This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Fiona Bevan | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Fiona Mackay Barclay Bevan |
Origin | Suffolk, England |
Genres | |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
Instruments |
|
Labels | Navigator Records |
Website | www |
Fiona Mackay Barclay Bevan is an English singer-songwriter from Suffolk, England, who currently resides in London. [1] She co-wrote the song "Little Things" for One Direction [2] with Ed Sheeran, which became a number-one single in 13 countries and received a BMI award. [3]
Bevan has co-written songs released by Kylie Minogue, LIGHTS, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Tom Walker, Steps, Mika, Shane Filan, Hey Violet, and Natalie Imbruglia. Additionally, she has written and been featured on Stefflon Don's debut release.
As an artist, Bevan's debut solo studio album 'Talk to Strangers', (April 2014) was released on Navigator Records. She has toured as a supporting act for Nick Mulvey, Ryan Keen, Ed Sheeran, Hawksley Workman, Ingrid Michaelson, Gwyneth Herbert, Luke Friend, and Bill Bailey. In 2014, Bevan completed a tour of Australia supporting Busby Marou, and the following year she toured Canada, supporting Hawksley Workman.
Bevan runs a residency night at Servant Jazz Quarters in Dalston, London, called "Fiona Bevan Presents," featuring acts including Mercury Prize-nominated Sam Lee and Ed Harcourt, who also remixed her first single, "The Machine", in 2014.
Bevan is of British and Canadian parentage. [1] Her great-grandmother was the romantic novelist D. E. Stevenson, and Treasure Island author Robert Louis Stevenson was her great-great-grandfather's cousin. She was born in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, [4] brought up in Suffolk, and attended Colchester County High School for Girls. [5]
Fiona Bevan's debut Extended Play (EP), 'In The Swimming Pool', was released in 2007. [6] Her debut studio album 'Plant Your Heart', was released in 2009 on the Fallen Idol label. [7]
In 2011, she released an EP, 'Us and the Darkness', on Venus Climbing, co-produced with Robin Baynton. It featured Bevan on lead vocals and guitar, accompanied by Rosalie Bevan on bass and James Crichlow on violin. [8] One of the songs on the EP, "Dial D for Denial", was a semi-finalist at the 2011 International Songwriting Competition. [1] The song "Pirates and Diamonds" was included on the OneTaste Collective Album Vol. 2, released on 14 June 2010, while she also appeared on Winter Hunter Remixes by The Living Graham Bond released on 26 July 2010 on the Fat label. [9]
Her song "Love in a Cold Climate" was included in the For Folk's Sake Christmas 2011 compilation album. [10]
Bevan's second album, Talk To Strangers, was released in 2014 on Navigator Records in the UK, Planet Music in Australia, and P-Vine in Japan. [11] In 2015, it was released on Convexe / Universal Music in Canada and Convexe in the USA. The album's twelve songs were written, arranged, and played by Fiona Bevan, produced and played by Shawn Lee, engineered by Pierre Duplan in Bloomsbury, London, and mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios, San Francisco. The Guardian wrote, "Bevan took us on startling odysseys that suggested Erykah Badu, Joanna Newsom, and Kate Bush spine-tinglingly joined". [12] The Line of Best Fit called her work, "mesmerizingly beautiful". [13]
The first single "The Machine" was remixed by Ed Harcourt and featured Fem Fel, which received an airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC London. Clash Music commentated about the track, "Fiona Bevan contrasts pastoral, acoustic textures with her golden, golden voice". [14]
The next single, "Rebel Without a Cause", was released in May 2014, with remixes by Anushka, who was signed to Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings, and Mr. Hudson.
The single "They Sang Silent Night" was released in 2014 as a peacetime/Christmas song, marking the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce ceasefire when enemy troops united in peace to sing Silent Night across the trenches. A live version of the song aired on Christmas Day on national ABC radio in Australia, featuring Fiona accompanied by Jeremy Marou from Busby Marou on guitar. [15]
In December 2016, Bevan co-wrote and featured on the song 'Forever' on Stefflon Don's mix-tape Real Ting.
