Beth Orton (b December 14, 1970) is a British singer and songwriter.
Perhaps best be described as a folk/electronica artist, the six-foot-tall Orton was born in Norfolk and moved to London at age 14. Orton found success as a musician late, having been more interested in acting during her early career. She first gained notice for her vocals on the Chemical Brothers' track "Alive Alone" and is well known for her collaboration with William Orbit in which she lends her voice for the Strange Cargo albums. The best-known Strange Cargo track featuring Beth singing lead is probably "Water from a Vine Leaf". Orton also collaborated with American pop artist Beck on his Midnite Vultures album, providing backing vocals on the track "Beautiful Way".
Beth's debut album was the difficult-to-find Superpinkymandy, which was released in Japan alone. Some of its material was recycled for her worldwide debut, Trailer Park, which was released on Heavenly Records in 1996 and earned her two Brit award nominations in 1997.
She toured that summer with Lilith Fair, as well as releasing the Best Bit EP. Her next album, Central Reservation, was released in 1999 and led to her Best British Female award at the 2000 Brit Awards . In July 2002 she released the album Daybreaker, followed in 2003 by The Other Side of Daybreak, an album consisting mainly of remixes of songs from Daybreaker, created by artists such as Roots Manuva.
A double-album 'best of' album entitled Pass In Time was released in 2003.
The highlight of her career came arguably on 31 March 2002, when she played to a packed Royal Albert Hall in London.
Discography
- Superpinkymandy (Japan Only - 1993)
- Trailer Park (1996)
- Central Reservation (1999)
- Daybreaker (2002)
- The Other Side of Daybreak (2003)
- Pass In Time: The Definitive Collection (a Best Of compilation album) (2003)
Filmography
External links
- Beth Orton official site
- Beth Orton Precious Maybe - a fan site (with forum)
- Beth Orton Bethlehem - a fan site
- Beth Orton Beth Orton - a fan site