Best British Female Singer

COTTON_BUDSCOTTON_BUDS Posts: 197
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Just interested in this one.. Was wondering who you would say the best British female singer of all time was.. And who is currently the best british female singer..

If you could post up a video from youtube, that would be great too!!
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  • Chickens hitChickens hit Posts: 26,490
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    Just interested in this one.. Was wondering who you would say the best British female singer of all time was.. And who is currently the best british female singer..

    If you could post up a video from youtube, that would be great too!!

    All time?.....Personally I'd go for a tie between the following two....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA48IL6bQQU

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0azq9GF_g

    Both brilliant in their own way and totally unique too.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,355
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    Best ever:
    Liz Fraser

    Best current (well... the best of the recent crop of female singers):
    Natasha Khan (check out the note at 2:10... phenomenal)
  • COTTON_BUDSCOTTON_BUDS Posts: 197
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    All time?.....Personally I'd go for a tie between the following two....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA48IL6bQQU

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0azq9GF_g

    Both brilliant in their own way and totally unique too.

    Thanks for those links!! Dusty Springfield - Brilliant! :D Not so keen on Kate Bush but that's personal preference.. Great choices though!
  • COTTON_BUDSCOTTON_BUDS Posts: 197
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    Best ever:
    Liz Fraser

    Best current (well... the best of the recent crop of female singers):
    Natasha Khan (check out the note at 2:10... phenomenal)

    Interesting choices! Never heard of either of those but they are different and wonderful.. And I agree, that note at 2:10 was so unexpected, she switched from like an indie type voice to a full on opera soprano! Magnificent
  • Chickens hitChickens hit Posts: 26,490
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    Thanks for those links!! Dusty Springfield - Brilliant! :D Not so keen on Kate Bush but that's personal preference.. Great choices though!

    Watch this one from the Great Kate COTTON BUDS.....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzbw-53g2CU&feature=related

    if this doesn't move you then I'm lost for words to be honest.....gorgeous doesn't do it justice imo.....:)
  • cantoscantos Posts: 7,368
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    Dusty Springfield
  • COTTON_BUDSCOTTON_BUDS Posts: 197
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    Watch this one from the Great Kate COTTON BUDS.....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzbw-53g2CU&feature=related

    if this doesn't move you then I'm lost for words to be honest.....gorgeous doesn't do it justice imo.....:)

    Ahh, you see, now that one was brilliant! I've never heard her sing anything other than Wuthering Heights.. So I just thought she sounded like minnie mouse all the time.. But on that video she has a very soothing Caren Carpenter type voice! Lovely song..

    I suppose I'm looking for a combination of all things - voice sound and ability - expressive ability and so forth..

    That song was lovely!
  • Chickens hitChickens hit Posts: 26,490
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    Ahh, you see, now that one was brilliant! I've never heard her sing anything other than Wuthering Heights.. So I just thought she sounded like minnie mouse all the time.. But on that video she has a very soothing Caren Carpenter type voice! Lovely song..

    I suppose I'm looking for a combination of all things - voice sound and ability - expressive ability and so forth..

    That song was lovely!

    I'm amazed you've only heard of "Wuthering Heights".....there is so much more to Kate than just that song, fabulous though it was......try this one (probably the greatest single she ever released in my opinion)....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZsXVf6INc&feature=related
  • COTTON_BUDSCOTTON_BUDS Posts: 197
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    I'm amazed you've only heard of "Wuthering Heights".....there is so much more to Kate than just that song, fabulous though it was......try this one (probably the greatest single she ever released in my opinion)....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZsXVf6INc&feature=related

    Tell a lie, I have just been listening to some other songs on the related section and I have heard Babooshka too but didnt relate.. I'm thinking it's maybe coz of my age (only a wee youngin) that I havent heard anything of hers..

    Thanks for that link - it has a madonna kind of sound about that song but with a much better haunting voice... Thanks :D
  • nellieknelliek Posts: 10,780
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    Dusty Springfield.
    So difficult to choose, but 'Going back' is a favourite as is
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wyCVxPEPx5Y
  • Chickens hitChickens hit Posts: 26,490
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    nelliek wrote: »
    Dusty Springfield.
    So difficult to choose, but 'Going back' is a favourite as is
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wyCVxPEPx5Y

    Going Back is an absolute classic......I find it harder to listen to the older I get, it just moves me too much at times.
  • FashionFashion Posts: 5,017
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    Either Dusty Springfield or Sade for me.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 23,091
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    Best ever:
    Liz Fraser

    Best current (well... the best of the recent crop of female singers):
    Natasha Khan (check out the note at 2:10... phenomenal)



    I love that song , Natsha Khan is a really talented artist IMO.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 307
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    Best current - Kerry Ellis
  • tortfeasortortfeasor Posts: 7,000
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    All time?.....Personally I'd go for a tie between the following two....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA48IL6bQQU

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0azq9GF_g

    Both brilliant in their own way and totally unique too.

    Absolutely brilliant - I would have instantly thrown both of their names into the hat myself. I would struggle to choose between both Kate Bush and Dusty myself though both of their styles are worlds apart.

    I would also personally have to consider two other female artists - Annie Lennox and Elkie Brooks, who again are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. I think they both have very distinctive voices and have released some of the best songs in pop music history.

    Very difficult to choose a favourite Annie song so out of her Eurythmics career I'd probably say something like 'Love is a stranger.' However, going back a bit further and with a bit of continuity from Dusty, how about the Tourist's cover of 'I only want to be with you?' I still can't get enough of Annie's cover of "No more I love you's" despite the fact it was probably one of the most overplayed radio songs at the time - it just brings back a load of good memories from my school days!

