Samantha Marie Sprackling (born 3 June 1968), commonly known as Saffron, is a Nigerian-British singer, songwriter, actress and the lead singer of the

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Republica Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1999. The current line-up consists of Saffron (vocals), Tim Dorney (keyboards), Johnny Male (guitar), Conor Lawrence (drums). T ...

. She also performs solo and appeared in London's ''

Starlight Express ''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope of ...

'' for two years.

Early life and career

Samantha Sprackling was born in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Her mother was half-Chinese and half-Portuguese and lived in Hong Kong. When she was 18, Sprackling successfully auditioned for

Arlene Philips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

for a part in the musical ''

''. Sprackling began singing with

N-Joi NJOI is an English production duo from Southend, Essex, England, consisting of Nigel Champion and Mark Franklin, (who met at Alleyn Court Prep School) with vocalist/ front person Saffron. Champion went to Framlingham College and Franklin to ...

(their featured vocalist on their 1990 single, "

Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

"),

the Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...

, and

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

. She appeared in the music video for the

Chesney Hawkes Chesney Lee Hawkes (born 22 September 1971) is an English pop singer and occasional actor. He started his career at the age of 19 when he appeared in the film '' Buddy's Song'', which featured his best-known single " The One and Only", which to ...

1991 hit, " The One and Only", and as a dancer in the music video for N-Joi's single " Mindflux".

Republica

Sprackling met

keyboard players Tim Dorney and Andy Todd by 1995, and they started writing songs after recruiting a guitarist and drummer. Republica released two albums and disbanded in 2001 after their record label,

Deconstruction Records Deconstruction Records is a British record label founded in 1987 by Pete Hadfield and Keith Blackhurst, together with Mike Pickering of M People. According to ''DJ Magazine'' it is "best remembered for marrying underground credibility and diver ...

, collapsed. In 2010, Republica reformed and released a re-recording of their 1996 hit " Ready to Go" on 7 June 2010. During early October and November 2014, Republica toured the United Kingdom in support of

the Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...

"Ratlife" tour.

Other work

Sprackling worked with

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

, appearing on the track "Just Say Yes". She had previously featured on

the Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

's cover of L7's "Fuel My Fire" (from their 1997 album, ''

The Fat of the Land ''The Fat of the Land'' is the third studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200. I ...

'');

Deepsky Deepsky is an electronic music act based in Los Angeles. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Deepsky was formed in 1995 by J. Scott G. and Jason Blum after the dissolution of their first band Q, active from 1992-1995. Its two founding membe ...

's "Smile" (from the 2002 album, ''

In Silico In biology and other experimental sciences, an ''in silico'' experiment is one performed on computer or via computer simulation. The phrase is pseudo-Latin for 'in silicon' (correct la, in silicio), referring to silicon in computer chips. It ...

'');

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

's "Pork-U-Pine" (from the 2003 album, ''

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

'') and

Junkie XL Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing e ...

's songs, "Crusher", "Spirits", and "Beauty Never Fades" (from his 2003 album, '' Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin''). On 13 November 2015, Saffron performed her debut solo show at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

, London. She performed with guitarist Darren Beale and fellow singer Mel Sanson. She continues to tour both with Republica and with her solo show, which incorporates special guests. In April 2016, Saffron assembled a full solo band consisting of Tony Feedback (

Angelic Upstarts Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock / Oi! band formed in South Shields in 1977. AllMusic calls them "one of the period's most politically charged and thought-provoking groups". Angelic Upstarts Biography AllMusic. accessed 3 July 2006 Th ...

Sham 69 Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The ...

, Urban Dogs,

UK Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...

) on guitar, Piers Gielgud (

Meat Beat Manifesto Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers (the only ...

) on bass, Brad Walkhouse on saxophone/horns and Josh Collins (Reverbed) on drums. The lineup also occasionally includes Darren Beale (Boomtown Rats) on guitar. The band debuted at Polyfest 3 playing a mix of

X-ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...

classics and Republica hits. In June 2022 Saffron took part in the Electric Ladies tour along with Toyah and Lene Lovich. A proportion of the income from the tour goes towards Hazel O'Connor to help her ongoing recovery from ill health

Discography

Solo singles

* "One Love" (1992) * "

Circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

" (1993) - UK #60 * "World of You" (1993)

References

1968 births Living people English dance musicians English people of Chinese descent English people of Portuguese descent English stage actresses Women rock singers Musicians from Lagos 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers English women in electronic music {{UK-singer-stub