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Shara Nelson | |
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| Born | 1965 (age 58–59) London, England |
| Genres | Pop, dance, soul, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Labels | On-U Sound, Unit 7, Virgin, Cooltempo |
| Website | sharanelson |
Shara Nelson (born 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She worked with Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and as a solo artist had five UK top 40 hit singles. Her 1993 debut album, What Silence Knows , was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize.
Nelson's first release was the 1983 single "Aiming at Your Heart", which was credited to Shara Nelson & The Circuit. She then released her debut solo single, "Can't Get Over You", in 1986 under the name "Shara". Nelson released two further solo singles in the 1980s, "Standing Invitation" as Sharon Nelson and "Love's Hit You" as Shara Nelson. In the late 1980s, she began working with the Bristol-based DJ/production team The Wild Bunch, from who a spin-off production team/crew would form, named Massive Attack.
Nelson's first release with Massive Attack was the single "Daydreaming" in 1990. As well as providing vocals, Nelson also co-wrote songs with Massive Attack, including the hit single "Unfinished Sympathy" which was included on the group's debut album, Blue Lines , in 1991. The single peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart and has been widely critically acclaimed, particularly in polls conducted by MTV2 and NME . [1] [2] A reviewer for the BBC said: "More than a decade after its release it remains one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by Bacharach or a melody by McCartney." [3] In total, Nelson co-wrote and provided vocals on four tracks on the Blue Lines album, including another hit single, "Safe From Harm" (UK No. 25). Nelson recorded another track with Massive Attack entitled "Just A Matter of Time", which was exclusively included in a short film of the same name, by Massive Attack.
In July 1993, Nelson restarted her solo career with the hit single "Down That Road" which peaked at No. 19 on the UK Singles Chart. [4] The single was released on Cooltempo Records and both Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne were involved in remixing the track. Nelson's debut album, What Silence Knows , was released in September 1993. Produced and mixed by Mike Peden, it peaked at No.22 on the UK album chart, [4] and was later certified Gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. [5] Nelson co-wrote all of the songs on the album, which included co-writes with Prince Be of P.M. Dawn, and Saint Etienne. Further singles from the album included "One Goodbye in Ten" (UK No. 21), "Uptight" (UK No. 19) and "Inside Out" (UK No. 34). [4]
The album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize for Best Album in 1994. [6] Also in 1994, Nelson was nominated for "Best British Female Solo Artist" and "Best British Breakthrough Act" at the Brit Awards.[ citation needed ]
Nelson's second album, Friendly Fire , again produced by Mike Peden, was released in 1995, and contained the hit "Rough with the Smooth" which peaked at No.30 in the UK. [4] The album was less successful than her previous release, and peaked at No.44 in the UK. [4] She was again nominated for "Best British Female Solo Artist" at the 1996 BRIT Awards.[ citation needed ]
In 1997, Nelson contributed to Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project , performing the song "Moonraker" which had originally been sung by Shirley Bassey.[ citation needed ]
In 1998, Nelson collaborated with Charles Webster's Presence project and released the single "Sense of Danger" which peaked at No. 61 in the UK Singles Chart. [7] The track was included on the Presence album All Systems Gone which was released in early 1999, along with another track with Nelson on vocals entitled "Matter of Fact".
Also in 1999, Nelson collaborated with Air Cuba and released the single "Black Island" on the 4AD label. She also collaborated with the UK artists BLIM and Chris Carter as Kasha on the track "U" which was released as a 12" single.
In 2002, Nelson released a track entitled "Realise", which was remixed and included on the mix compilation album 4 Vini: Forever Young.
In 2003, Nelson collaborated with Adrian Sherwood on the track "Hari Up Hari", which was released as a 12" single. Sherwood was the founder of On-U Sound Records which released Nelson's first record 20 years earlier. Also in 2003, Nelson collaborated with Futurasound on the track "Right Now".
In 2004, Nelson released her first solo single since 1996, the song "Nobody Else". Other tracks released around this time were "Push Me Away" with 10th Planet and "Say My Name" with Little Axe.
