Zoë (born and nowadays known as Zoë Pollock, 19 January 1969,

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...

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 ...

) is a British

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

singer and songwriter, who had brief success in 1991 with two hit singles, "

Sunshine on a Rainy Day "Sunshine on a Rainy Day" is a song by British pop singer and songwriter Zoë, released as the first single from her debut album, ''Scarlet Red and Blue'' (1991). The song received positive reviews from music critics, reaching number four on ...

", which climbed to number 4 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 "Lightning", which reached number 37 (and spent three weeks in the UK Top 40). Zoë has released three

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

s and five

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

Career

She initially started her career in the mid-1980s, by auditioning for

Jimi Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million. He is married to artist and mu ...

and

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

to be the lead singer for their band

Brilliant Brilliant may refer to: Music * ''Brilliant'' (album), a 2012 album by Ultravox *Brilliant (band), a British pop/rock group active in the 1980s * "Brilliant" (song), a song by D'espairsRay *Brilliant Classics, Dutch classical music record label * ...

. She began dating Youth, who would later produce her two solo albums. Zoë released her debut single, "Sunshine On a Rainy Day", in late 1990, with two different music videos. It failed to reach the UK Top 40. However, it was remixed and re-released in 1991 and it became a Top 10 hit, peaking at number 4. Her début

, ''Scarlet Red and Blue'' (to which singer Sam Brown contributed) included "Sunshine on a Rainy Day" and another moderately popular song, "Lightning", which peaked and spent a respectable three weeks at number 37 on the

. The album, despite good promotion and reviews, however, did not sell well, reaching only number 67 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 ...

. It featured similar

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

tracks as well as soulful

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s. Soulful vocalists Sam Brown and

Yazz Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960) is an English pop singer, who remains perhaps best known for her 1988 UK number one single "The Only Way Is Up". Some of her records are credited to Yazz and the Plastic Population. Career Yazz was born i ...

both provided backing-vocals on the album. "Holy Days" was the last single from ''Scarlet Red and Blue'', released in February 1992, but only managed number 72. In 1991, Zoë sang backing vocals on

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. T ...

's '' Pop Life'' album, which was produced by

. In 1996, Zoë re-emerged (still signed to

M&G Records M&G Records was a record label founded by Michael Levy after he sold his previous label Magnet Records in 1988 to WEA for an estimated £10 million. History After Magnet was sold and was then merged into Eastwest Records in the UK, Levy set ...

) with a revamped image, style and sound. Her new album, ''Hammer'', was

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock. The title track was released as a single, but failed to reach the UK Singles Chart. After this album she disappeared from the music scene for several years, travelling around the world and becoming a sculptor and potter. Zoë recorded an EP under the alias Hephzibah Broom, released by an independent Manchester label. Zoë became part of the female folk duo Mama, with singer Sarah McQuaid. They released their debut album, ''Crow Coyote Buffalo'', in late 2008. The album includes a folk re-recording of Zoë's signature song, "Sunshine on a Rainy Day", which the group also made a music video for. In 2021, Zoë released ''Lago Ausente'', an album of original songs that celebrate her love of nature and plant medicine. Produced by Liam Fletcher, the album features guest performances by guitarists Fabiano do Nascimento and Sebastian Juliussen, percussionist Ricardo ‘Tiki’ Pasillas, shakuhachi player Adrian Freedman, violinist Bridget O’Donnell, cellist Julia Morneweg and double bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado, plus Fletcher himself on harmonium and synthesiser.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Personal life

Zoë moved to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

and in 1998 married

Murray Lachlan Young Murray Lachlan Young (born 14 March 1969) is a British poet, stand-up performer, broadcaster, playwright, screenwriter and children's author. He came to prominence during the Britpop era of the mid-1990s, when he became the only poet to sign a rec ...

, a British

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

. They have two children, and divorced in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoe 1969 births Living people English women songwriters English women pop singers People from Peckham Singers from London