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Tracey Thorn: the shy torch singer now turns to prose Tracey Thorn: the shy torch singer now turns to prose
(about 11 hours later)
For those who live elsewhere, Hull might well mean John Prescott or, perhaps, the docks. To others, of a more melancholy bent, the city means the poet Philip Larkin, who worked at the university library for many years. And perhaps, depending on their age, it might also mean Tracey Thorn, the soulful songwriter and singer who studied English at the campus and also expressed herself in an austere verse style.For those who live elsewhere, Hull might well mean John Prescott or, perhaps, the docks. To others, of a more melancholy bent, the city means the poet Philip Larkin, who worked at the university library for many years. And perhaps, depending on their age, it might also mean Tracey Thorn, the soulful songwriter and singer who studied English at the campus and also expressed herself in an austere verse style.
Thorn, who has come back to solo music-making in the last few years, has written a memoir, Bedsit Disco Queen, published next month, and has recently found a new audience – both for her songs and for her beguiling Twitter comments. "Tracey was born knowing her own mind," Ben Watt, her musician husband, told the Observer this weekend. "I think she is half wallflower and half freedom fighter."Thorn, who has come back to solo music-making in the last few years, has written a memoir, Bedsit Disco Queen, published next month, and has recently found a new audience – both for her songs and for her beguiling Twitter comments. "Tracey was born knowing her own mind," Ben Watt, her musician husband, told the Observer this weekend. "I think she is half wallflower and half freedom fighter."
Whether chronicling her domestic thoughts or battling against wrongs, Thorn is fully engaged with the world. On 2 January, she told her 35,000 followers that she was listening to Watt singing Pretty Woman in their kitchen and wondering if he was going "to attempt the growl" that Roy Orbison trademarked. "Readers, I can confirm that he did," she updated. Her 2010 album, Love and Its Opposite, received critical acclaim and was what she described as "a record about the person I am now and the people around me… about real life after 40."Whether chronicling her domestic thoughts or battling against wrongs, Thorn is fully engaged with the world. On 2 January, she told her 35,000 followers that she was listening to Watt singing Pretty Woman in their kitchen and wondering if he was going "to attempt the growl" that Roy Orbison trademarked. "Readers, I can confirm that he did," she updated. Her 2010 album, Love and Its Opposite, received critical acclaim and was what she described as "a record about the person I am now and the people around me… about real life after 40."
At the height of the success of Everything But the Girl, the duo she formed in Hull with Watt, their music vibrated with student disillusionment and thwarted love. While Larkin had described Hull's "fishy smelling/ pastoral of ships up streets, the slave museum/ tattoo shops, consulates, grim head-scarved wives", Watt and Thorn's songs spoke to a whole generation of undergraduates, with their plaintive talk of the harm "done by just two minutes spent on the phone".At the height of the success of Everything But the Girl, the duo she formed in Hull with Watt, their music vibrated with student disillusionment and thwarted love. While Larkin had described Hull's "fishy smelling/ pastoral of ships up streets, the slave museum/ tattoo shops, consulates, grim head-scarved wives", Watt and Thorn's songs spoke to a whole generation of undergraduates, with their plaintive talk of the harm "done by just two minutes spent on the phone".
The couple had named their band after a sign outside a furniture shop in Hull that suggested it would supply all customers bedroom needs, except the love interest. In 1984, when their first album, Eden, came out, EBTG hit the big time on the tide of new jazz that swept the music industry. As svelte singers, such as Sade, adopted sophisticated poses at the top of the charts, Thorn's voice penetrated the fashion of the day to communicate with delicate young souls.The couple had named their band after a sign outside a furniture shop in Hull that suggested it would supply all customers bedroom needs, except the love interest. In 1984, when their first album, Eden, came out, EBTG hit the big time on the tide of new jazz that swept the music industry. As svelte singers, such as Sade, adopted sophisticated poses at the top of the charts, Thorn's voice penetrated the fashion of the day to communicate with delicate young souls.
