Skye Edwards (born Shirley Klaris Yonavieve Edwards; 27 May 1972), sometimes simply Skye, is a British singer. Her career began in the mid-1990s when she and the Godfrey brothers (Paul Godfrey, a DJ, and Ross Godfrey, a multi-instrumentalist) formed the band

Morcheeba Morcheeba are an English electronic band formed in the mid-1990s with founding members vocalist Skye Edwards and the brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. They mix influences from trip hop, rock, folk rock and downtempo, and have produced ten regul ...

, which released five albums with Skye as lead vocalist. In 2003, the band split, after which Skye released two solo albums: '' Mind How You Go'' in 2006, and ''Keeping Secrets'' in 2009. In 2010, Edwards returned to Morcheeba, again as lead vocalist. In 2012, she released her third solo album, ''Back to Now'', while in 2015 she released her fourth album, ''In a Low Light''. Edwards decided to shorten her name to Skye by taking the first letter of each of her names and putting them together. She is married to bass player Steve Gordon and they have four children. Edwards has sung on two charity collaborations: " Perfect Day" (1997, in aid of

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

) and

Band Aid 20 Band Aid 20 was the 2004 incarnation of the charity supergroup Band Aid. The group, which included Daniel Bedingfield, Dido, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2 ...

(2004, in aid of famine relief in Sudan, Africa).

Early life

Edwards was born to a British Jamaican family in London and grew up in the East End. She described her growing up as 'I always say it was

fish and chips Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of batter (cooking), battered and fried fish, served with French fries, chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, ...

, not rice and peas in our house'. Her first musical influences were the

country and western 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, or d ...

records of her mother.Teddy Jamieso
"Skye Edwards interview"
heraldscotland.com, 15 November 2013.

Solo music career

''Mind How You Go''

Produced by

Patrick Leonard Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), '' Who ...

, Edwards' first solo album, '' Mind How You Go'', was released on 27 February 2006 in Europe. The first single, "Love Show", was a radio hit throughout Europe. The next single was "What's Wrong With Me". Music videos were released with both songs. She has said: "People ask what this record means to me, but that's an alien question because I've been living and breathing it. It's not a question of what it means to me. This record is me."

''Keeping Secrets''

In October 2009, Edwards released her second album, ''Keeping Secrets'' independently via her own label, Skyewards Recordings. Produced by Alexis Smith and

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nominated

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

collaborator Ivor Guest. A single, "I Believe", was released along with a music video and she completed a tour of several weeks around Europe.

''Back to Now''

This album was released on 29 October 2012 and produced by

Steve Fitzmaurice Stephen Fitzmaurice is an Irish mixer and producer based in London, England. His credits include albums for Depeche Mode, Seal, Sam Smith, Ian Brown, Kylie Minogue, Mónica Naranjo, Sting, Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, The Kooks, Alicia Keys, U2, ...

, Irish record producer of, among others,

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

and U2.

Cover songs

In 2007, Edwards performed the

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

song " Feel Good Inc." live on

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

radio station, along with other tracks from her album, and also at some live shows. In 2008, Edwards collaborated with Marc Collin of the French group

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...

who put together ''Hollywood, Mon Amour'', an album of popular songs from films of the 1980s. Edwards sang several songs on this album, including Blondie's " Call Me" and

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

's "A View to a Kill" from the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film of the same name. As a Christmas gift to her fans, Edwards recorded a version of "River" by

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

which was uploaded to YouTube in November 2011. On the

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

tribute album ''Johnny Boy Would Love This....A Tribute to John Martyn'', released also in 2011, Edwards sang the track "Solid Air" from Martyn's 1973 album '' Solid Air''. In February 2013, Edwards performed "As Long as You Love Me" by

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

, ''

Morning Becomes Eclectic ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is an American three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill t ...

''. She also sang on ''Uncovered: QOTSA'', by Olivier Libaux of the French band Nouvelle Vague; it is an album of

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

songs covered by female singers, which was released on 10 June 2013 digitally, and on vinyl in limited edition. In 2020, Edwards performed the

Yazz Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960) is a British 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 ...

song "

The Only Way Is Up "The Only Way Is Up" is a song written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson and originally released in 1980 as a single by American soul singer Otis Clay. In 1988, it became a chart-topping single in the United Kingdom for Yazz and the Pla ...

" for the compilation ''Goodnight Songs for Rebel Girls'' produced by Rebel Girls, which involved a lineup of 19 female singers including

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influenc ...

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

and

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. Her first two studio albums, '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001), achieved chart success with the singles " I'm Outta Love", " Not That Ki ...

Discography

*'' Mind How You Go'' (2006) *''Keeping Secrets'' (2009) *''Back to Now'' (2012) *''In a Low Light'' (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Skye 1972 births Living people Atlantic Records artists British trip hop musicians English people of Jamaican descent English singer-songwriters English women singer-songwriters Singers from London 20th-century Black British women singers 21st-century Black British women singers 20th-century British women singers 21st-century British women singers