Rumer (musician)
| Rumer | |
|---|---|
Rumer performing at Symphony Hall, Birmingham in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sarah Joyce |
| Also known as | Sarah Prentice |
| Born |
3 June 1979 Tarbela Dam, Pakistan |
| Genres |
Pop Easy listening Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Atlantic Records, East West Records |
| Associated acts | La Honda, Stereo Venus |
| Website | www |
Sarah Joyce (born 3 June 1979), better known by her stage name, Rumer, is a British singer–songwriter. Her stage name was inspired by the author Rumer Godden. Rumer's voice has been described by The Guardian and many others as being reminiscent of Karen Carpenter. Supported by leading music industry figures including Burt Bacharach, Jools Holland and Elton John, Rumer was nominated for two Brit awards on 13 January 2011. She has performed at several festivals such as Glastonbury Festival. Her latest album This Girl's In Love: A Bacharach and David Songbook was released in November 2016.
Rumer, the seventh of eight children, was born in 1979 in Tarbela Dam, Pakistan. Rumer's family lived there from 1977–1984 while her British father was contracted as Chief Engineer of Tarbela Dam Project, funded by the World Bank.
Her parents split and her Streatham-born mother moved back to England with Rumer and her siblings. Rumer moved to Carlisle aged 11 and attended Cardinal Newman School, where she won the school's annual talent show in 1994. Rumer became fascinated with the work of Judy Garland a young age, and sought solace from difficulties at home and school by listening to artists such as Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman. She was encouraged by her musical family, who all played instruments and played in their local Catholic church. This began her interest in becoming a performer.
Rumer later discovered her biological father was the family’s Pakistani cook, with whom her mother had had an affair when living in Pakistan. While her mother was dying of breast cancer in 2001, she asked Rumer to make the journey to the North West Frontier of Pakistan to search for her real father, with her mother reportedly saying "I want to leave this planet with my house in order". She discovered on arriving he had only recently died in a freak accident.
Rumer briefly attended the drama course at the Dartington College of Arts, in Devon before dropping out, moving to London at 18 and getting a job as a waitress.
Under the name of Sarah Prentice, Sarah sang with a moderately successful London-based folk/indie band called La Honda between 2000 and 2001. In 2004, she formed the band Rumer & The Denials and released an early version of "Come To Me High" on 7" in 2007. Their MySpace page, now closed, included an acoustic recording of "Slow", which was included on the compilation album A Very Magistery Valentine. A collection of material was recorded in 2008 with Rory Moore under the title of Stereo Venus. This was aimed at television and film and was originally distributed in Europe. An album was released in 2012 entitled Close To The Sun and the band played support for Saint Etienne. The material was also released under her real name, Sarah Joyce in South Korea in April 2010 as Coffee And Honey.
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