In February 2017, the British newspaper The Observer identified Bevan's song "Little Things” in an article entitled "A History of the Love Song in 10 Tracks", as an important song in the digital era. The song, especially for young music listeners, have "tackled the physical inadequacies many young women feel in the age of social media and told them they were OK to have". She commented that "it felt very important to write it like a feminist love song...Girls at that age – 12, 13, when their self-esteem is often rock bottom – need to hear those things said, so to hear them from their heroes is life-changing." Bevan received "hundreds of messages from girls on social media after the song grew in popularity. [16]
Bevan released a new solo EP, Wild Angels, Sweet Demons on Venus Climbing Records in 2018. [17]
Bevan co-wrote the One Direction song "Little Things" with Ed Sheeran, which appeared on their second studio album Take Me Home (2012). [2] In October 2012, Sheeran acknowledged her songwriting skills in an interview with the British radio network Capital FM, stating:
"The great thing about it is I wrote that song with a girl called Fiona Bevan when I was 17 and we lost the song. I've kept in touch with Fiona, we've done gigs and stuff, and about two months ago she sent me the tune and was like, 'Oh, do you remember this?' I was like, 'Yeah, I do remember that', and I was in the studio with the One Direction boys at the time and I was playing it and they were like, 'We really like that'. It's got one of my favorite lines that I've ever written in a song." [18]
In 2017, Fiona worked with the group Steps on their comeback album Tears on the Dancefloor . [19] "Scared of the Dark", the single she and Carl Ryden co-wrote for Steps, reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart. [20]
Bevan co-wrote "One Night" for Ben Haenow with Ben and producer duo Red Triangle (production team) for his deluxe debut album. [21] The album reached the top 10 in the UK, and his subsequent 'One Night Tour' was also named after the track. [22]
Bevan co-wrote, with Gwyneth Herbert, two songs on Herbert's 2013 album The Sea Cabinet – "I Still Hear the Bells" and "The King's Shilling"– and performed with Herbert on the album and at its London launch at Wilton's Music Hall in May 2013. [23]
With Laura Welsh, Bevan co-wrote the singles 'Red' and 'Concrete' from the 'See Red EP' which The Line Of Best Fit called "stunning". [24] Bevan also co-wrote Laura's previous single 'Sex and Violence' which was released as a 'Stream Only' premiere on Spin.com. [25] [26]
Alongside Neil Luck, Bevan co-composed music for and performed alongside the avant-garde string ensemble ARCO on Last Wane Days (squib-box), a two-act monodrama for voice and ensemble, [27] released on 12 March 2012. In a review, Tim Rutherford-Johnson wrote: "Bevan, in particular, can turn her voice on a dime. As co-composers, Luck and Bevan use sound and recurring motifs cleverly so that the rampant dislocations achieve an unexpected coherence and continuity. Serious artistry". [28]
For several months in 2011, Bevan was joint lead guitarist in the Poussez Posse, a band fronted by Georgina Baillie and mentored by Adam Ant. Other members included fellow lead guitarists Danie Cox (later known as Danie Centric and Gobby Holder), bassist Molly Spiers MacLeod (daughter of Spizz), and drummer Rachael Smith. The latter three eventually left to form the self-styled "flock rock" band The Featherz.
This lineup of the Posse performed several support slots for Ant in 2011 and recorded tracks for a planned single and EP. They were later replaced by a new lineup, still fronted by Baillie and featuring future Curse of Lono bassist Charis Anderson. This updated lineup continued to support Ant on tours in the UK, mainland Europe, and Australia until the end of 2012.
Footage from 2011 of a band meeting of Bevan's lineup of the Poussez Posse at Ant's home is featured in The Blueblack Hussar, a documentary about Ant directed by Jack Bond. [29] [30]
In the spring of 2015, Bevan's track "Slo Mo Tiger Glo" from her album Talk To Strangers was chosen as the theme music for the HSBC adverts aired in the UK and Ireland. [31] Her song "Beginners Luck" was used as the E! 2015 winter red carpet season USA track.[ citation needed ]
Album | Release date | Label |
---|---|---|
Plant Your Heart [32] | 16 November 2009 [32] | Fallen Idol |
Talk to Strangers [33] | 28 April 2014 | Navigator Records |
EP | Release date | Label |
---|---|---|
In the Swimming Pool | 16 February 2007 [6] | Fiona Bevan |
Us and the Darkness | March 2011 | Venus Climbing |
Wild Angels Sweet Demoms | November 2018 [17] | Venus Climbing |
indicates a background vocal contribution.
