Rose McDowall (née Porter; born 21 October 1959) is a Scottish musician who formed

Strawberry Switchblade Strawberry Switchblade were a Scottish pop duo formed in Glasgow in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" from 1985, and their flamboyant clothing with bows and polka-dots. History Before being sign ...

with

Jill Bryson Jill Bryson (born February 11, 1961) is a Scottish musician and artist, best known as a member of the new wave band Strawberry Switchblade, which achieved success with the 1985 single " Since Yesterday". She has also pursued a career in mixed med ...

in 1981.

History

McDowall was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland in 1959. Her first venture into music was in the Poems, an art-

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

trio Trio may refer to: Music Groups * Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble ** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer ** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music ** String trio, a group of three ...

formed in 1978 with her then-husband

Drew McDowall Drew McDowall is a Scottish NYC based composer and musician. He was a member of Coil in the 1990s contributing heavily to some of their most respected and influential works. As well as his solo work he has collaborated with Kali Malone, Cateri ...

. She then formed

in 1981 with

. After signing with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, they enjoyed chart success with their single "

Since Yesterday "Since Yesterday" is a song performed by Scottish synth-pop duo Strawberry Switchblade, the lead single from their self-titled album. It became their only major hit, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart. Background and composition " ...

" in 1984; however, later singles and an album did not sell as well as expected. This and internal problems led to an acrimonious split in 1986. For the next six years, McDowall was primarily a guest vocalist or "floating member" of several different alternative bands, particularly in the

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrume ...

genre. She contributed backing or lead vocals for Coil,

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, founded in 1982 by David Tibet. Much of Current 93's early work was similar to late 1970s and early 1980s industrial music: abrasive tape loops, droning synthesizer noises and Tibet's distorte ...

Death in June Death in June are a neofolk group led by English musician Douglas P. (Douglas Pearce). The band was originally formed in the United Kingdom in 1981 as a trio. However, after the other members left, in 1984 and 1985, to work on other projects, ...

Felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

, Alex Fergusson,

Into a Circle Into a Circle (also as In Two a Circle and In2a0) were an English new wave duo, formed in April 1985 by Paul "Bee" Hampshire and Barry Jepson, two former members of the band Getting the Fear.Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry ...

Megas Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is an Icelandic people, Icelandic vocalist, songwriter, and writer. Childhood and interest in music (1945-1970) Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed ...

Nature and Organisation Nature and Organisation is the creative musical works of British musician Michael Cashmore. The music of Nature and Organisation is characterized by a mix of acoustic, classical and folk structures met with abrasive electronic instrumentation. ...

, Nurse with Wound, Ornamental,

Psychic TV Psychic TV (aka PTV or Psychick TV or several other aliases) were an English experimental music, experimental video art and music collective, formed by performance artist Genesis P-Orridge and Scottish musician Alex Fergusson (musician), Alex ...

and

Boyd Rice Boyd Blake Rice (born December 16, 1956) is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s. A pioneer of industrial music, Rice was one of the first artists to use a sampler and turntable as an instrum ...

on recordings as well as singing or playing guitar for live appearances. In 1993, she collaborated with Boyd Rice under the band name Spell, producing two singles and an album of 1960s pop,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

covers for

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

. At the same time, she formed a

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band called Sorrow with then-husband Robert Lee. Between 1993 and 2001, they released two albums and one EP through

World Serpent Distribution World Serpent Distribution was a England, British record label and music distribution house formed in the 1990s by David Gibson, Alan Trench and Alison Webster. Douglas Pearce of Death In June coined the company name in 1991, ''World Serpent'' b ...

and performed in Europe and the US. During this time, McDowall continued to record and perform with Current 93 and Coil, including the short-lived group Rosa Mundi. Robert Lee left the band in 2002. McDowall and her remaining bandmates continued to perform as Rosa Mundi until 2005 when she began performing under her own name. McDowall is best known as a vocalist, but also plays guitar, keyboards,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

, and drums. Her signature instruments are a

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influe ...

12-string acoustic guitar, a

Fender Coronado The Fender Coronado is a double-cutaway thin-line hollow-body electric guitar, announced in 1965. It is manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The aesthetic design embodied in the Coronado represents a departure from previous F ...

electric 6-string guitar and an electric

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

Discography

Rose McDowall

Strawberry Switchblade

Spell

Sorrow

Track appears on: *'' Not Alone''

Current 93

''See:

Nature and Organisation

Backworld

References

External links

A 12-page January 2002 interview with Rose McDowallRose McDowall on Discogs
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDowall, Rose 1959 births Living people Musicians from Glasgow 21st-century Scottish women singers Scottish new wave musicians British women new wave singers Coil (band) members Current 93 members 20th-century Scottish women singers Rosa Mundi (group) members