Her solo songs today are just as poignant, but her subjects have changed as she has approached her middle age as the mother of teenagers. Larkin's famously bleak injunction  – "don't have any kids yourself" – now finds a compassionate echo in Thorn's song Oh, the Divorces! about the misery she has observed among couples with children who are splitting up.Her solo songs today are just as poignant, but her subjects have changed as she has approached her middle age as the mother of teenagers. Larkin's famously bleak injunction  – "don't have any kids yourself" – now finds a compassionate echo in Thorn's song Oh, the Divorces! about the misery she has observed among couples with children who are splitting up.
"And each time I hear who's to part "And each time I hear who's to part
/>I examine my heart
/>See how it stands
/>Wonder if it's still in safe hands."
I examine my heart
See how it stands
Wonder if it's still in safe hands."
"That is a heartrending song," says Guardian music writer Alexis Petridis. "There is a particularly well-observed line about watching 'the afternoon handovers by the swings'." Petridis is a fan of Thorn's writing style in the new memoir too. "She is able to view the world in a way that is unflashy and never showy and she captures a real sense of the changing eras. There is an ongoing 80s music revival at the moment, but, as with anything curated, it leaves lots of things out. Tracey gives a much better picture.""That is a heartrending song," says Guardian music writer Alexis Petridis. "There is a particularly well-observed line about watching 'the afternoon handovers by the swings'." Petridis is a fan of Thorn's writing style in the new memoir too. "She is able to view the world in a way that is unflashy and never showy and she captures a real sense of the changing eras. There is an ongoing 80s music revival at the moment, but, as with anything curated, it leaves lots of things out. Tracey gives a much better picture."
Thorn's book will take readers back to the rollicking post-punk days of indie music, whether or not they lived through it themselves. Her musical story begins when, as a teenager growing up in Hertfordshire, she managed to get a record deal with the nascent Cherry Red label and so was introduced to the music industry from what Rough Trade Records' Geoff Travis recalls as the distinctly unglamorous end.Thorn's book will take readers back to the rollicking post-punk days of indie music, whether or not they lived through it themselves. Her musical story begins when, as a teenager growing up in Hertfordshire, she managed to get a record deal with the nascent Cherry Red label and so was introduced to the music industry from what Rough Trade Records' Geoff Travis recalls as the distinctly unglamorous end.
"Tracey was always a pleasure to work with," he told the Observer this weekend, adding that she was prepared to knuckle down and help during her days in her first band, Marine Girls."Tracey was always a pleasure to work with," he told the Observer this weekend, adding that she was prepared to knuckle down and help during her days in her first band, Marine Girls.
"One day she came into Rough Trade with a cake she had baked for Dan Treacy of the Television Personalities for his birthday and then she was put to work for the rest of the afternoon, sending out records or doing something like that." Later, through the offices of the A&R man Mike Alway, Travis signed both Thorn and Watt to the Blanco y Negro label. "I just love her voice," Travis explains. "It is a really underrated instrument, transmitting soul and a three-dimensional woman still sadly too rare in our musical landscape.""One day she came into Rough Trade with a cake she had baked for Dan Treacy of the Television Personalities for his birthday and then she was put to work for the rest of the afternoon, sending out records or doing something like that." Later, through the offices of the A&R man Mike Alway, Travis signed both Thorn and Watt to the Blanco y Negro label. "I just love her voice," Travis explains. "It is a really underrated instrument, transmitting soul and a three-dimensional woman still sadly too rare in our musical landscape."
Thorn's husband also remembers the first time he heard her sing. "It was Mike Alway who played me a record. 'I have this band you can listen to, the Marine Girls,' he said, and I heard Tracey's voice on it straight away, although it was quite concealed because she was not the lead singer."Thorn's husband also remembers the first time he heard her sing. "It was Mike Alway who played me a record. 'I have this band you can listen to, the Marine Girls,' he said, and I heard Tracey's voice on it straight away, although it was quite concealed because she was not the lead singer."
