VIDEO DESCRIPTION
Featuring images of the deep Winter snow to
the voice of Claire Hamill
PRODUCTION CREDIT:
This Landscape production was made featuring film material by Paul
Calver and synchronised by Landscape to music from Claire Hamill.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:
Claire was born in the North of England near Middlesbrough, the eldest of seven
children. Her parents split up when she was 12 and she went to live in the
village of her birth to be near her grandparents. It was around that time that
she learned to play guitar and write songs.
Some years later she met John McCoy a local club owner and musician who brought
her to the attention of Chris Blackwell the Island Records Supremo. He signed
Claire and her first album 'One House Left Standing' became one of the first
ever recorded by a British female singer-songwriter. Claire went on to record
one more album with Island 'October' and tour America and Canada with Jethro
Tull and Procul Harum before leaving them to sign with Ray Davies's label Konk.
Ray produced one of Claire's most memorable albums 'Stage Door Johnnies'. It
represented a new direction for Claire with a much more 'rocky' feel. Claire
attributes this to her experiences on the road listening to and supporting rock
bands, rather than touring in folk clubs and being exposed to a much more
traditional folk sound. After touring the U.S. to promote 'Stage Door Johnnies'
she returned with her American band to record and produce her 4th album
'Abracadabra'.
It was the 70's and the political climate was changing. Punk music was changing
the music scene dramatically for all established musicians, many of whom
de-camped to the States to weather out the seachange sweeping the UK music
industry.
A couple of fallow years followed before Claire teamed up with Wishbone Ash to
sing and write. One collaboration of this time is the classic Ash track 'Living
Proof', co-written with Laurie Wisefield.
In 1980 Claire married rock industry MD Nick Austin who, with Martin Mills
started the Indie label Beggars Banquet. Claire found it very interesting to see
the other side of the industry and learned how some artists are perceived by
their labels. She released a couple of singles 'First Night in New York' and '24
hours from Tulsa' but even though they were acclaimed critically she failed to
capture the imagination of the British public.
For the next few years Claire continued to write, record and bring up her family
of three daughters as well as make a hugely influential album, 'Voices', which
spawned many soundalikes and an interest in the voice as an instrument. When
'Voices' was used in a documentary about the Doomsday Book the BBC was
overwhelmed with requests for information on her. It remains one of Claire's
most successful albums.
'Love in the Afternoon',released in 1990 and her seventh album, was a mixture of
songs and instrumentals with a pastoral feel and was inspired by her life in the
Sussex countryside. However her main focus throughout this time was her family.
In 1992 sadly Claire's marriage broke down and she separated from Nick, going to
live in the nearby town of Hastings. She continues to have a good relationship
with Nick and sought to give the children as much stability as possible,
deciding to stay nearby so that he could see the children on an equal basis with
her.
After about a year she met local musician and producer Andrew Warren. Andrew
encouraged her to experiment with dance music and they produced an album
together called 'Summer'.
In 2003 Claire was amazed to find out that one of her songs had been recorded by
the late and much acclaimed singer Eva Cassidy. It was released on Eva's
posthumous album 'American Tune' and went to Number 1. It provided Claire with a
much needed boost to her career and the encouragement she needed to finish the
album she'd been working on. That was released in 2005 and is entitled 'The lost
and the Lovers'. Almost immediately she went back into the studio to record an
E.P. with poet Brian Heyhurst. It's entitled 'When are Wars Won'.
Currently Claire is working on a compilation album of her life's work so far. It
will feature her favourite songs from the last 30 years and she is planning a UK
tour to promote it. She has plans to re-build her studio and begin work later in
the year on her most intimate album. She will also be making a CD/DVD of a live
performance to be released sometime next year.
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