Saffron (singer)

Last updated
Saffron
Republica live at San Antonio, TX in Dec 1996.jpg
Saffron performing with Republica in San Antonio, Texas in 1996
Background information
Birth nameSamantha Marie Sprackling
Also known asSaffron
Born (1968-06-03) 3 June 1968 (age 56)
Lagos, Nigeria
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actress
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • tambourine
  • guitar
Years active1989–present

Samantha Marie Sprackling (born 3 June 1968), [1] known professionally as Saffron, is an English singer, songwriter, actress and the lead singer of the musical group Republica. She also performs solo and appeared in London's Starlight Express onstage for two years.

Contents

Early life and career

Samantha Sprackling was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to an English father and Portuguese mother of part Chinese ancestry and grew up in Brixton, South London, England. [2] [3] When she was 18, Sprackling passed an audition for Arlene Phillips for a part in the musical Starlight Express . [3] [4]

Sprackling began singing with N-Joi (their featured vocalist on their 1990 single, "Anthem"), the Shamen, and Jah Wobble. [5] She appeared in the music video for the Chesney Hawkes 1991 hit, "The One and Only", and as a dancer in the music video for N-Joi's single "Mindflux". Saffron then had a brief career as a solo artist, with one of her singles – a cover of Atlantic Starr's "Circles" – charting at #60 in the UK in 1993.

Republica

Sprackling met Republica keyboard players Tim Dorney and Andy Todd by 1994, and they started writing songs after recruiting a guitarist and drummer. [6] Republica released two albums and disbanded in 2001 after their record label, Deconstruction Records, collapsed. [3]

In 2010, Republica reformed and released a re-recording of their 1996 hit "Ready to Go" on 7 June 2010. During early October and November 2014, Republica toured the United Kingdom in support of the Boomtown Rats "Ratlife" tour.

Other work

Sprackling worked with the Cure, appearing on the track "Just Say Yes". She had previously featured on the Prodigy's cover of L7's "Fuel My Fire" (from their 1997 album, The Fat of the Land ); [3] Deepsky's "Smile" (from the 2002 album, In Silico ); Jeff Beck's "Pork-U-Pine" (from the 2003 album, Jeff ) and Junkie XL's songs, "Crusher", "Spirits", and "Beauty Never Fades" (from his 2003 album, Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin ).

On 13 November 2015, Saffron performed a solo show at the 100 Club, London. She performed with guitarist Darren Beale and fellow singer Mel Sanson. She continues to tour both with Republica and with her solo show, which incorporates special guests.

In April 2016, Saffron assembled a full solo band consisting of Tony Feedback (Angelic Upstarts, Sham 69, Urban Dogs, UK Subs) on guitar, Piers Gielgud (Meat Beat Manifesto) on bass, Brad Walkhouse on saxophone/horns and Josh Collins (Reverbed) on drums. The lineup also occasionally includes Darren Beale (Boomtown Rats) on guitar. The band debuted at Polyfest 3 playing a mix of X-ray Spex classics and Republica hits.

In June 2022 Saffron took part in the Electric Ladies tour along with Toyah and Lene Lovich. A proportion of the income from the tour went towards Hazel O'Connor to help her ongoing recovery from ill health. [7]

Saffron now works as a mental health nurse as well as continuing to perform with Republica and as a solo artist. [8]

Discography

Solo singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republica</span> English alternative rock band

Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. They reached the height of their popularity from 1996 to 1999. The band went on hiatus in 2001 and reunited in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toyah Willcox</span> English singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter (born 1958)

Toyah Ann Willcox is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays and 10 feature films, and voiced and presented numerous television shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Boomtown Rats</span> Irish rock band

The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock/new wave band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line-up comprised six musicians; five from Dún Laoghaire in County Dublin; Gerry Cott, Simon Crowe (drums), Johnnie Fingers (keyboards), Bob Geldof (vocals) and Garry Roberts, plus Fingers' cousin Pete Briquette (bass). The Boomtown Rats broke up in 1986, but reformed in 2013, without Fingers or Cott. Garry Roberts died in 2022. The band's fame and notability have been overshadowed by the charity work of frontman Bob Geldof, a former journalist with the New Musical Express.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina Hagen</span> German singer, songwriter, and actress

Catharina "Nina" Hagen is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rise to prominence during the punk and Neue Deutsche Welle movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as "The Godmother of German Punk".

<i>Flex</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Lene Lovich

Flex is the second studio album by English-American singer-songwriter Lene Lovich, released in January 1980 by Stiff Records. The album is produced by Lovich and Les Chappell with additional production by Roger Bechirian and Alan Winstanley. It was recorded at the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands. She worked with Chappell and Judge Smith on writing the songs.

Joi Cardwell is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she performed in various singing competitions as a child and rose to fame in the early 1990s as a guest vocalist for Lil Louis on the number 1 Dance singles "Club Lonely" and "Saved My Life". The release of Cardwell's debut album, The World Is Full of Trouble (1995), established her as a solo artist worldwide and featured the Billboard Dance top-five singles number-one singles "Jump for Joi" and "Love & Devotion". Her second album, Joi Cardwell (1997), spawned the top-charting singles "Soul to Bare", "Run to You", and "Found Love".

