Portrait: British singer Alison Goldfrapp

By Chantal on Sunday, September 5, 2010 - 17:08

Alison Goldfrapp was born Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp, May 13 1966 in Enfield, England and is the youngest of six children. When she was young her family moved around quite a bit before finally settling in Alton (a small town in Hampshire).

She attended the Alton Convent School and it was there where her interest in music started. She sang briefly in a local band called Fashionable Living Death and involved in bands like Demented Children and Waste Product.

After composer Will Gregory heard an early version of her self-penned song Human, he contacted Alison to see if they could work together on a demo for a film soundtrack. Though the demo was never completed, the collaboration proved to be a fruitful one and the two formed a musical band under Alison’s last name ‘Goldfrapp’ and started performing together.

In September of 1999 the two hauled themselves over to a rented bungalow in the Wiltshire countryside and started recording their debut album. The recording process proved to be a difficult one; Alison often found herself alone in the bungalow disturbed by some of the conditions she was living in – but she used it to her advantage: the lyrics on Felt Mountain were written by Alison and are inspired by films, her childhood and the loneliness she felt while recording the album.

The album was generally met with positive reviews from music critics, but didn’t break into the mainstream right away. However, nearly a year later, in October 2001, the album was certified gold.

In 2003 Goldfrapp released their second album Black Cherry and focused more on dance and glam rock while Alison used the neon lights covered walls to write down her song ideas. Black Cherry peaked at number 19 in the UK charts; a 38 spot win over their last album.