Julie Driscoll Tippett (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress, known for her work with

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Eric B ...

and her husband,

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "...spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporar ...

Career

Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and Rick Danko's " This Wheel's on Fire", and

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

's " Season of the Witch", both with

Brian Auger and the Trinity Brian Auger and the Trinity was a British band led by keyboardist Brian Auger. His duet with Julie Driscoll, the Bob Dylan/ Rick Danko– penned " This Wheel's on Fire", was a number 5 hit on the 1968 UK Singles Chart. The song also reache ...

. Along with the Trinity, she was featured prominently in the 1969

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

'' 33⅓ Revolutions per Monkee'', singing "

I'm a Believer "I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the American band the Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number-one spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart ...

" in a

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

style with

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. ( ; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''T ...

. She and Auger had previously worked in Steampacket, with Long John Baldry and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

. "This Wheel's on Fire" reached number five in the United Kingdom in June 1968, number 13 in Canada, and Bubbled Under the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States at #106 that August. With distortion, the imagery of the title and the group's dress and performance, this version came to represent the psychedelic era in

British rock music British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

. Driscoll recorded the song again in the early 1990s with

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...

as the theme to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

comedy series ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (often shortened to ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom created and written by Jennifer Saunders, which premiered in 1992. It is based on the 1990 '' French and Saunders'' sketch " Modern Mother and Daughter", cr ...

.'' A turning point for Driscoll was meeting

when his group were among the session players on her first solo album ''

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

'' released in 1971. She soon after married Tippett and has since that time concentrated on experimental vocal music, using the name Julie Tippetts, which adopts the original spelling of her husband's surname. She frequently collaborated with Tippett, not only as a duo - which includes 1987's phenomenal '' Couple in Spirit'' album - but also on many of his group projects, up until his death in 2020. In 2009 she also started collaborating with saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Martin Archer up until the present, releasing a half-dozen albums up through 2022. She took part in Keith Tippett's big band

Centipede Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...

, and sang in

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is an English retired musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

's Theatre Royal Drury Lane concert in 1974. She released a solo album, ''Sunset Glow'', in 1975; was lead vocalist on

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera ''Escalator ...

's album '' Tropic Appetites''; and performed on John Wolf Brennan's "HeXtet". Later in the 1970s, she toured with her own band and recorded and performed as one of the vocal quartet Voice, with Maggie Nichols,

Phil Minton Phil Minton (born 2 November 1940) is a British avant-garde jazz/ free-improvising vocalist and trumpeter. Minton is a highly dramatic baritone who tends to specialize in literary texts: he has sung lyrics by William Blake with Mike Westbrook' ...

, and Brian Eley. She reunited with Auger for the 1978 album '' Encore''. In the early 1980s, Julie Tippetts was a guest vocalist on an early single by pop-jazz band Working Week, on the 1984 song "Storm of Light", which brought them to the attention of a wider audience. She also sang on Working Week's final album from 1989, ''Fire in the Mountain''.

Discography

LP/CD releases of note

Below is a selected list of Driscoll's work, sorted mostly by recording date: * 1963 – "Take Me by the Hand (And Lead Me)" (with Harold Geller Group) * 1967 – ''Open'' (with

& The Trinity) * 1968 – "This Wheel's on Fire" (with Brian Auger & the Trinity) * 1968 – "Road To Cairo" (with Brian Auger & the Trinity) * 1969 – '' Streetnoise'' (with Brian Auger & the Trinity) * 1969 – ''Jools & Brian'' (with Brian Auger & the Trinity) – compilation of early UK singles (rec. 1965–1967): 5 Parlophone titles by Driscoll, and 6 Columbia titles by Auger & The Trinity (Capitol) * 1970 – ''The Best of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity'' – compilation (Polydor) (#94 Canada) * 1971 – ''

'' (featuring the

Group) * 1971 – ''Quartet Sequence'' (with John Stevens, Ron Herman and Trevor Watts) * 1971 – '' Septober Energy'' (with

) (recorded at Wessex Sound Studios, London, during three days, produced by

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...

