Lauren Mayberry

Last updated

Lauren Mayberry
CHVRCHES @ Hollywood Palladium 12 18 2021 (51784146523).jpg
Mayberry performing at the Hollywood Palladium with Chvrches, 2021
Background information
Birth nameLauren Eve Mayberry
Born (1987-10-07) 7 October 1987 (age 36)
Thornhill, Stirling, Scotland [1] [2]
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • musician
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
  • drums
  • percussion
Years active2003–present
Member of Chvrches
Formerly of
  • Blue Sky Archives
  • Boyfriend/Girlfriend
Website chvrch.es laurenmayberry.co.uk

Lauren Eve Mayberry (born 7 October 1987) is a Scottish singer, musician and songwriter. She is the vocalist and percussionist of the Scottish pop band Chvrches. [9] In Chvrches, Mayberry co-writes and co-produces the songs with Iain Cook and Martin Doherty, and sings as the lead vocalist. She also plays drums and keyboards. Mayberry is a soprano. [10] [11] [12] [13]

Contents

Early life and education

Mayberry was born in 1987 in Thornhill, Stirling. She has played the piano since she was a child and drums since she was a teenager. [14]

Mayberry attended Beaconhurst School (now known as Fairview International School) a private school in Bridge of Allan. She also lived in Gladstone, Illinois, as a foreign-exchange student. [15] After completing a four-year undergraduate law degree at the University of Strathclyde, she earned a master's degree in journalism in 2010. [16] [17] This led her into a career in freelance journalism and production running. From 2009 to 2010 she was a contributor [18] to the UK music website The Line of Best Fit .

Musical career

From age 15 until 22, she played drums in various bands. [19] Prior to Chvrches, Mayberry was involved in two local bands, Boyfriend/Girlfriend and Blue Sky Archives. [19] In Blue Sky Archives, she was a vocalist and played the drums and keyboards. [19] As a member of Blue Sky Archives, Mayberry also covered the Rage Against the Machine song "Killing in the Name" which was released as a single. [20]

In September 2011, Iain Cook of Aereogramme and The Unwinding Hours produced Blue Sky Archives' Triple A-Side EP. [19] Cook started a new project with his friend Martin Doherty and asked Mayberry to sing on a couple of demos. [17] They wrote together for seven or eight months in a basement studio in Glasgow. [19] Cook, Mayberry and Doherty decided to form a new band after the sessions proved to be successful. [17] The band chose the name Chvrches, using a Roman "v" to distinguish themselves from actual churches on internet searches. [17]

In 2013, the band signed to Glassnote Records after releasing the tracks "Lies" and "The Mother We Share" in 2012. [21] Their debut EP, Recover , was released in 2013. [22] The band released their debut album, The Bones of What You Believe , on 20 September 2013. [23]

Mayberry has collaborated with artists such as Marshmello, [24] Death Cab For Cutie, [25] Bleachers, The National, [26] the lead singer of Paramore, Hayley Williams, [27] and The Cure's frontman, Robert Smith. [28]

In 2023, it was announced that Mayberry would be releasing solo material for the first time, which would be accompanied by a US and European/UK tour later in the year. [29] She released her debut solo single, "Are You Awake?", on 1 September 2023. [30] This was followed by the single "Shame" on 10 October 2023.

Activism and philanthropy

Mayberry performing with Chvrches at The Greek theatre in Griffith Park, Los Angeles in September 2018 Chvrches 09 23 2018 -2 (46669331252).jpg
Mayberry performing with Chvrches at The Greek theatre in Griffith Park, Los Angeles in September 2018

Feminism and women's rights

Mayberry is a vocal feminist and is the founder of TYCI, a feminist collective in Glasgow. [31] Her ongoing work with the organisation includes written contributions to the online magazine and blog, and she can be heard regularly on TYCI podcasts. [32] The group also holds live events, raising money for charities like Glasgow Women's Aid. [33]

In September 2013, Mayberry wrote an article for The Guardian in response to misogynist messages she received online. [34] She wrote:

What I do not accept ... is that it is all right for people to make comments ranging from 'a bit sexist but generally harmless' to openly sexually aggressive. That it is something that 'just happens'. Is the casual sexual objectification of women so commonplace that we should all just suck it up, roll over and accept defeat? I hope not. Objectification, whatever its form, is not something anyone should have to 'just deal with'.

She discussed the issue again in a Talks at Google session in 2014 [35] and on Channel 4 News , following aggressive responses to the band's video for "Leave a Trace". [36]

Mayberry is a patron of Rape Crisis Glasgow [37] and has been involved with other organisations such as Water Aid, [38] The Yellow Bird Project, [39] Wild Aid [40] and Plus 1, [41] donating a portion of Chvrches' ticket sales to Amnesty International. She has also been involved with Glasgow's Rock School For Girls [42] and Amy Poehler's Smart Girls. [43]

In 2015, Mayberry wrote about an abusive personal relationship for Jenni Konner and Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter. [44] In December 2016, Mayberry took part in a fundraiser show with Carly Rae Jepsen, Lorde and Charli XCX for the Ally Coalition, [45] an organisation started by Jack Antonoff to raise money for homeless LGBT youth. [46]

United States politics

Mayberry has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration and has attributed his presidency with the rise of global activism for social issues, calling him "an unpunished sexual predator in office." [47] Referring to the mixed reaction by the crowd to a Trump joke she told at a concert, Mayberry said "you can't say you don't think he's a racist. You can't say you don't think he's a sexist. You can't say you don't think he's transphobic and homophobic, 'cause he has shown us who he is." [48]

