Carmel (singer)
| Carmel | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Carmel McCourt |
| Born |
24 November 1958 Wrawby, Lincolnshire, England |
| Genres | Pop, jazz, soul, blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Labels | London, East West, others |
Carmel McCourt (born 24 November 1958) is an English singer, best known for her eponymous band Carmel with bassist Jim Parris, and drummer Gerry Darby.
Born in Wrawby, Lincolnshire, England, Carmel McCourt attended St Bede's Catholic School on Collum Avenue in Ashby, Scunthorpe, and Brigg Girls' High School.
The band Carmel was formed in Manchester when two students McCourt and Jim Parris got together with drummer Gerry Darby (Parris's cousin). Their début single, "Storm" reached No. 1 in the UK independent chart and they were signed to London Records. Their second album The Drum is Everything (produced by Mike Thorne) drew some praise. Parris and Darby conjured the effect of a full ensemble backing to McCourt's vocals, and alternated between soulful ballads, gospel, blues and jazz. The resulting singles "Bad Day" and "More, More, More" both went Top 25 in the UK Singles Chart.
The following album, The Falling (produced by Brian Eno, Hugh Jones and David Motion) had considerable success in France, achieving gold disc status, and also charted in Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands. "Sally", the first single lifted from the album, sold 500,000 copies in France alone, and led to McCourt featuring in a duet "J'oublierai ton nom" with French rock star Johnny Hallyday. With the critical and commercial success awarded to both The Falling and the follow-up album Everybody's Got A Little... Soul, record producers were keen to work with Carmel.
1989 saw the release of Set Me Free, with Brian Eno and Pete Wingfield adding their touches to the material. Jimmy Somerville provided guest vocals on the track "One Fine Day", a song dedicated to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, only to be assassinated 10 months later. A five star review in Q described the album as "incendiary". and the decade was closed with the 1990 compilation Collected, summing up the band's career to that date.
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