Shara Nelson

Last updated

Shara Nelson
Born1965 (age 5960)
London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1983–present
Labels
Website sharanelson.com

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.

Contents

Career

Early work

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.

1990s

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.

2000s

2010s

2020s

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.

Discography

Studio albums
Collaborations and rare

Awards and nominations

References

  1. "Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack - Songfacts". Songfacts.com.
  2. "Rocklist.net...UK BBC Radio Lists..." Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 February 2007.
  3. "bbc – radio 2 – sold on song – song library – top 100 – number 44 – unfinished sympathy". BBC . Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Official Charts > Shara Nelson". The Official UK Charts Company . Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  5. "What Silence Knows" . Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  6. "Mercury Prize". Mercuryprize.com.
  7. "Presence Featuring Shara Nelson – Sense of Danger". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  8. Hastings, Rob (12 August 2011). "DJ Pete Tong gets restraining order against singer Shara Nelson". The Independent .
  9. Stanley, Bob (23 August 2011). "Shara Nelson: a rare talent who needs help not condemnation". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  10. "Kerry Ellis supports Team Badger - News | Kerry Ellis Web". 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  11. "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 17 February 1996. p. 58 via Google Books.