Mayberry is a staunch advocate for gun control in the United States. Following the Sutherland Springs church shooting, Mayberry released a video on her Twitter account criticising President Trump's response, arguing that "it’s somewhere on the scale from ironic to disgustingly hypocritical that Donald Trump is talking about mental health with regards to this attack when his administration has done nothing but try to restrict access to help get care for people who need it the most". She further recounted her memory of the Dunblane massacre in which 16 children and one teacher were murdered with handguns, resulting in sweeping gun control legislation in the UK. Mayberry credits these efforts with substantially decreasing the number of mass shootings in the UK. [49]

Personal life

As of 2020, Mayberry lived in Los Angeles. [50]

Mayberry and actor Justin Long have engaged in multiple philanthropic activities together, including hosting a holiday variety show charity fundraiser at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles [51] and travelling together to Nicaragua to visit a women's shelter. [52] In May 2018, The Guardian identified Long as Mayberry's boyfriend. [53] Mayberry subsequently suggested that these claims were false. [54] In September 2018, People reported that Long had split from Mayberry, "whom he began dating in 2016". [55] During an interview with Rolling Stone in October 2018, Mayberry indicated that she was single. [56]

In 2019, Mayberry met her current boyfriend, Sam Stewart when his band Lo Moon was opening for CHVRCHES. [57] [58] Sam is the son of Eurythmics member Dave Stewart. [59]

Discography

Mayberry performing with Chvrches at Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles, 2016 Chvrches 10-03-2016 -8 (29870392660).jpg
Mayberry performing with Chvrches at Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles, 2016
Solo
With Boyfriend/Girlfriend [60]
With Blue Sky Archives
With Chvrches

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References

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  2. ↑ Jamieson, Teddy (21 April 2013). "Past experience helps Chvrches handle the hype". The Herald . Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Sharples, Grant (19 October 2021). "Chvrches brings pop horror to the House of Blues". Boston.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Varga, George (9 December 2021). "Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches got emotional at her first concert of 2021, but it wasn't by her band: 'I wept!'". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  5. ↑ Scott, Kate (10 May 2019). "Chvrches Are Still The Rulers Of Electropop". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  6. ↑ Cleary, Andrea (27 August 2021). "Chvrches: Screen Violence review – A small step up". The Irish Times . Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "ABOUT - Blue Sky Archives". 22 October 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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  24. ↑ "Marshmello releases new single in collaboration with Chvrches and Lauren Mayberry as main vocalist: Watch - Marshmello". 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
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  26. ↑ Live Nation TV (3 December 2015). "The National ft. Lauren Mayberry Perform "I Need My Girl" at Treasure Island Music Festival" . Retrieved 15 February 2017– via YouTube.
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  33. ↑ "Sleater-Kinney // Glasgow Women's Aid Collection – TYCI". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
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  35. ↑ Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES: "Music, Gender and Social Media" | Talks at Google , retrieved 4 January 2020
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  38. ↑ "Chvrches help WaterAid transform lives with new limited-edition water bottle - Press releases - WaterAid UK" . Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  39. ↑ "CHVRCHES". Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
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  41. ↑ "+1+1+1+1+1+1" . Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  42. ↑ "Rock'n'Roll Summer School for Girls Glasgow". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  43. ↑ Staff, SmartGirls (16 May 2016). "Smart Snacks: Lauren Mayberry on Cyberbullying" . Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  44. ↑ "Lauren Mayberry Pens Essay On Abusive Relationship For Lena Dunham's Newsletter". 27 October 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  45. ↑ "The Ally Coalition" . Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  46. ↑ "Lorde, Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX & Others Come Out for Ally Coalition Talent Show". Billboard . 13 December 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  47. ↑ Helen Meriel Thomas (30 April 2018). "Chvrches' Lauren Mayberry praises rise in global activism against Trump presidency". NME . Retrieved 25 July 2018.
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  49. ↑ Jones, Damian (6 November 2017). "Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry hits out at Donald Trump over Texas shooting". NME .
  50. ↑ Bonnar, Myles (8 May 2020). "Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry on lockdown life in LA". BBC News. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  51. ↑ "CHVRCHES' Lauren Mayberry and Justin Long Host A Night Of Laughs, Music And Charitable Giving". Forbes . 14 December 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  52. ↑ Drew Sutton (25 June 2017). "next steps". Vimeo . Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  53. ↑ Mossman, Kate (20 May 2018). "Chvrches: 'It only takes two seconds to say: I don't agree with white supremacy'". TheGuardian.com . Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  54. ↑ "It's OK, CHVRCHES Doesn't Actually Believe Love Is Dead". Lenny Letter. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  55. ↑ Fernandez, Alexia (13 September 2018). "Drew Barrymore and Ex Justin Long Spotted Together in NYC: Report". People. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  56. ↑ Exposito, Suzy (14 October 2018). "Chvrches Share Metallica, Pearl Jam Impressions in Rolling Stone Morning Sessions" (Interview). Rolling Stone . Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  57. ↑ Mossman, Kate (20 April 2024). "Chvrches' Lauren Mayberry: 'I was fixated with death… I needed to live in reality'". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  58. ↑ Lauren Mayberry | Couples Therapy, 25 October 2022, retrieved 19 November 2022
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  60. ↑ "Boyfriend / Girlfriend's Albums | Stream Online Music Albums | Listen Free on Myspace". 11 May 2022. Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
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