Louise Gabrielle Bobb (born 19 July 1969), known professionally as Gabrielle, is a British singer and songwriter. Bobb was born in Hackney, London. She released her debut single, " Dreams", in 1993, and it topped the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

the same year. Her other singles include " Going Nowhere", "

Give Me a Little More Time "Give Me a Little More Time" is a song by English singer and songwriter Gabrielle, recorded for her second studio album, '' Gabrielle'' (1996). Written by Gabrielle and Ben Barson with the Boilerhouse Boys, Ben Wolff, and Andrew Dean, it served ...

", " Walk On By", and " If You Ever" — a duet with

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. As of 2020, the group consists of Coldwell, Robbie Craig, and Joe Livermore. East 17 have undergone multiple lineup changes, wi ...

. After a few quiescent years, Gabrielle made a comeback with "

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...

", which became her second UK number one, in 2000. Her album of the same name reached the top spot on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, where it stayed for three weeks. The song " Out of Reach", from the soundtrack to '' Bridget Jones's Diary'', reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. She released the compilation '' Dreams Can Come True, Greatest Hits Vol. 1'' in 2001.

Early life

Gabrielle was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as Louise Gabrielle Bobb to parents from

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographical ...

. She and her three brothers were brought up by their mother, Patricia. Gabrielle credited her mother for her love of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

music. Gabrielle has had ptosis, the drooping of one eyelid, since childhood; in public, she covers her eye with sunglasses, an eyepatch, or hair. In school, she suffered from depression and was sometimes suicidal. After finishing her

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

, she abandoned an idea to study law and began singing in nightclubs.

Career

1993–1998: ''Find Your Way'' and ''Gabrielle''

In June 1993, Gabrielle released her debut single entitled " Dreams". "Dreams" was co-written by Gabrielle and Tim Laws and produced by Richie Fermie. In its earliest version, the song sampled the melody of

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and " Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

's 1988 hit "

Fast Car "Fast Car" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released on April 6, 1988, as the lead single from her 1988 self-titled debut studio album. Chapman's appearance on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute helped the s ...

". It was later removed after

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, ...

. The single reached number one on the UK singles chart for three weeks in June 1993 having entered the British charts at number 2 which was the highest chart entry a debut act had ever scored in the UK at that time. The song also peaked at number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US and at number-one on the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. In Australia, the song made number two on the ARIA Chart. The second single "Going Nowhere" from the same album was written by Gabrielle and George McFarlane and produced by Pete Cragie. "Going Nowhere" reached number nine on the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 18 ranking in Ireland. It was the second biggest hit from the album '' Find Your Way''. In December 1993 Gabrielle released her third single from her debut album. "I Wish", written by Gabrielle and Jon Douglas, it was not as successful as its predecessors, which both reached the UK top ten. "I Wish" charted at number 26 on the UK singles chart. "Because of You" was the fourth and final single from Gabrielle's debut album Find Your Way. Written by Gabrielle, George McFarlane and Ray Saint John, "Because of You" peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart. "Find Your Way" peaked at number nine on the

. Gabrielle released her self-titled second studio album in 1996, reaching number 11 in the UK Album Chart eventually going platinum. "Gabrielle" also reached number 80 on the

MegaCharts Dutch Charts, GfK Dutch Charts, MegaCharts is a chart company responsible for producing a number of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Single Top 100 and the Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Dutch Charts are also part of GfK ...

in the Netherlands. The album's lead single "Give Me a Little More Time", returned Gabrielle to the UK top ten, peaking at five, spending ten weeks inside the UK top 20. The song also peaked at nine in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is her fourth biggest selling single in the UK and has been certified silver. "Forget About the World" was released as the second single from the album. Written by Gabrielle, Wolff, Dean, Barson, who wrote previous single, "Give Me a Little More Time", "Forget About the World" did not perform as well as its predecessor, peaking at 23 in UK. It was the lowest charting single from the album and the only single to miss the top 15. The third single "If You Really Cared" was written by Gabrielle, Wolff, Dean, Barson, who wrote previous single, "Give Me a Little More Time" and "Forget About the World", "If You Really Cared" returned Gabrielle to the UK top 20 after the last single missed out. "If You Really Cared" peaked at 15 in the UK Singles Chart. Shai's " If I Ever Fall in Love" was covered in 1996 as a duet by

and Gabrielle, and renamed ''If You Ever''. It reached number two in the UK and four in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. It was also one of only three songs by Gabrielle to reach the Top 20 in Australia, peaking at 16. It was the highest-charting single from both aforementioned albums. The song was also the 11th biggest selling boyband single of the 1990s in the UK selling 510,000 copies and has received a Gold sales status certification. In 1997, UK singer Gabrielle released her version of "Walk On By" as the fifth and final single from her album. It reached number seven in the UK.

