Skye Edwards (born Shirley Klaris Yonavieve Edwards; 27 May 1974), 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''.
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
Band Aid 20 was the 2004 incarnation of the charity supergroup Band Aid. The group, which included Daniel Bedingfield, Dido, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2, an ...
(2004, in aid of
famine relief in Sudan, Africa).
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. She described her growing up as 'I always say it was
fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created t ...
, not
rice and peas in our house'. Her first musical influences were the
country and western
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
records of her mother.
[Teddy Jamieso]
"Skye Edwards interview"
heraldscotland.com, 15 November 2013.
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.
The next single was "What's Wrong With Me". Music videos were released with both songs. 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."
''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
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominated
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...
collaborator
Ivor Guest. A single, "I Believe", was released along with a music video and she completed a tour of several weeks around Europe.
''Back To Now'' album
This album was released on 29 October 2012 and produced by
Steve Fitzmaurice
Stephen Fitzmaurice is an Irish mixer and producer based in London, England. His credits include albums for Depeche Mode, Seal, Sam Smith, Ian Brown, Kylie Minogue, Sting, Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, The Kooks, Alicia Keys, U2, Hikaru Utada, an ...
, Irish record producer of, among others,
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
and
U2.
Cover songs
In 2007 Edwards has performed the
Gorillaz
Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...
song "
Feel Good Inc." live on
KCRW radio station, along with other tracks from her album, 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 movies from the 1980s. Skye sang several songs on this album, including
Blondie's "
Call Me" and
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
'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
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
, that was uploaded on YouTube in November 2011. On the
John Martyn tribute album ''Johnny Boy Would Love This....A Tribute to John Martyn'', released also in 2011, Skye sang the track "Solid Air" from Martyn's 1973 album ''
Solid Air''.
In February 2013, Skye performed "As Long As You Love Me" by
Justin Bieber on
KCRW, ''
Morning Becomes Eclectic''. She also sang on ''Uncovered: QOTSA'', by
Olivier Libaux
Olivier Libaux (5 May 1964 – 29 September 2021) was a French record producer, songwriter, and guitarist. A founding member of the band Les Objets, he was also the founder of the musical projects Nouvelle Vague and Uncovered Queens of the Stone ...
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.
In 2020, Edwards performed the
Yazz song "
The Only Way Is Up
"The Only Way Is Up" is a song written by George Jackson (songwriter), George Jackson and Johnny Henderson and originally released in 1980 as a single by soul singer Otis Clay. In 1988, it became a chart-topping single in the United Kingdom for ...
" for the compilation ''Goodnight Songs for Rebel Girls'' produced by
Rebel Girls
''Rebel Girls'' is a digital media company and children's book publisher founded by Elena Favilli, co-author of the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series. The company produces content that focuses on the biographies of women from all over t ...
, which involved a lineup of 19 female singers including
Ani DiFranco
Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums.
DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influe ...
,
Macy Gray,
Alicia Keys,
Carole King
Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...
and
Anastacia
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...
.
Discography
*''
Mind How You Go'' (2006)
*''Keeping Secrets'' (2009)
*''Back To Now'' (2012)
*''In A Low Light'' (2015)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Skye
1974 births
Living people
English women singer-songwriters
Singers from London
21st-century Black British women singers
British trip hop musicians
Atlantic Records artists
English people of Jamaican descent