Iain Archer is a writer, producer, singer and songwriter from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Ivor Novello Award winner, winning the 2004 Album Award – Final Straw by Snow Patrol and Most Performed Work in 2016 for Grammy nominated "Hold Back the River", which he co-wrote with James Bay. Additionally, Archer was a 2013 Ivor Novello Award nominee for Best Song Musically & Lyrically – "Two Fingers" by Jake Bugg.
Francis Anthony "Eg" White is a British musician, songwriter and producer. He started his career in the cowpunk band Yip Yip Coyote in the 1980s and then formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late 1980s. In 1990, Eg White recorded the pop album 24 Years of Hunger, and then in 1992 he produced the debut, self-titled album by Kinky Machine. He turned to songwriting in 1997, winning the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2004. In 2008 White worked with Adele on three tracks. In 2009 White was awarded his second Ivor Novello Award for 'Songwriter of the Year' and in 2010 he had a second UK number 1 with the Diana Vickers single "Once", a song he wrote with Cathy Dennis. White started his own record label in 2009.
"Mercy" is a song performed by the Welsh soul singer Duffy, released as the second single from her debut studio album, Rockferry (2008). Co-written by Duffy and Steve Booker and produced by Booker, it was released worldwide in 2008 to critical acclaim and unprecedented chart success. As Duffy's first international release, the song is credited with firmly establishing her career and is now considered her signature song. "Mercy" received comparisons to Duffy's previous single, "Rockferry". Critical reviewers of "Mercy" noted similarities between the song to releases by Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield and the Supremes, as well as contemporaries such as fellow British singer Amy Winehouse.
Aimée Anne Duffy is a Welsh singer, songwriter and actress. Her music style has been described as a mixture of soul, blue-eyed soul, pop rock, neo soul and pop music.
Rockferry is the debut studio album by Welsh singer Duffy, released on 3 March 2008 in the United Kingdom by A&M Records. It was released in the United States by Mercury Records. Taking four years to record the album, Duffy worked with several producers and writers including Bernard Butler, Steve Booker, Jimmy Hogarth, and Eg White. Primarily a soul recording musically, Rockferry is composed of ballads, torch songs, and up tempo songs in the style of 1960s pop music. It was well received by music critics, who praised the record's musical and lyrical depth and occasional darkness, Duffy's vocal performance, and the record's contemporary instrumentation and production which created a warm sound. Music critics favourably compared Duffy's work on Rockferry to the music of Dusty Springfield and Duffy's contemporary Amy Winehouse.
Welsh singer and songwriter Duffy has released two studio albums, six extended plays and one extended play, seven singles and seven music videos. Her discography began with the release of one Welsh language extended play using her birth name, Aimée Duffy, and she has appeared on two soundtrack albums, as well as on a studio album by Mint Royale in 2004. Duffy's range of musical genres incorporates styles such as blue-eyed soul, pop and pop rock. Aimée Duffy, her debut extended play (EP), was released in 2004 by Welsh music label Recordiau Awen Records, following her success on the Welsh talent show WawFfactor in 2003. Following this release, a performance of Richard J. Parfitt's "Oh Boy" brought her to the attention of Duffy's former manager, Jeanette Lee of Rough Trade Records.
Steve Booker is a British music producer, songwriter and musician. His production and writing credits include Illenium feat. Tori Kelly "Blame Myself" and the international No.1 singles; John Newman's "Love Me Again" for which Booker was nominated for the 2014 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically and Duffy's "Mercy" for which Booker won the Ivor Novello Award for most performed work. Prior to becoming a producer Booker was a singer-songwriter who released two solo albums – "Dreamworld" (1990) and the 1996 mini-album "A Far Cry From Here".
This is a summary of 2009 in music in the United Kingdom.
Jamie Hartman is an English songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles, CA, and the former lead singer of the indie-pop band Ben's Brother.