1999–2001: ''Rise'' and ''Greatest Hits''

Gabrielle began recording her third studio album ''Rise'' in 1998 through 1999. ''Rise'' was released on 18 October 1999 in the United Kingdom, and 15 August 2000 in the United States. The album became Gabrielle's biggest selling album to date with it becoming her only number one album. The album became a huge commercial success, spending three weeks at number one in the

, and achieving 4× Platinum status. "Sunshine" was the album's first single and peaked at number nine in the UK giving her her sixth UK top ten hit. "

" was released as the album's second single. It was her second number one single in the UK (and thus far, last). Written by Gabrielle, Ollie Dagois, Ferdy Unger-Hamilton and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, and produced by Johnny Dollar, the song used a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of ...

from

's " Knockin' on Heaven's Door". The song reached number one on the

for two weeks in January 2000. The song has sold 460,000 copies in the UK as stated by the Official UK Charts Company making the song one of the 14th best selling of 2000 in the UK. The album of the same name also reached the top spot in the

, where it stayed for three weeks. It spent 87 weeks in the charts. "When a Woman" was released as the third single from ''Rise'' in June 2000. The song reached number six on the UK Singles Chart and was the second-highest-charting single from the album. It became Gabrielle's eighth top ten hit. "Should I Stay" was released as a single in 2000 and was the fourth and final single released from the ''

'' album. The song charted at 13 in the

, the fourth top 15 hit from the album. The video for the single is very moody and depicts the atmosphere of the song more so than having a linear storyline. The song samples part of the

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

theme. In 2004, it was used in the second episode of the BBC drama serial ''

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

''. Gabrielle released her first

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

collection on 12 November 2001, entitled '' Dreams Can Come True, Greatest Hits Vol. 1''. The album achieved success in the UK where it was certified as a four times

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

seller and became the fifth best selling album of 2001. It was also the 76th biggest selling album of that Decade in the UK. The lead single from the greatest hits album was " Out of Reach" which was also from the soundtrack to the film '' Bridget Jones's Diary''. The song reached number four in the UK and nine in Australia, making it her second biggest hit in the country and also the 37th highest selling single of 2001. It remained on the chart there for more than 20 weeks. In New Zealand, the song was the tenth most successful single of 2001. The song has sold 320,000 copies in the UK as stated by the Official UK Charts Company. The second and final single from the album was " Don't Need the Sun to Shine (To Make Me Smile)". The single managed to peak at number nine in the UK Singles Chart, the song was also her eighth consecutive top 15 hit in the UK and her tenth top ten hit. An arena tour of the United Kingdom followed in June 2002.

2004–2009: ''Play to Win'', ''Always'' and touring

Gabrielle once again teamed with frequent collaborators Jonathan Shorten and trio

Julian Gallagher Julian Gallagher (born 17 July 1968 in Bromley, London) is a British songwriter and record producer, known for working with Kylie Minogue on her 2001 album, ''Fever''. He also co-wrote songs with Gabrielle on her 2007 album, ''Always'', as wel ...

, Richard Stannard, and Ferdy Unger-Hamilton to work on her fourth studio album '' Play to Win''. Released in May 2004, it reached number ten on the

and was certified gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

(BPI). Elsewhere however, the album failed to chart noticeably. "Stay the Same," ''Play to Win''s lead single, peaked at number 20 on the

but became Gabrielle's lowest-charting single in eight years, albeit her tenth consecutive top twenty hit. Second and final single "Ten Years Time" missed the top 40. In support of the album, a UK

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

followed. In October 2007, Gabrielle's fifth studio album '' Always'' was released. While the album received positive reviews from music critics, its preceding single "

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in vi ...

," a duet with Paul Weller, failed to enter the top forty. Similarly, ''Always'' missed the top ten, peaking at number eleven on

, and entered the

UK R&B Album Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

at number 4. The final single from the album, "Every Little Teardrop" was released; however, it failed to chart. The same year, Gabrielle set off on a sell out UK tour of 14 dates which earned positive reviews on her performances. In mid-2008, she headlined the Zermatt Unplugged music festival along with

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two ...

, as well as the

Birmingham Pride Birmingham Pride is a weekend-long LGBTQ+ festival held annually in the Gay Village, Hurst Street, Birmingham, England, over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Birmingham Pride is the UK's largest two-day gay pride festival. It usually features ...

. In addition, Gabrielle won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Collection. and was also

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

's special guest on the UK dates of his 2008 tour.