Year | Artist | Album | Song | Co-written with |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | One Direction | Take Me Home | "Little Things" | Edward Sheeran |
2014 | 5 Seconds of Summer | 5 Seconds of Summer | "Voodoo Doll" | Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin, Adam Argyle |
2015 | Ben Haenow | Ben Haenow | "One Night" | Benjamin Haenow, George Tizzard, Richard Parkhouse |
2016 | Max | Non-album single | "Christmas Song" | Max Schneider, Matthew Radosevich |
Tom Walker | "Play Dead" | Thomas Walker, Joshua Grant | ||
Laura Welsh | See Red EP | "Red" | Laura Welsh, Jonas Wallin | |
"Concrete" | Laura Welsh, Jonas Wallin | |||
Una Healy | The Waiting Game | "Angel Like You" | Una Healy, Jez Ashurst | |
2017 | Steps | Tears on the Dancefloor | "Scared of the Dark" | Carl Ryden |
Caitlyn Shadbolt | Songs on My Sleeve | "My Friends & I" | Caitlyn Shadbolt, Mark Landon | |
Steps | Tears on the Dancefloor | "Neon Blue" | Carl Ryden | |
Tom Walker | Blessings EP | "Rapture" | Thomas Walker, Timothy Deal | |
Hey Violet | From the Outside | "Unholy" | Nia Lovelis, Rena Lovelis, Miranda Miller, Casey Moreta, Julian Bunetta, David Pramik | |
Lights | Skin & Earth | "Skydiving" | Lights Poxleitner, Matthew Radoisevich | |
Tom Walker | Non-album single | "Heartland" | Thomas Walker, Shahid Kahn, Wesley Muoria-Chaves | |
Guy Sebastian | Conscious | "High On Me" | Guy Sebastian, Mark Landon | |
Lights | Skin & Earth | "Morphine" | Lights Poxleitner, Steve James Philbin | |
Mika | Non-album single | "It's My House" | Michael Penniman Jr., Jonathan Quarmby | |
Steps | Tears on the Dancefloor: Crying at the Disco | "Fool for You" | Carl Ryden | |
Sonny Alven | Non-album single | "Cool with You" (featuring Goldens) | Sondre Alvestad, Jonny Wright, Simen Hope | |
Alexandru | "Sellotape" | James Newman, Maegan Cottone, Jack Walton | ||
No Frills Twins | "Lonely with You" | Inna Rogers, Vanessa Rogers, Ash Howes, Richard Stannard | ||
2018 | Owen Thiele | TBA | "Some Like It Hot" | Wynne Bennet |
Aurora | Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1) | "Queendom" | Aurora Aksnes, James Edward Jacob, Couros Shebani | |
Natalie Prass | The Future and the Past | "Far from You" | Natalie Prass | |
Lewis Capaldi | Breach EP | "Tough" | Lewis Capaldi, Jonathan Quarmby | |
Tom Walker | What a Time to Be Alive | "My Way" | Thomas Walker, Timothy Deal | |
LION | LION | "Oh No" | Bethany Lowen | |
Aurora | Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1) | "Gentle Earthquakes" | Aurora Aksnes, James Edward Jacob, Couros Shebani | |
"Soft Universe" | Aurora Aksnes, James Edward Jacob, Couros Shebani | |||
Joseph J. Jones | Built on Broken Bones Vol. 1 | "Put the Word Out" | Joseph Gibbons | |
"Angels Turn Away" | Joseph Gibbons | |||
Backstreet Boys | DNA | "Chances" | Shawn Mendes, Scott Harris, Geoff Warburton, Ryan Tedder, Zach Skelton, Casey Smith | |
Andy Brown | Non-album single | "Put That Record On" | Andrew Brown, Jonny Wright | |
2019 | Claire Richards | My Wildest Dreams | "My Wildest Dreams" | Steve Anderson |
James Morrison | You're Stronger Than You Know | "Brighter Kind of Love" | James Morrison, Jonathan Quarmby | |
311 | Voyager | "Good Feeling" | Nicholas Hexon, Matthew Malpass, John Feldmann | |
Andy Black | The Ghost of Ohio | "Heroes We Were" | Andrew Beirsack, Matthew Malpass, John Feldmann, Stephen Beerkens | |
Ashley Tisdale | Symptoms | "Insomnia" | Ashley Tisdale, John Feldmann, Dylan McLean, Scott Stewart | |
Tom Walker | What a Time to Be Alive | "All That Matters" | Thomas Walker, Timothy Deal | |
Aurora | A Different Kind of Human (Step 2) | "Hunger" | Aurora Aksnes | |
2020 | The Shires | Good Years | "On the Day I Die" | Ben Earle, Peter Hammerton |
"Independence Day" | Ben Earle, Peter Hammerton | |||
Steps | What the Future Holds | "Come and Dance with Me" | Carl Ryden | |
Kylie Minogue | Disco | "Unstoppable" | Kylie Minogue, Troy Miller | |
2021 | Natalie Imbruglia | Firebird | "Build It Better" | Natalie Imbruglia, Luke Fitton |
"River" | Natalie Imbruglia | |||