) * 1972 – ''Blueprint'' (with Keith Tippett, Roy Babbington, Frank Perry and Keith Bailey) (produced by Robert Fripp) * 1974 – ''Tropic Appetites'' (with

) * 1974 – ''Genesis: Brian Auger & The Trinity Featuring Julie Driscoll'' – compilation (Polydor) * 1975 – ''The Rock Peter and The Wolf'' (an arrangement of songs of the classic

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...

story, with

Gary Brooker Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum. Early life Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...

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Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

, Stephane Grappelli,

Jack Lancaster Jack Lancaster was a British composer, record producer and musician. In the late 1960s, Lancaster co-founded the British rock group Blodwyn Pig with Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams and in the late 1970s he was a member o ...

Jon Hiseman Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman (21 June 1944 – 12 June 2018) was an English drummer, audio engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, wi ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

, Alvin Lee,

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet, B ...

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Viv Stanshall Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British upper ...

) * 1976 – ''Ovary Lodge'' (with Keith Tippett, Harry Miller and Frank Perry) * 1976 – ''Sunset Glow'' (featuring Keith Tippett Group) * 1978 – (22, 23, 24 May) ''Frames: Music for an Imaginary Film'' (Keith Tippett's Ark) (recorded at Wessex Sound Studios, London) * 1978 – '' Encore'' (with

) * 1982 – (29 June – 3 July) with ''Company'' ( Ursula Oppens,

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry ...

, George E. Lewis, Akio Suzuki, Keith Tippett, Moto Yoshizawa, Anne Le Baron, Phil Wachsmann & Derek Bailey) (recorded in London during Company Week) * 1984 – "Storm of Light" – single with Working Week * 1987 – '' Couple in Spirit'' (duet with

) (mixed by

) * 1989 – ''Fire in the Mountain'' (with Working Week) * 1989 – ''Women With Voices'' (track #12, with

Maggie Nicols Maggie Nicols (or Nichols, as she originally spelled her name as a performer) (born 24 February 1948), is a Scottish free-jazz and improvising vocalist, dancer, and performer. Early life and career Nicols was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, as M ...

, Sue Ferrar and Sylvia Hallett, recorded live, 4 March, at Air Gallery, London) * 1991 – (1 June) '' The Bristol Concert'' (with Mujician & The Georgian Ensemble as honorary guest) (recorded live at St. George's concert hall, Brandon Hill, Bristol, UK, for BBC) * 1992 – ''Best of Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger'' – compilation (Polydor) * 1992 – (2 and 3 January) ''Spirits Rejoice'' (with The Dedication Orchestra) (recorded at Gateway Studios, Kingston,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, UK) * 1993 – (23 October) ''Twilight Etchings'' (with Willi Kellers & Keith Tippett) (recorded at the Podewil in Berlin during the Total Music Meeting) * 1994 – (3, 4, 5 January) ''Ixesha (Time)'' (with The Dedication Orchestra) (recorded at Gateway Studios, Kingston, Surrey, UK) * 1996 – ''Couple in Spirit II'' (duet with Keith Tippett) (recorded live at The Stadtgarten,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

) * 1998 – (6 February & 30 April) '' The First Full Turn'' (with RoTToR: Paul Rutherford, Julie & Keith Tippett, Paul Rogers) (recorded at various locations) * 1998 – (3 May) ''First Weaving: Live at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

Jazz Festival'' ( Keith Tippett Tapestry Orchestra) * 1998 – "HeXtet: Through the Ear of a Raindrop" (with John Wolf Brennan, Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford,

Chris Cutler Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, N ...