In December 2007, Nelson was featured on a new single by NUfrequency entitled "Go That Deep", which included a remix by Charles Webster. Doug Wimbish released an album CinemaSonics on Yellowbird in 2008, where Nelson contributed on a song "I Wanna Know" as a co-writer and a vocalist.
In 2011, DJ Pete Tong filed a restraining order against Nelson. She was found guilty of harassing Tong with nuisance calls, falsely claiming she had married him. She was given a 12-month community order and 80 hours of community service. [8] [9]
Several new tracks have been posted on Nelson's official website, including "Promise to You", "Different" and "If". In February 2012, NUFrequency released their debut album Connected, which includes a new extended version of "Go That Deep" featuring Shara Nelson. A newly remixed and remastered version of Massive Attack's Blue Lines was released in 2012. The album features Nelson on four songs, including the classics "Unfinished Sympathy" and "Safe From Harm". In September 2012, Nelson performed live for the first time in many years, sparking further rumours of an imminent comeback in 2013. She performed her hit "Unfinished Sympathy" (originally with Massive Attack) at the concert in aid of Cool Earth produced by Angelica Campion-Armstrong.
Nelson contributed vocals to the track "Badger Swagger" by The Artful Badger in May 2013. The song was made in support of Team Badger and the "Stop The Cull" petition and was released in June 2013. [10]
Summer 2014 brought the release of a new single called "Promised", again in collaboration with NUfrequency. It was recorded in 2010 and released on Rebirth as a limited hand-stamped white label coloured 10" vinyl. In December 2014, Nelson contributed to "The Peace Collective" with her vocals appearing on the charity single "All Together Now". Other contributors include David Gray and Holly Johnson.
Nelson, Britton and John Power wrote and recorded the title track, "Looking", for the film Anti-Social . Nelson released a single on 27 April 2018 called "Looking (Meghan Markle's Theme)".
Nelson is the featured vocalist on Charles Webster's single "This Is Real", released in October 2020. Nelson and Webster had collaborated together before on the Presence album and NUFrequency remixes. In 2022 a remix of the track – This Is Real (Dazzle Drums Mix) – was released on vinyl and digital release.
Nelson is currently continuing work in the studio with Simon Britton and various collaborators for her next solo album, with the first single due in 2024.[ citation needed ]
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
Blue Lines is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 8 April 1991 by Wild Bunch and Virgin Records. The recording was led by members Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, and Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles, with co-production by Jonny Dollar. It also features contributions by singers Shara Nelson and Horace Andy. Generally regarded as the first "trip hop" album, Blue Lines blended elements of hip hop with dub, soul, reggae, and electronic music.
Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The band is led by singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. They have released thirteen studio albums, spanning from Picture Book (1985) through Time (2023), all of which have peaked within the top ten on the UK Albums Chart; with the albums A New Flame (1989), Stars (1991), Life (1995) and Blue (1998), along with their Greatest Hits (1996) album, reaching number one. Their 1991 album Stars is one of the best-selling albums in the United Kingdom.
Eternal are a British R&B group formed in 1992, with the line-up originally consisting of sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, with Kéllé Bryan and the latter's friend and classmate Louise Nurding, who were also recruited into the group by the label.
"Unfinished Sympathy" is a song by the English trip hop group Massive Attack. It was released on 11 February 1991 under the temporary group name Massive. The song was written by the three band members Robert "3D" Del Naja, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, the song's vocalist Shara Nelson and the group's co-producer Jonathan "Jonny Dollar" Sharp. It was released on 11 February 1991 as the second single from the band's first album, Blue Lines (1991), on the band's Wild Bunch label distributed by Circa Records. The name "Massive" was used to avoid a radio ban, as the track's release coincided with the Gulf War. Produced by Massive Attack and Dollar, the song incorporates various musical elements into its arrangement, including vocal and percussion samples, drum programming and string orchestration by the arranger Wil Malone.
"Safe from Harm" is the third single and opening track from Blue Lines, the 1991 debut album from British trip hop collective Massive Attack, with vocals by Shara Nelson and Robert Del Naja. It was released in May 1991 by Virgin Records. The bass, guitar, and drums are sampled from the song "Stratus" by Billy Cobham, from his album Spectrum. Additional drums are sampled from "Good Old Music" by Funkadelic. Other samples come from Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon", and some of the background vocals are based on Johnny "Guitar" Watson's 1961 song Looking Back.