Foy Best Vance is a British musician and singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, signed to Ed Sheeran's Gingerbread Man record label. Vance has toured as a support act to British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and his music has been featured on numerous TV shows. In August 2013 he released his second full-length album, Joy of Nothing, which was produced by Irish producer and arranger Michael Keeney and was met with critical praise, being called "a gorgeous collection of open, uplifting songs, which showcase [Vance's] magnificent songwriting skills." In May 2016, his third studio album The Wild Swan, produced and mixed by Jacquire King, was released and it was announced that Vance would support Elton John on selected tour dates in June and Josh Groban in July and August.
John McDaid is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer from Northern Ireland. He is a member of the band Snow Patrol and has written songs with artists including Ed Sheeran, P!nk, and Robbie Williams.
Timothy Lee McKenzie, better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Labrinth signed as a recording artist with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music in 2010, initially collaborating with the English rapper Tinie Tempah. He appeared as a featured artist: uncredited on the single "Pass Out", but later officially on "Frisky"; then he released his first solo single, "Let the Sun Shine" in September. All three songs peaked in the top five on the UK Singles Chart.
Edward Christopher Sheeran is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently released the extended play No. 5 Collaborations Project. He signed with Asylum Records the same year.
Jake Nathan Gosling is an English record producer and songwriter. Best known for his production work for English singer Ed Sheeran, he has also been credited on releases for acts including Lady Gaga, The Libertines, James Bay, Shawn Mendes, All Time Low, One Direction, Major Lazer, Christina Perri, Shania Twain, 5 Seconds of Summer, Paloma Faith, and Wiley.
Rizzle Kicks are a British hip hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule. Their debut album, Stereo Typical, was released in 2011. As of May 2012, Rizzle Kicks had sold over 1 million singles and over 600,000 albums in the UK.
Nina Nesbitt is a Scottish singer and songwriter. She has two top 40 singles, and is known for her single "Stay Out", which peaked at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2013, and No. 11 on the Scottish Singles Chart. She is also known for being an ex-girlfriend of singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.
"Dreamers" is the sixth official single taken from English hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks' debut studio album, Stereo Typical. The single was released in the United Kingdom on 3 August 2012. The track was produced by Ant Whiting. The song features a sample from Nirvana's 1968 single Rainbow Chaser. A music video to accompany the release of "Dreamers" was uploaded to YouTube on 25 July 2012, at a total length of four minutes and forty-two seconds. It was directed and filmed by Toby Lockerbie. The video features footage of the duo partying on a desert island with a group of friends. Dappy makes a cameo appearance in the video.
"Little Things" is a song by English-Irish boy band One Direction from their second studio album, Take Me Home (2012). It was released by Syco Music on 12 November 2012 as the record's second single. The song was written by Fiona Bevan and Ed Sheeran, and produced by Jake Gosling. Bevan brought the song to Sheeran's attention while he was in studio with the group in 2012, resulting in the band recording it. "Little Things" is a mid-tempo pop and folk ballad about the insistence that flaws are what make a person unique.
The Sea Cabinet is a song cycle and musical theatre piece by British singer-songwriter Gwyneth Herbert about "memory, obsession, love, and the sea". It is also the title of her sixth album, featuring a studio performance of the song cycle, which was released on 20 May 2013 and was critically acclaimed, receiving four-starred reviews in The Financial Times and The Independent and a 4.5-starred review in All About Jazz. The music's sound has been described as a blend of "Weimar cabaret and English music-hall stylings, with disquieting touches of avant-garde jazz".
