Sally Barker
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| Sally Barker | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | September 19, 1959 Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, England |
| Genre(s) | English folk music, folk rock, blues |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist and singer |
| Years active | 1984- |
| Label(s) | Various |
| Associated acts | The Poozies, Chris Watson |
| Website | www.sallybarker.co.uk |
Sally Barker (born 19 September 1959, Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, England) is an English folk singer and songwriter, known for her solo work and as a founding member of The Poozies.
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[edit] Biography
Barker began writing songs and performing music at age 10, after being inspired by seeing English folk-pop singer Mary Hopkin on television. Her influences are varied, and include Bessie Smith, Bonnie Raitt, John Martyn and Aretha Franklin. Barker worked initially as half of a duo called Sally And Chris with bass player Chris Watson, performing folk and blues in pubs and clubs in the English midlands. Later the duo went on to support Steeleye Span and Gordon Giltrap.
After winning the Kendal Songsearch Competition in 1986, Barker began touring in a support capacity to acts such as Fairport Convention, Taj Mahal, Richard Thompson, Wishbone Ash and Roy Harper. Her self-titled first album was well received and contained cover versions of songs previously featured in her live act. Her second release, "This Rhythm Is Mine", showed the ongoing development of her maturing musical potential, and in 1990, she opened for both Bob Dylan and Robert Plant in Germany. The album also receivied a U.S. release on Ryko's Hannibal label.
In 1990 Barker became a founding member of The Poozies, an all-women folk band. The lineup featured harpists Mary Macmaster and Patsy Seddon from the Scottish harp duo Sileas, and Karen Tweed (accordion) who Barker met at a folk festival in Hong Kong. The Poozies have been described as the "UK's finest all-female outfit" and "Britain’s premiere Celtic roots all-woman supergroup" [1]. Barker played with The Poozies until 1996, when she left to concentrate on family concerns (she has two sons) and solo recordings. Kate Rusby took Barker's place. At one point Barker was unable to sing for a year due to throat problems, which were eventually solved by the removal of her tonsils. Her 2003 album "Maid in England", which had been in the making for six years, was muted by the death of her husband (Chris Barker, a dairy farmer) through a recurrence of cancer in August of that year.
Sally also appeared on the Show of Hands album Live at the Royal Albert Hall. In 1994 she recorded the song "I Misunderstood" for the CD "The World Is A Wonderful Place: The Songs Of Richard Thompson". Barker also provided vocals for the 1997 Pete Morton CD "Courage, Love and Grace" and the 1998 Janet Russell CD "Gathering the Fragments".
In the fall of 2006 Barker reunited with The Poozies for a series of shows, replacing Eilidh Shaw, who celebrated the birth of a daughter in August, 2006, and has now joined the group permanently to make it a five-piece.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Solo
- Sally Barker (1988)
- This Rhythm is Mine (1990)
- Beating The Drum (1992)
- Money's Talking/Tango! EP (1995)
- Favourite Dish (1996)
- Passion & The Countess (1998)
- Another Train - The Compilation (2000)
- Maid in England (2003)
[edit] The Poozies
- Chantoozies (1993)
- Dansoozies (1995)
- Raise Your Head: A Retrospective (2000)
[edit] Multimedia
MP3 excerpt of "Money's Talking" from "This Rhythm is Mine"