"Teardrop" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack. Vocals are performed by Elizabeth Fraser, former lead singer of Cocteau Twins, who also wrote the lyrics. It was released on 27 April 1998 by Circa and Virgin as the second single from the group's third studio album, Mezzanine (1998). A harpsichord-driven track, "Teardrop" was originally set to feature vocals from Madonna, whom Massive Attack turned down in favour of Fraser.
Adam Richard Wiles, known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut studio album, I Created Disco, was released in June 2007. Its singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls" both reached the top 10 in the UK. In 2009, he released his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and whose lead single, "I'm Not Alone", became his first song to top the UK Singles Chart.
Steven Dante is a British soul singer and songwriter, who had several singles released in the 1980s on the Cooltempo label. His only solo album, Find Out, was released on Chrysalis in 1988. It peaked at #87 in the UK Albums Chart in September 1988. He has also collaborated with several house producers, providing vocals for John "Jellybean" Benitez, D Mob and Lighthouse Family. "The Real Thing", released in 1987 with Jellybean, reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart, and was a US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart number-one single. It was included on Jellybean's album Just Visiting This Planet.
What Silence Knows is the debut solo album by English singer Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 on Cooltempo Records. It includes five singles which reached the UK Singles Chart: "Down That Road", "One Goodbye in Ten", "Inside Out", "Uptight" and "Nobody". The album peaked at No. 22 on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.
"Down That Road" is a song by British singer-songwriter Shara Nelson, released July 1993 on Cooltempo Records as the debut single from her first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993). The song was written by Nelson with Attrell Cordes and produced by Michael Peden. It peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as number one on the European Dance Radio Chart, and also became a top-20 hit on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The accompanying music video sees the singer performing the song on a beach.
"One Goodbye in Ten" is a song by British singer-songwriter Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 by Cooltempo as the second single from the singer's first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993). Written by her with British band Saint Etienne and produced by Michael Peden, the song received critical acclaim and peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, it was a top-30 hit in Austria and a top-50 hit in the Netherlands.
"Inside Out" is a song by British singer and songwriter Shara Nelson, released in November 1993 on Cooltempo Records as the third single from her first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993). In August 1994, it was re-released as part of a remix single with "Down That Road". The song, which was co-written by Nelson, peaked at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart and number ten on the UK Dance Singles Chart. A music video was also produced to promote the single.
"Nobody" is a song by British singer-songwriter Shara Nelson, released in May 1994 as the fifth single from her first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993), through Cooltempo Records. The song peaked at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart and number 16 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
The British singer and songwriter Shara Nelson made three studio albums and 19 singles between 1983 and 2008, in addition to compilations, videos, EPs and other works.
Rebecca Claire "Becky" Hill is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after appearing on the first series of The Voice UK, auditioning with John Legend's "Ordinary People". She joined Jessie J's team and reached the semi-final of the competition.
John William Peter Newman is an English singer, songwriter, musician, DJ, composer and record producer. He is best known for the track "Love Me Again" which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in July 2013 and appeared in FIFA 14, as well as co-writing and singing on Rudimental's 2012 singles "Feel the Love" and "Not Giving In", which peaked at number one and number 14 on the chart, respectively. In 2014, he featured in the Calvin Harris single "Blame", which also topped the UK charts.
All Systems Gone is a 1999 album by Presence, a project from producer Charles Webster featuring vocalists Shara Nelson and Sara Jay, both of whom had previously worked with Massive Attack, and Steve Edwards, formerly a member of Cloud 9, released on the Pagan label in the UK.
David Orobosa Michael Omoregie, known professionally as Dave or Santan Dave, is a British rapper and actor. He is known for his socially conscious lyricism and wordplay.
Rachel Agatha Keen, known professionally as Raye, is an English singer and songwriter. Her debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues (2023) was released independently to critical and commercial success, and won Album of the Year at the 2024 BRIT Awards. Among five other awards for which she was a recipient, RAYE broke the record for most wins and nominations received at the ceremony in a single year.
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