"I See Fire" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was commissioned for the soundtrack of the 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, where it was played over the closing credits. The Hobbit director, Peter Jackson, asked Sheeran to write a song for the movie after Jackson's daughter, Katie, suggested Sheeran. Sheeran saw the film, wrote the song, and recorded most of the track elements on the same day.
Galantis is a Swedish electronic music act consisting of producer Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson. Formerly, they were a duo, alongside rising musician Style of Eye, until he decided to part ways with the project shortly after their second album The Aviary in 2017. However, he made appearances in live performances and music videos as part of the project up until 2021.
"Photograph" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran from his second studio album, × (2014). Sheeran wrote the song with Snow Patrol member Johnny McDaid, who had a piano loop from which the composition developed. After recording several versions with other producers, Sheeran eventually solicited help from Jeff Bhasker; the collaboration generated a version that Bhasker further enhanced for months. The ballad derives its music primarily from an acoustic guitar, piano and programmed drums. With visually descriptive lyrics, it discusses a long-distance relationship inspired by Sheeran's own experience of being away from his then-girlfriend while he was on tour.
Fleur East is an English singer, songwriter, rapper and presenter. East competed on the second series of The X Factor in 2005 as part of the girl group Addictiv Ladies but was unsuccessful. In 2012, she signed with Strictly Rhythm. In collaboration with Drumsound & Bassline Smith, she released "One in a Million" (2013), which peaked at number 53 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sticky Studios is an independent music recording studio located in Windlesham, Surrey. The studio is owned by music producer, songwriter, remixer, manager and publisher Jake Gosling. Sticky Studios is most notable for its work with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, One Direction, Christina Perri, Paloma Faith and Wiley.
We the Generation is the second studio album by British drum and bass band Rudimental. The album was released on 2 October 2015, although the album leaked online a week prior to its release.
"Second Hand Heart" is a song by English singer Ben Haenow, from his self-titled debut studio album, Ben Haenow (2015). Featuring American singer Kelly Clarkson, it is an upbeat pop song produced by Afterhrs, Jason Halbert, and Pete Hammerton, written by Artist vs. Poet members Joe Kirkland and Jason Dean with Afterhrs members Ian Franzino and Andrew Haas, with additional writing by Neil Ormandy. "Second Hand Heart" was issued as the album's lead and only single on 16 October 2015, by Syco Music and RCA Records.
Ben Haenow is the self-titled debut studio album by English singer Ben Haenow, released on 13 November 2015, through Syco Music and RCA Records. After winning the eleventh series of The X Factor in 2014, Haenow travelled to Los Angeles to immediately begin development of the album by collaborating with established musicians such as Kelly Clarkson, Julian Bunetta, Iain James, Kodaline, Anne Preven, Red Triangle, Steve Robson, J.R. Rotem, and Amy Wadge.
"Scared of the Dark" is a song recorded by British group Steps for their fifth studio album, Tears on the Dancefloor (2017). On 6 March 2017, the group announced their twentieth anniversary celebrations in the form of a new single, album and accompanying tour. "Scared of the Dark" premiered on The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 on 9 March, and was released as the lead single from the album the following day. It is a disco song written by Carl Ryden and Fiona Bevan and performed mostly by band members Claire Richards and Faye Tozer. It garnered rave reviews from music critics, many of whom praised Steps for deliberately not conforming to current musical trends and for sticking to their original sound but with a modern feel. Within twelve hours of release, it reached number one on the iTunes Store in the United Kingdom, and debuted at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Neon Blue" is a song recorded by British group Steps for their fifth studio album, Tears on the Dancefloor (2017). Written by Carl Ryden and Fiona Bevan, it was announced as the third single from the album on 20 July 2017, and subsequently released on 4 August. Musically, it is a mid-tempo pop ballad which begins with a soft piano introduction and builds into an upbeat synth track, while lyrically, it is about encouraging a downcast friend to come out and have some fun. Band member Ian "H" Watkins described "Neon Blue" as a gay anthem due to its message of coming out. It garnered a positive response from music critics, with a general consensus that it is a classic Steps song. Its accompanying music video features a man and a woman who have had bad fortune in their relationships meeting at a party in a night club and their luck turning around. "Neon Blue" was included on the set list of their eighth headlining concert tour, the Party on the Dancefloor Tour (2017).
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)