Catherine Porter (born 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a former member of

The Brian May Band The Brian May Band was an English-American rock band formed by Queen guitarist Brian May for touring in promotion of his studio albums. History The rhythm section for the band were Cozy Powell and Neil Murray, who had previously worked toget ...

and has appeared in several musicals and films. To date, Porter has released one album of solo material, '' Something Good'', in 2002, and has also worked as a back-up singer for

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-on ...

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for h ...

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

Sam Moore Samuel David Moore (born October 12, 1935) is an American vocalist who was a member of the soul and R&B group, Sam & Dave, from 1961 to 1981. He is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame (for " Soul Man"), and the Voc ...

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

and

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

Early career

Her first big job was touring with

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' an ...

in '' The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber'', before being asked by

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

, to join his

backing band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

on an American tour supporting

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

. She later retained the role on the UK leg of the tour, and appeared on both the 1993 live album ''Live at the Brixton Academy'' and his later 1998 solo record '' Another World''. Porter also sang backing vocals on the 1995 Queen track "

Let Me Live "Let Me Live" is a 1996 song by Queen, from the album ''Made in Heaven''. Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and Brian May share lead vocals, with Mercury singing the first verse, Taylor singing the second verse & bridge, and May singing the last v ...

". Her work with May brought Porter to London, which became her home for the following decade. She appeared in the West End in such plays as ''Only the Lonely'', ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

'' (opposite

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in '' Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrow ...

and later

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

), ''

Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens ''Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens'' is a cult science fiction musical reminiscent of ''The Rocky Horror Show''. The 2006 West End run starred Faye Tozer and was choreographed by Bruno Tonioli. The cast interact with the audience as if the a ...

'' and

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

's '' Tonight's the Night''.

Jingles

Since 1996, Porter has been working with AJ Music Productions in New York, as a jingle singer, providing vocals for many radio packages, including Heart 106.2 FM London (2003),

Capital Gold The Capital Gold radio station started in London in 1988 on Capital Radio's AM frequency, after the Independent Broadcasting Authority had urged stations to end simulcasting (broadcasting the same programmes simultaneously on AM and FM) and t ...

, Whitechapel AM,

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

: for ' Steve Wright's Saturday Show' (1996-99), '

Ken Bruce Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a British broadcaster who is best known for hosting his long-running weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 from 1986 to 1990, and then again since 1992. Early life and career Bruce was born a ...

', ' Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs' (1996-present), ' Jonathan Ross on Saturday' (1999), ' Steve Wright in the Afternoon' (1999-2022). Porter continues to work with AJ to make personal cuts of these jingles for collectors around the world. Her vocals also feature on production music published by AJ's sister company, Music Candy.

Recent career

In 2000, she attempted to become the United Kingdom's entry into the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, with two songs shortlisted. Her composition "The Answer" was eliminated in a radio semi-final, but "Crazy" was selected for the TV heats. She failed to win the bid, losing out to

Nicki French Nicki is a given name, and may refer to: Film and television * Nicki Aycox (1975-2022), American actress best known for her roles as Syl on the series ''Dark Angel'' and Stella Vessey on the dramedy ''Ed'' * Nicki Chapman (born 1967), English tel ...

, who went on to finish 16th at the Eurovision final. Throughout this period, Porter wrote songs having landed a deal with

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

. However, after the release of one single and ''

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'', Porter parted ways with Jive. After relocating back to New York, getting married and becoming a mother, she recorded an album of standards with James Pearson, released as '' Gems for Ruby'' on the Swing Cafe label. One of the tracks is a cover of

's " Somebody to Love", featuring

, which was released as a single. On December 13, 2010, she joined the cast of the Broadway production of ''

Next to Normal ''Next to Normal'' (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing ...

'' as the stand-in for the role of Diana.

Other work

Porter has also made brief excursions into films, making cameo appearances in ''

Die Another Day ''Die Another Day'' is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori. The fourth and final film starrin ...

'' and ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, Liam ...

''. She also performed the title song for the BBC television sitcom ''

All About Me ''All About Me'' is a British television sitcom starring Jasper Carrott about a multicultural family living in Birmingham. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2002 to 2004. ''All About Me'' was created by Steven Knight, who also wrote two of the ea ...

''. In 2001, she appeared on stage with comedian

Rich Hall Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954) is an American comedian, writer, documentary maker and musician, first coming to prominence as a sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of American networks, in series such as ...

, singing three tracks with his character

Otis Lee Crenshaw Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954) is an American comedian, writer, documentary maker and musician, first coming to prominence as a Sketch comedy, sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of Television in the Unite ...

- a performance released on DVD, VHS and audio CD.

Discography

Albums * 2002: '' Something Good'' * 2009: '' Gems for Ruby'' Singles * 2002: " She's So Cool" * 2009: " Somebody to Love" (

cover), featuring

* 2011: ''Journeyman'' The Brian May Band * 1993: '' Live At The Brixton Academy'' album and VHS * 1998: '' Another World'', backing vocals on ''On My Way Up'' Guest Appearances * 1994:

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

, '' Happiness?'' - backing vocals on ''Old Friends'' * 1995:

, ''

Made in Heaven ''Made in Heaven'' is the fifteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 6 November 1995 by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and by Hollywood Records in the United States. It was the band's first and only release so ...

'' - backing vocals on ''

'' * 2001: Otis Lee Crenshaw & The Black Liars, ''London not Tennessee'' - duet vocals on "Trailerland" and "Conjugal Visit"

References

External links

Catherine Porter's official websiteCatherine Porter's official myspace site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Catherine American women singers Living people 1965 births 21st-century American women