2010–present: ''Now and Always: 20 Years of Dreaming,'' ''Under My Skin'' and ''Do It Again''

Following a lengthy break, in November 2013, Gabrielle released the album '' Now and Always: 20 Years of Dreaming''. Consisting of 34 tracks, including most of her singles, a number of album tracks, remixes from her remix album '' Rise Underground'', and seven brand new tracks, the compilation was produced through

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

to coincide with the release of her debut single, " Dreams", 20 years ago. The singer worked with several new collaborators on the new material on the album, including producers

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan ( ur, شاهد خان; born 1 January 1981), better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, is a British DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. In 2012, Khan signed a three–year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a rec ...

and Syience as well as songwriter

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...

. In support of the album, a remix version of "Dreams" featuring Naughty Boy was released, while " Say Goodbye" served as the album's only single. A minor success, ''Now and Always: 20 Years of Dreaming'' peaked at number 38 on the UK Albums Chart. Aheadline UK tour promoting the album, entitled The 20 Years of Dreaming Tour, took place March 2014. Gabrielle released '' Under My Skin'', her sixth studio album, worldwide on 17 August 2018. Her first studio album in 11 years, it marked her first full-length release through

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was founded in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold i ...

. The release of ''Under My Skin'' marked 25 years since the release of her debut single, " Dreams". Its release was preceded by lead single "Show Me". In 2021, she participated in the second series of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Harlequin" and finished in fourth place. She then announced the release of her seventh studio album '' Do It Again'' for 5 March. In 2022 Gabrielle was invited by

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

to open the singers

British Summer Time During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC±00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and ...

concerts in Hyde Park. Citing Gabrielle as "one of my favorite artists of all time. Who I’ve loved since I was 4!!" Later that year Gabrielle appeared in

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of f ...

's music video for ' Mel Made Me Do It'.

Artistry

Gabrielle's first two studio albums were inspired by "classic soul connotations" such as

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

and Bobby Womack. However, the albums also contained influence "by early-'80s British pop" Soul II Soul, Lisa Stansfield and Mantronix. Gabrielle's third album Rise spoke of "optimism, romanticism, devotion, and a keen survival instinct". "Play to Win" incorporated a mix of genres. Gabrielle spoke on the album's influences saying "There's also a couple of songs which lean more to Country, so there will be a couple of surprises for them." She also talks about the genres on the album, saying, "There's nothing wrong with Country. Yeah, I'm a black woman, but I'd like to think that I can just sing 'songs'. This album is diverse but people buying my music can expect diverse music; it's about love, life and optimism." Gabrielle cited her high school teacher as one influence, saying that she was "inspired the moment her teacher asked her to construct her first poem. Her poetry began to develop into songs, and then she began to sing." Other inspirations came through in an eclectic collection of 1980s pop. "

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...

, Haircut One Hundred,

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

and

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...

. "You know, it was all pop, and at the same time I was a huge

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

fan, so I had a big picture of him, you know, when he looked really beautiful, and he was dark chocolate and you just wanted to lick him, although they were innocent thoughts those days, when I was younger."

Personal life

Gabrielle has a son, born in 1995, and a daughter, born in 2003.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Find Your Way'' (1993) * '' Gabrielle'' (1996) * ''

'' (1999) * '' Play to Win'' (2004) * '' Always'' (2007) * '' Under My Skin'' (2018) * '' Do It Again'' (2021)

Compilation albums

* '' Rise Underground'' (2000) * '' Dreams Can Come True, Greatest Hits Vol. 1'' (2001) * '' Now and Always: 20 Years of Dreaming'' (2013) * ''Dreams: The Best Of'' (2016)

Awards

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, - , rowspan="2" ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, rowspan="4" , Herself , Best British Breakthrough , , - , rowspan="3" , Best British Female , , - ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, Black Music Awards , - , 1994 , Herself , Best R&B Newcomer , Ivor Novello Awards , - , 1994 , " Dreams" , Best Selling Song , , - , 1997 , "

" , Most Performed Song , , - , 2000 , rowspan="2" , "

" , Best Contemporary Song , , - , 2001 , rowspan="2" , Most Performed Work , , - , 2002 , " Out of Reach" , , - , 2008 , Herself , Outstanding Song Collection ,

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

, - , 1997 , "

" , Best Single , , - , 2000 , ''

'' , Best Album , The Record of the Year , - , 2000 , "

" , Record of the Year , Smash Hits Poll Winners Party !Ref. , - , rowspan=2, 1996 , Herself , Best Female Singer , , rowspan=2, , - , " If You Ever" , Best Single , Urban Music Awards 2007 – Outstanding Achievement

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabrielle 1969 births Living people 20th-century Black British women singers Brit Award winners British contemporary R&B singers English women pop singers English house musicians English people of Dominica descent English soul singers Island Records artists Ivor Novello Award winners People from Hackney Central People with ptosis (eyelid) Singers from London 21st-century Black British women singers Go! Beat artists