Swing Out Sister
| Swing Out Sister | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Smooth jazz |
| founding | 1985 |
| Website | http://www.swingoutsister.com/ |
| Current occupation | |
| Corinne Drewery | |
| Andy Connell | |
| Tim Cansfield | |
| Gina Foster | |
| Dan Swana | |
| Jody Linscott | |
Swing Out Sister are a British music group whose style is assigned to sophisti-pop , a sub-category of smooth jazz . The group had their greatest success in 1986/87 with the singles "Breakout" and "Surrender", which were top 10 hits in Great Britain . Since 1997 the band has been particularly successful in Japan .
Band history
The group, which is currently a duo , started out as a trio in 1985 . Its founders are Andy Connell ( keyboards ) and Martin Jackson ( drums ). A little later, the singer Corinne Drewery , actually a trained fashion designer , joined them. The band name is derived from the 1945 film Swing Out, Sister . The band later explained that the name was chosen because everyone hated the movie.
Their first single, entitled "Blue Mood", failed to make it into the charts in November 1985, but with their debut album It's Better To Travel , Swing Out Sister gained a strong following in Great Britain to this day. The two single releases "Breakout" and "Surrender" contributed to this. They both reached the British top ten, "Breakout" also reached number 6 in the US pop charts. The album, produced by Paul Staveley O'Duffy , was released in mid-1987 and climbed to number 1 in the UK.
Swing Out Sisters were nominated for the Grammy in 1988 in the categories Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo for “Breakout”.
During the studio recordings for the album Kaleidoscope World in 1989, founding member Martin Jackson left the group to work with Frank Zappa . Although thanks to the co-authors Jackson were noted on the album, it was specifically noted that Swing Out Sister are the duo Corinne Drewery & Andy Connell , which has not changed since that time. The album itself showed a new broader aspect of the group's musical breadth, which has been partially criticized by the public. While It's Better To Travel was more in the jazz / electro-pop area , Kaleidoscope World was more a reflection on retro-musical sources in the area of easy listening . The group integrated an orchestra into their sound, which made it sound much richer and more voluminous. The singles "You On My Mind", "Waiting Game", "Where in the World" and "Forever Blue" only got middle chart placements.
The return to traditional composition traditions continued with the third album Get In Touch With Yourself in 1992. Influences from the 1960s / 1970s were particularly noticeable in the dance rhythms, which culminated in the cover version of Dusty Springfield's hit "Am I The Same Girl?" In addition to the well-known jazz influences, soul elements also appeared here for the first time . Although the single only reached number 48 on the US pop charts, it was number 1 in the Adult Contemporary Top Ten.
In September 1994, the fourth album The Living Return was released , the compositions of which resulted in many studio jam sessions . The single “La La (Means I Love You)”, a cover of the Delfonics hit of the same name from 1969, was part of the soundtrack of Four Weddings and a Death . In addition to the duo core Drewery / Connell, Swing Out Sister consisted of eight other musicians with the new producer Ray Hayden . This increase showed their resounding success on a live tour through Japan and brought the band their breakthrough there. The resulting album Live at the Jazz Cafe was only released in Japan.
Although the first published albums had high ratings in the western charts, the group's popularity has now shifted to Japan. In addition to numerous live performances, the single "Now You're Not Here", which was released from the fifth album Shapes and Patterns (initially only released in Japan), was responsible for this. It was selected as the theme music for a popular Japanese television show and received the Japanese Grand Prix award for best foreign single of 1997. The album, which was recorded for the first time by Japanese musicians, was also released in 1998 in Europe and the USA.
The only album released so far only in Japan was Filth and Dreams in March 1999 . Here the band plays more stringent jazz lines than on the previous albums and the overall mood is much more subdued.
On the seventh album Somewhere Deep in the Night , the group continued the path they had chosen from their previous album . It was recorded in France in 2000/2001 and first published again in Japan in May 2001. O'Duffy, who drew as a producer again, was also involved this time as a background singer and co-writer. Extended string arrangements and wind instruments, especially in the instrumental pieces, create a more melancholy mood. Critics also spoke of a rather gloomy overall mood of the work.
According to GQ magazine , the eighth album Where Our Love Grows is the band's best release to date. Again the CD was first released on April 28, 2004 in Japan. The album shows a return to the old retro sounds of easy listening; a fusion of jazz / soul and R&B and a new Latin influence .
The group usually performs live in a sextet with guitarist Tim Cansfield , singer Gina Foster , double bass player Dan Swana and percussionist Jody Linscott .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1987 | It's better to travel |
DE15 (15 weeks) DE |
- |
CH17 (5 weeks) CH |
UK1  (21 weeks)UK |
US40  (43 weeks)US |
First published: May 1987
|
| 1989 | Kaleidoscope World |
DE40 (12 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK9 (11 weeks)UK |
US61 (19 weeks) US |
First published: May 1989
|
| 1992 | Get in Touch with Yourself | - | - | - |
UK27 (4 weeks) UK |
US113 (11 weeks) US |
First published: May 1992
|
more publishments
|
|
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1986 | Breakout It's Better to Travel |
DE27 (11 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK4th  (16 weeks)UK |
US6 (23 weeks) US |
First published: October 1986
|
| 1987 | Surrender It's Better to Travel |
DE48 (10 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK7 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: January 1987
|
| Twilight World It's Better to Travel |
- | - | - |
UK32 (6 weeks) UK |
US31 (15 weeks) US |
First published: April 1987
|
|
| Fooled by a Smile It's Better to Travel |
- | - | - |
UK43 (4 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: June 1987
|
|
| 1989 | You on My Mind Kaleidoscope World |
DE51 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK28 (9 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: February 1989
|
| Waiting Game Kaleidoscope World |
- | - | - | - |
US86 (4 weeks) US |
First published: May 1989
|
|
| Where in the World Kaleidoscope World |
- | - | - |
UK47 (5 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: July 1989
|
|
| Forever Blue Kaleidoscope World |
- | - | - |
UK80 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: November 1989
|
|
| 1992 | Am I the Same Girl Get in Touch with Yourself |
DE53 (10 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK21 (6 weeks) UK |
US45 (12 weeks) US |
First published: April 1992
|
| Notgonnachange Get in Touch with Yourself |
- | - | - |
UK49 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: June 1992
|
|
| 1994 | La-La (Means I Love You) The Living Return |
- | - | - |
UK37 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: August 1994
|
More singles
- 1985: Blue Mood
- 1991: Windmills of Your Mind
- 1995: Better Make It Better
- 1996: Now You're Not Here
- 1996: Heaven Only Knows
- 1997: Somewhere in the World
- 1997: We Could Make It Happen
- 1999: Who's Been Sleeping
- 2001: Through the Sky
- 2004: Love Won't Let You Down
- 2007: Secret Love
- 2007: Something Every Day
swell
Web links
- Swing Out Sister at Discogs (English)
- Official website (English)
- Official SOS @ MySpace.com (English)
- Andy Connell's Internet radio on LIVE365.com (English)
- SOS - the Swinging Website (English)
- Complete discography (including cover and all collaborations)