Jade is an American girl group, formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1991, whose original line-up comprised Joi Marshall, Tonya Kelly, and Di Reed. They are best known for their hit singles "I Wanna Love You", "Don't Walk Away", "One Woman", and "Every Day of the Week".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Roberts</span> Irish guitarist and sound engineer (1950–2022)

Garrick Roberts was an Irish musician best known as the lead guitarist with The Boomtown Rats, a band which came into being in 1976. He and Johnnie Fingers (Moylett) had decided to put a band together and, between them, they recruited the other four members, Pete Briquette (bass), Gerry Cott (guitar), Simon Crowe (drums), and singer Bob Geldof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judge Smith</span> Musical artist

Christopher John Judge Smith is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been known simply as Judge Smith since 1994. After Van der Graaf Generator, he has written songs, stage musicals and operas, and from the early 1990s on he has released a number of solo CDs, including three "Songstories".

<i>Stateless</i> (Lene Lovich album) 1978 studio album by Lene Lovich

Stateless is the debut studio album by English-American singer Lene Lovich. It was released in October 1978 by Stiff Records and produced by Lene Lovich and Les Chappell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Like Mondays</span> 1979 single by the Boomtown Rats

"I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by Irish new wave group the Boomtown Rats about the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from their third album, The Fine Art of Surfacing. The song was a number-one single in the UK Singles Chart for four weeks during the summer of 1979, and ranks as the sixth-biggest hit of the UK in 1979. Written by Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers, the piano ballad was the band's second single to reach number one on the UK chart.

<i>New Toy</i> 1981 EP by Lene Lovich

New Toy is the first extended play by English-American singer-songwriter Lene Lovich released in 1981 by Stiff Records. It was released outside the United Kingdom in three different versions, one featured six new songs, while the other two contained songs from her previous albums, Stateless (1978) and Flex (1979).

Ron François is a British musician, who first came to notice as the lead singer and bass player of the English R&B band The Strutters, which was involved in the London pub rock scene of the mid-1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Crowe</span> Musical artist

Simon Crowe is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the Irish new wave band The Boomtown Rats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosie Vanier</span> British musician

Rosie Vanier is a British singer and keyboard player from Cornwall. She was a founding member and the front woman of Rosie and the Goldbug; following the break-up of the band in 2009, she embarked on a solo career, and went on to form the trio Lightknife in 2014.

<i>Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits</i> 2013 greatest hits album by The Boomtown Rats

Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits is the fifth greatest hits album by Irish band The Boomtown Rats. It was released by Virgin EMI on 9 September 2013. The album was announced in June 2013 along with news of the band's UK and Ireland tour. Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits is the first album to be released since The Boomtown Rats reunited and the band's first greatest hits album since 2003's The Best of The Boomtown Rats. The album contains fourteen of the group's singles, as well as two new tracks, "The Boomtown Rats" and "Back To Boomtown". The digital version of the album features two additional songs. Following its release, Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits debuted at number thirty-five on the Irish Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lene Lovich</span> American singer (born 1949)

Lili-Marlene Premilovich, known professionally as Lene Lovich, is an American-British singer. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and made her a leading figure of the new wave music scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Bradford (musician)</span> British musician and songwriter

Christopher Michael Bradford is a British musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and songwriter in the British rock band The Heroes, and member of the singer songwriting trio, Bardot.

<i>Citizens of Boomtown</i> 2020 studio album by The Boomtown Rats

Citizens of Boomtown is the seventh studio album by Irish band The Boomtown Rats, released on 13 March 2020 via BMG. It is the band's first album since 1984's In the Long Grass, and the first album to be recorded as four-piece band, as the keyboardist Johnnie Fingers didn't return when the band was reunited in 2013. It is also the last album to feature longtime guitarist Garry Roberts who died on November 8, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toyah Willcox discography</span>

The discography of English musician Toyah Willcox includes releases as part of the band Toyah and as a solo artist, for which she has carried on releasing music credited as Toyah. It also includes Willcox's one-off collaborations with other artists. However, for the discography of The Humans, see § Discography.

References

  1. ↑ "Samantha Sprackling personal appointments - Find and update company information". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Saffron's Wild About Me; I'm Just Wild About Saffron". The Mirror. 2 May 1997. Retrieved 27 June 2024– via The Free Library.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jupp, Emily (11 March 2013). "Electronica's siren is back – with kung fu moves". The Independent. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  4. ↑ "The facts behind the Starlight". BBC News. 11 January 2002. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  5. ↑ "Saffron - Drop Dead Gorgeous". Nicola Greenbrook. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  6. ↑ "Republica | Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Electric Ladies Tour 2022 Update – Toyah, Lene Lovich & Saffron Of Republica". Toyah. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  8. ↑ Borrows, Bill (10 February 2022). "Popular '90s lead singer with huge hits now frontline mental health keyworker". The Mirror. Retrieved 18 April 2023.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.