    Some links...

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_cXOesI1Aw0 -Tourists - I only want to be with you

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jLwy2QuVOUE Eurythmics - Love is a stranger.

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cdxTKzBMPfE
    Annie Lennox - No More I Love You's

    As for Elkie Brooks... I know it's obvious but I really love 'Pearl's A Singer' - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQTnsT0d5SA.
  • COTTON_BUDSCOTTON_BUDS Posts: 197
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    HoppyToad wrote: »
    Best current - Kerry Ellis

    Thanks for that! Never heard of her but was very pleasantly surprised!! Nice to discover wonderful talent other than the rubbish which is clogging up the charts at the moment..


    Agree with abve poster too, Annie Lennox is definitely one of my all time favourites.. Love her!!
  • Chickens hitChickens hit Posts: 26,490
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    tortfeasor wrote: »
    Absolutely brilliant - I would have instantly thrown both of their names into the hat myself. I would struggle to choose between both Kate Bush and Dusty myself though both of their styles are worlds apart.

    I would also personally have to consider two other female artists - Annie Lennox and Elkie Brooks, who again are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. I think they both have very distinctive voices and have released some of the best songs in pop music history.

    I can't believe I let Annie Lennox go by without a mention....you're right tortfeasor, she is as you say someone who has made her mark in pop history.......I'm posting this late Eurythmics track as an example of her fantastic voice........

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa_lkpBVkXU

    I can't comment on Elkie Brooks as I only really know her for "Pearl's a Singer":o
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 307
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    Well if we're spreading the Annie Lennox love, my fave song of hers has always been Why. The emotion she puts into that song whenver she performs it live is just amazing.
  • tortfeasortortfeasor Posts: 7,000
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    HoppyToad wrote: »
    Well if we're spreading the Annie Lennox love, my fave song of hers has always been Why. The emotion she puts into that song whenver she performs it live is just amazing.

    I agree - she always makes such an impact when that song is performed live. I must admit at the time I didn't like it as much as 'Walking on Broken Glass,' which was on the same album, but then again I was a very young kid and didn't really like ballads an awful lot. Mind you my musical tastes at that age were a bit bizarre - I'd go from listening to Annie Lennox to singing Color Me Badd's "I wanna sex you up." Boy am I am embarrassed these days! However as I've grown older and have seen Annie performing the song live, the amount of emotion in her performance has really brought how good that song is home to me.

    I also really love Annie's cover of 'Waiting in Vain.'
  • tortfeasortortfeasor Posts: 7,000
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    ...

    I can't comment on Elkie Brooks as I only really know her for "Pearl's a Singer":o

    I expect she has sung other tracks that you would know if you heard them. I bet you remember "Sunshine After The Rain," even if you can only recall the dance cover version by Berri from the early 90s. Well worth checking out Elkie's original version.
  • COTTON_BUDSCOTTON_BUDS Posts: 197
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    HoppyToad wrote: »
    Well if we're spreading the Annie Lennox love, my fave song of hers has always been Why. The emotion she puts into that song whenver she performs it live is just amazing.

    SNAP!! That's actually one of my all time favourite songs.. It's just magical .. And ''No More I Love Yous'

    Though not her song, this live version of Many Rivers To Cross is wonderful too
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GSSQXis_M4Q


    Never heard of this lady till recently but this version of I Put A Spell On You knocks the spots off every other version I've heard

    Mica Paris & Dave Gilmore Live on Jools Holland
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=d1dscjhVQEc

    her voice is so smokey and lucious
  • COTTON_BUDSCOTTON_BUDS Posts: 197
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    tortfeasor wrote: »
    I expect she has sung other tracks that you would know if you heard them. I bet you remember "Sunshine After The Rain," even if you can only recall the dance cover version by Berri from the early 90s. Well worth checking out Elkie's original version.

    I was listening to that song from her the other week on youtube.. Absolutely LOVE her cover of ''Fool If You Think It's Over'' and then I clikced on Sunshine After The Rain from her...

    I'm super impressed with all the women which have been put forward :D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 307
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    Knarf44 wrote: »

    Oh and Elaine Paige

    I have to say I've always found Elaine Paige to be vastly overrated. I really don't see that she's anything special.
    I've yet to hear her sing anything where I haven't heard a better version by someone else.

    For example, Dianne Pilkington's version of Memory is a hundred times better than EP's, even with the horrible recording quality.
  • tortfeasortortfeasor Posts: 7,000
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    Never heard of this lady till recently but this version of I Put A Spell On You knocks the spots off every other version I've heard

    Mica Paris & Dave Gilmore Live on Jools Holland
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=d1dscjhVQEc

    her voice is so smokey and lucious

    Mica Paris is an absolute legend in my opinion. I can remember when "My One Temptation" was released in the late 80s and thinking how cool she looked on Top of the Pops. Check that one out if you haven't already - it is a great 80s soul track. She hit the "big time" at the same time as Will Downing, who had a huge hit with "A Love Supreme." The two of them had a good duet with "Where is the love," a cover which introduced me to the original Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway song. I also loved "I should have known better" at the time - just thinking about Mica brings back quite a few memories of that era of British soul music.

    I am amazed you haven't seen her recently on the TV - she is one of the replacement hosts on "what not to wear," believe it or not. Mind you, you probably have a better taste in TV programmes than certain members in my house...

    I had forgotten about Elkie's version of "Fool if you think it's over" - spookily enough I dug out Chris Rea's version yesterday!
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