and Peter Whyman (Leo Records 254) * 1999 – ''The Mod Years (1965–1969...Complete Singles, B-sides and Rare Tracks)'' – compilation (Disconforme; later released on Fresh Fruit/MIG 00492) * 1999 – ''Shadow Puppeteer'' – solo * 2001 – ''If Your Memory Serves You Well (The Giorgio Gomelsky Sessions)'' – compilation (Dressed To Kill) reviously released on Charly as ''London 1964-1967''* 2002 – (November & February) ''Fluvium'' (with Martin Archer and Geraldine Monk) (electronics recorded at Telecottage,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, between January 2000 & March 2002; vocals & acoustic instruments recorded at The Sound Kitchen, Sheffield, between November 2001 and February 2002) * 2003 – ''The Dartington Trio'' (with Keith Tippett and

Paul Dunmall Paul Dunmall (born 6 May 1953) is a British jazz musician who plays tenor and soprano saxophone, as well as the baritone and the more exotic saxello and the Northumbrian smallpipes. He has played with Keith Tippett and Barry Guy. In the earl ...

) – Live at the BBC & live at The Vortex * 2004 – (8 August) ''Dartington Improvising Trio'' (with Keith Tippett and Paul Dunmall) – Live at The Priory (recorded live at Priory Park, 3rd Southend International Jazz Festival) * 2004 – ''A Kind of Love-In 1967–1971'' – compilation (Raven) * 2004 – (5 September) ''Viva La Black: Live at Ruvo Jazz Festival'' (with Keith Tippett, Louis Moholo-Moholo and Canto General) in

Ruvo di Puglia Ruvo di Puglia (; ) is a city and ''comune, comune (municipality)'' of 25,457 inhabitants (as of 2017) in the Metropolitan City of Bari in Apulia. It is an art city of Apulia, and an Apulian tourist destination. Part of the Alta Murgia National ...

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, Italy * 2005 – (24 April) ''Mahogany Rain'' (with Paul Dunmall, Philip Gibbs and Keith Tippett) (recorded at Victoria Rooms Studio,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, UK) * 2008 – (14 November) ''Couple in Spirit – Live at the Purcell Room'' (duet with Keith Tippett) (recorded at the Purcell Room, London, as part of the 2008 London Jazz Festival) * 2008 – '' Nostalgia 77 Sessions featuring Keith & Julie Tippett'' * 2009 – ''Ghosts of Gold'' (with Martin Archer) * 2011 – ''Tales of FiNiN'' (with Martin Archer) * 2011 – (30 & 31 January) ''From Granite to Wind'' (with Keith Tippett Octet) * 2012 – ''Serpentine'' (with Martin Archer) * 2015 – ''Vestigium'' (with Martin Archer) * 2016 – ''The Nine Dances of Patrick O'Gonogon'' (with Keith Tippett Octet) * 2022 – ''Illusion'' (with Martin Archer)

Early UK singles

Parlophone (UK) Records: *Jun 1965 – R 5296 – Don't Do It No More // I Know You (with Blossom Toes) *May 1966 – R 5444 – I Didn't Want To Have To Do It // Don't Do It No More *Apr 1967 – R 5588 – I Know You Love Me Not // If You Should Ever Leave Me

References

External links

Mind Your Own Music (Keith Tippett/Julie Tippetts website)
*
Julie Driscoll @ pHinnWeb
* * as Julie Driscoll * as Julie Tippetts *
BBC – Classic Pop/Rock Review – Brian Auger Julie Driscoll & The Trinity, Open, Definitely What!, StreetnoiseJulie Driscoll
at Harvey Lisberg {{DEFAULTSORT:Driscoll, Julie 1947 births Living people 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers English folk singers English soul singers English rhythm and blues singers English jazz singers English women songwriters Jazz-rock musicians English folk rock musicians British rhythm and blues boom musicians Actresses from London Singers from London Atco Records artists 20th-century English actresses English women pop singers British women jazz singers Centipede (band) members Steampacket members Brian Auger and the Trinity members Mujician members The Dedication Orchestra members Brain Records artists