Eddi Reader is a Scottish singer, known both for her work with Fairground Attraction and for her solo career. Transport in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland... Simon Le Bon lead singer of Duran Duran in concert, 2003. ... l. ...

Early career

Reader was born in Glasgow, the daughter of a welder, and the eldest of seven children (her brother, Francis, is vocalist with the band Trash Can Sinatras). Living at first in a two-bedroomed flat, the family was re-housed in Irvine, Ayrshire; however, Reader returned to Glasgow (where she lived with her grandmother) in order to finish her schooling. She began playing the guitar at the age of ten, and started her musical career busking, first in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, then in the early 1980s around Europe (where she also worked with circus and performance artists). Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city and unitary council, situated on the River Clyde in the countrys west central lowlands. ... Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. ... Lead Singer of the Trashcan Sinatras, sister is Eddi Reader - vocalist for Fairground Attraction ... Trash Can Sinatras are a Scottish band who began in 1987. ... Irvine is a coastal new town in Ayrshire, Scotland, administered by North Ayrshire council. ... Ayrshire (Scottish Gaelic, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir) is a traditional county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. ... A guitar is a stringed musical instrument. ... The 1980s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1980 and 1989. ... The Big Top of Billy Smarts Circus Cambridge 2004. ... Performance art is art where the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time, constitute the work. ...

Back in Scotland, she joined the punk band Gang of Four as a backing singer which led to her first U.S. tour. Back in the U.K., after leaving the band she started working as a session vocalist in London, singing with such acts as Eurythmics and Alison Moyet. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Gang of Four was a British punk rock group from Leeds, England. ... ... ... Session musicians are musicians available for hire, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical outfit or who have acquired fame in their own right. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... Duo Annie Lennox and David Stewart in a promotional shot for their 1999 album, Peace. ... Alison Moyet (born Genevieve Alison Moyet in 1961), is an English pop singer noted for her bluesy voice, who had a number of hits mostly in the 1980s. ...

Fairground Attraction

Main article: Fairground Attraction

Reader sang for a brief time with disco group Outbar Squeek, but more importantly she teamed up with Mark E. Nevin, a guitarist and songwriter, and they formed Fairground Attraction, together with Simon Edwards (guitaron — a Mexican acoustic bass guitar) and Roy Dodds (drums & percussion). In 1988 the band released their first single, "Perfect", which became a U.K. number one, winning best Single at the 1989 Brit Awards. Their first album, The First of a Million Kisses, was also a success, reaching number two in the U.K. album chart, and winning best Album at the 1989 Brit Awards. l. ... Disco is an up-tempo style of dance music (generally between 110 and 136 beats per minute) that originated in the early-1970s, a derivative of funk and soul music, popular with audiences in larger cities all over the world. ... A songwriter is someone who writes, in part or in full, the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... l. ... The guitaron is a fretless acoustic bass guitar from Mexico. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Percussion instruments are music instruments played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped, hence the percussive name. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-side, often accompanied by several B-sides, usually remixes or other songs. ... Perfect was Fairground Attractions first single, released in 1988. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Spice Girls perfoming at the Brit Awards, 1997 The Brit Awards are the annual United Kingdom pop music awards founded by the British Phonographic Industry. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... The First of a Million Kisses, released in 1988, was the first album by Fairground Attraction. ...

This success was short-lived, however. After a break during which Reader had her first child with her French-Algerian partner Milou, Fairground Attraction began recording their second album, Ay Fond Kiss, but increasing tensions within the band led to a split in November 1989. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Solo career

Reader returned to Scotland, but before she embarked on her solo career she took a temporary detour into acting. She played Jolene Jowett, a singer and accordionist, in John Byrne's Your Cheatin' Heart, a comedy-drama series for BBC television, set in the country music scene in Scotland. A button accordion An accordion is a musical instrument of the handheld bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as squeezeboxes. ... Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national public service broadcaster of the United Kingdom (see British television). ... Country music, also called country and western music or country-western, is an amalgam of popular musical forms developed in the Southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, Celtic Music, Blues, Gospel music, and Old-time music. ...

Returning to London, Reader worked on new material with a backing band calling itself "The Patron Saints of Imperfection" (made up of Roy Doods, Neill and Calum MacColl, and Phil Steriopoulos. This became her first solo album, recorded for RCA: 1992's Mirmama. It was followed by Eddi Reader (1994) |winner of the "Best female singer" Brit Award|, Candyfloss & Medicine (1996), Angels & Electricity (1998), Simple Soul (2001), "Driftwood" (left off songs from Simple Soul) (2002), and "Eddi Reader sings the songs of Robert Burns" (2003). She's currently working on a new album that will appear early spring 2006. RCA, formerly an initialism for the Radio Corporation of America, is now a trademark used by two companies for products descended from that common ancestor: Thomson SA, which manufactures consumer electronics like RCA-branded televisions, DVD players, video cassette recorders, direct broadcast satellite decoders, camcorders, audio equipment, telephones, and related... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2002 (MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Reader has continued to tour (England, Scotland, Japan, Australia, Spain, the USA, and Ireland). She has also become well known for her interpretations of the poems and songs of Robert Burns, and has recorded an album of material by Burns with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (2003. Robert Burns, preeminent Scottish poet Burns redirects here. ... The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is Scotlands principal symphony orchestra. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Eddi Reader Official Website
• Eddi Reader — Adrian Dover's unofficial site
• The Right Place — fan site (in Japanese & English)