Lianne La Havas
| Lianne La Havas | |
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La Havas in 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lianne Charlotte Barnes |
| Born |
23 August 1989 London, England, United Kingdom |
| Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
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| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Lianne Charlotte Barnes (born 23 August 1989), known professionally as Lianne La Havas, is a London-born British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her career began after being introduced to various musicians and singer Paloma Faith, for whom she sang backing vocals. In 2010, La Havas signed to Warner Bros. Records, spending two years developing her songwriting skills before releasing any music publicly. La Havas' debut studio album, Is Your Love Big Enough? (2012), was released to positive reviews from critics and earned her a nomination for the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll and awards for the iTunes Album of The Year 2012.
La Havas was born in London, England, to a Greek father and Jamaican mother. She was raised in Tooting and Streatham, spending the majority of her time with her grandparents after her parents separated. La Havas began singing at seven, and cites her parents' diverse musical tastes as having the biggest influence on her music. Her father, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, taught her the basics of guitar and piano. Lianne wrote her first song at the age of 11, but did not learn to play the guitar until she was 18 years old. Lianne sang in her school choir. She attended Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls in Thornton Heath where she studied art A-level, and had planned to take an art foundation course before she decided to leave college to pursue a career in music full-time. Although born Lianne Barnes, her stage name is an adaptation derived from her Greek father Henry Vlahavas's surname. She lives in London.
Whilst attending sixth-form in Croydon, a friend of La Havas', the singer and songwriter Allan Rose (who had attended the Brit School), introduced her to other musicians who would assist La Havas in the recording of her first demos. Through that same friend La Havas was also introduced to British singer Paloma Faith; she later sang backing vocals on tour for Faith. La Havas was discovered on Myspace in 2008. Duncan Ellis, owner of Scruffy Bird Artist Management, first heard of La Havas through colleague Alex Hardee of the Coda Music Agency, and it was love at first scroll as Ellis skimmed the material on her Myspace page. When Ellis first saw La Havas perform, she was in the duo the Paris Parade, collaborating with future Elephant member Christian Pinchebeck (who designed the artwork for Lost & Found and is also now part of the duo Memphis Industries duo Elephant); their short-lived career would kick off La Havas' career in commercial music. In 2010, Lianne signed to Warner Bros. Records, spending two years developing her songwriting skills before releasing any music publicly.
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