Watt also remembers Alway making an apt comparison. "He said hearing her voice was a bit like going out to Hackney Marshes to watch some weekend footballers and then suddenly realising you are watching Pele play." In 1981, Watt went to see Thorn perform. "I still hadn't met her then but I was a fan," he said.Watt also remembers Alway making an apt comparison. "He said hearing her voice was a bit like going out to Hackney Marshes to watch some weekend footballers and then suddenly realising you are watching Pele play." In 1981, Watt went to see Thorn perform. "I still hadn't met her then but I was a fan," he said.
The couple finally met in Hull as students. He was, she often suggests, posher than her and yet also more relaxed because he came from an arty, musical background. The two bonded over their record collections. But they also developed each other's tastes. While she liked the punky strains of Orange Juice or the Undertones, Watt was a fan of the wilder shores of pop and rock and of musicians such as Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt and Captain Beefheart.The couple finally met in Hull as students. He was, she often suggests, posher than her and yet also more relaxed because he came from an arty, musical background. The two bonded over their record collections. But they also developed each other's tastes. While she liked the punky strains of Orange Juice or the Undertones, Watt was a fan of the wilder shores of pop and rock and of musicians such as Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt and Captain Beefheart.
At first, Thorn has recalled, she mistook her future husband for an academic aesthete. Then she worked out that he had chosen his course of study entirely on the basis of finding the subjects that involved the least reading. Her feelings for Watt were only briefly threatened, it seems, by her sudden musical infatuation with Morrissey. Alway had played her the Smiths' first single, Hand in Glove, in the summer of 1983, but it was Travis, who came up to Hull with an early copy of the Smiths' debut album, who sealed the deal.At first, Thorn has recalled, she mistook her future husband for an academic aesthete. Then she worked out that he had chosen his course of study entirely on the basis of finding the subjects that involved the least reading. Her feelings for Watt were only briefly threatened, it seems, by her sudden musical infatuation with Morrissey. Alway had played her the Smiths' first single, Hand in Glove, in the summer of 1983, but it was Travis, who came up to Hull with an early copy of the Smiths' debut album, who sealed the deal.
Thorn has admitted that a period of obsessive imitation followed, before eventually, after she had managed to establish a matey correspondence with Morrissey, she and Watt developed their own sound, moving away from the jazz influences of their first album.Thorn has admitted that a period of obsessive imitation followed, before eventually, after she had managed to establish a matey correspondence with Morrissey, she and Watt developed their own sound, moving away from the jazz influences of their first album.
By the launch of the Labour party-supporting Red Wedge movement in November 1985, the duo were firmly positioned on the left wing of the music industry, appearing at a succession of fundraising gigs and rallies.By the launch of the Labour party-supporting Red Wedge movement in November 1985, the duo were firmly positioned on the left wing of the music industry, appearing at a succession of fundraising gigs and rallies.
Observer writer Sean O'Hagan, then working for the NME, accompanied the couple on a tour of Moscow following an invitation based on their political credentials. His cover story for the journal was illustrated with an image of Thorn and Watt as communist icons of the people. He says now: "Tracey was great. I expected someone very earnest because of EBTG's reputation – a group students in bedsits loved – and general right-on reputation, but she was great fun. Liked a good party and a proper late night."Observer writer Sean O'Hagan, then working for the NME, accompanied the couple on a tour of Moscow following an invitation based on their political credentials. His cover story for the journal was illustrated with an image of Thorn and Watt as communist icons of the people. He says now: "Tracey was great. I expected someone very earnest because of EBTG's reputation – a group students in bedsits loved – and general right-on reputation, but she was great fun. Liked a good party and a proper late night."
EBTG's successful albums Idlewild and The Language of Life should have marked the middle phase of the band's career, but sadly, by the mid-1990s, Thorn and Watt had to stop touring and recording for several years after Watt was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition, Churg-Strauss syndrome.EBTG's successful albums Idlewild and The Language of Life should have marked the middle phase of the band's career, but sadly, by the mid-1990s, Thorn and Watt had to stop touring and recording for several years after Watt was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition, Churg-Strauss syndrome.
In 1995, a remix of the band's song Missing, taken from their eighth album, Amplified Heart, the previous year, prompted a rerelease, which saw the track become a bestseller around the world.In 1995, a remix of the band's song Missing, taken from their eighth album, Amplified Heart, the previous year, prompted a rerelease, which saw the track become a bestseller around the world.
