THE FLAVEL ARTS CENTRE, Flavel Place, Dartmouth. Dartmouth, Devon, UNITED KINGDOM
The Sands Venue, (sister venue to Gainsborough) Blackpool, UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham, UK, UNITED KINGDOM
Cambridge Arts Theatre Cambridge, -, UNITED KINGDOM
| 1 Oct, 2010 |
| 4 Oct 2010 |
| 9 Oct 2010 |
| 15 Oct 2010 |
| 22 Oct 2010 |
| 24 Oct 2010 |
| 13 Nov 2010 |
Posted by jazzofilo at Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Labels: Clare Teal
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