Then, while Thorn developed a collaboration with the Bristol band Massive Attack, Watt moved towards dance music production.Then, while Thorn developed a collaboration with the Bristol band Massive Attack, Watt moved towards dance music production.
The couple now rarely play together, although Watt did play guitar and sing vocals on a track released by Thorn in 2011. This weekend, he said he has watched the resurgence of his wife's influence with some pride.The couple now rarely play together, although Watt did play guitar and sing vocals on a track released by Thorn in 2011. This weekend, he said he has watched the resurgence of his wife's influence with some pride.
"It is hard to speak about someone when you have been together for 30 years, but what I would say of the success of the last couple of years, and with Twitter and the book too, is they have unveiled a side to her that people didn't know existed. People might have thought she was a distant figure with that lovely voice, but a very human side of her has been able to come over.""It is hard to speak about someone when you have been together for 30 years, but what I would say of the success of the last couple of years, and with Twitter and the book too, is they have unveiled a side to her that people didn't know existed. People might have thought she was a distant figure with that lovely voice, but a very human side of her has been able to come over."
Watt describes Thorn as "gentle and courteous and aware of other people's feelings", but he admits that even now he sometimes finds her quite scary "when she has got a point to make".Watt describes Thorn as "gentle and courteous and aware of other people's feelings", but he admits that even now he sometimes finds her quite scary "when she has got a point to make".
The new book, he feels, is witty, but is marked by her peculiar style of "fierce humility". It is the heat that burns behind her songs and, Watt clearly believes, it has also fuelled their long relationship. "I think one of the reasons we have stayed together so long is that we are still slightly intimidated by each other," he said.The new book, he feels, is witty, but is marked by her peculiar style of "fierce humility". It is the heat that burns behind her songs and, Watt clearly believes, it has also fuelled their long relationship. "I think one of the reasons we have stayed together so long is that we are still slightly intimidated by each other," he said.
THE THORN FILETHE THORN FILE
Born Tracey Anne Thorn, 26 September 1962, Hatfield, Herts. Studied English literature at Hull, followed by an MA at Birkbeck College, London. In 2009, after 28 years together, Thorn married Ben Watt, her one-time musical partner in Everything But the Girl. They have three children.Born Tracey Anne Thorn, 26 September 1962, Hatfield, Herts. Studied English literature at Hull, followed by an MA at Birkbeck College, London. In 2009, after 28 years together, Thorn married Ben Watt, her one-time musical partner in Everything But the Girl. They have three children.
Best of times When Watt met Thorn in 1981. Watt also went to study at Hull, and was already signed to Cherry Red, the same record label as Thorn's band. He requested a Tannoy announcement in the student bar on his first night: "Could Tracey Thorn of the Marine Girls please come up to reception now?"Best of times When Watt met Thorn in 1981. Watt also went to study at Hull, and was already signed to Cherry Red, the same record label as Thorn's band. He requested a Tannoy announcement in the student bar on his first night: "Could Tracey Thorn of the Marine Girls please come up to reception now?"
Worst of times In June 1992, Watt was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening auto-immune disease called Churg-Strauss syndrome. He describes his struggle with the illness in his 1996 book, Patient.Worst of times In June 1992, Watt was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening auto-immune disease called Churg-Strauss syndrome. He describes his struggle with the illness in his 1996 book, Patient.
What she says "There are some people who always say, 'Oh I'm most alive on stage. I sort of envy those people. But I always found it really difficult. I think during the years we were performing a lot I just steeled myself to it."What she says "There are some people who always say, 'Oh I'm most alive on stage. I sort of envy those people. But I always found it really difficult. I think during the years we were performing a lot I just steeled myself to it."
What they say "Her voice is an instrument of exquisite dolour and her acutely observed songs dwell on relationships in their terminal phase or in the scorched aftermath." Music critic Dorian LynskeyWhat they say "Her voice is an instrument of exquisite dolour and her acutely observed songs dwell on relationships in their terminal phase or in the scorched aftermath." Music critic Dorian Lynskey