KT Tunstall
Biography
Born in 1975, Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall -- not short for anything, the KT is just an alternate spelling of Katie -- comes from the quaint university town of St. Andrews. Due in part by being adopted at birth, her imagination and creative side flourished from early on as she thought about how her life could have gone in any given direction. Growing up, her father was a physicist who would take Tunstall and her brothers into the St. Andrews observatory to look at the sky, thus fueling her youthful love for space and sci-fi. It wasn't until discovering hair metal through a brother that music really did start to become important to her, and when it did, her affection for spacy things was reflected in her favorite album, David Bowie's Hunky Dory.
Tunstall picked up playing piano and flute at a young age, learned to sing by listening to Ella Fitzgerald, and began writing her own songs in her mid-teens. At 16, she taught herself the guitar and continued to hone her writing skills with sentimental love songs. A scholarship to the Kent School, a private prep school in Connecticut, brought her experiences outside of St. Andrews and Scotland. She formed her first band there, the Happy Campers, and enjoyed seeing shows by 10,000 Maniacs and the Grateful Dead. Next came a music course at London's Royal Holloway College, before heading back home and immersing herself in the local grassroots scene that birthed bands like the Fence Collective and the Beta Band. Around this time, KT was also listening to a lot of Billie Holiday, Lou Reed, and James Brown, among others, and soon formed a group with the Fence Collective's Pip Dylan.
Fast forward a few years. KT returned to London and began writing more songs, many which would appear on her subsequent album. She entered a backwoods Wiltshire studio with minimal instruments in tow and Steve Osborne (U2, New Order) at the controls. The end result was her glossy debut, Eye to the Telescope, released in the U.K. in January 2005 on Relentless. Highlighting her soulful voice, sassy attitude, and earthy songwriting approach, comparisons to Dido, Fiona Apple, and Kate Melua soon sparked. Following the record's release, Tunstall hit all over Europe, including shows supporting Joss Stone and singing with Oi Va Voi. Feeling an acoustic guitar was sometimes too limiting, her live show incorporated the use of an Akai Headrush foot pedal that allowed her to spot-record multiple times (loop each section continuously), thus turning Tunstall into her own one-woman backup band.
Early 2006 continued to be bright for Tunstall as Telescope was released in the United States that February, and she won Best British Female Solo Artist at the Brits. Meanwhile, her first single, "Black Horse & the Cherry Tree," continued to do very well on American adult alternative radio. KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza was issued that fall; it included acoustic tracks (both new and old) recorded the previous Christmas along with a bonus making-of DVD. In 2007 Tunstall returned to the scene with her poppier -- but still equally fun -- Drastic Fantastic. ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide
Selected Discography
and she taught herself instruments and singing?
holy crap, IS THIS GIRL EVEN HUMAN? |
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She's quite good... just listening to her for the first time. I must say, though, that attributing her "imagination and creative side" to being "adopted at birth" and thinking about "how her life could have gone in any given direction" is a hilariously embarrassing bit of speculation. It sounds like it was copied out of Wikipedia or something.
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Way underestimat e d , and way good. She was brought up and taught well, now (hopefully) able to enjoy the fruits of her talents. Bless her and her mom and dad and her wonderful music. Its got something special in it. Can't pinpoint it, but it's really good...play it lots Pandora! Don't forget to run barefoot on the beach...
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she reminds me of my mom when she was 16...which was 17 years ago...
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ddnt really kno who wrote suddenly i see and black horse and a cherry tree, and i wanted to know. she is awesome, i love her songs!
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I agree, it's played a little too much, but still a pretty good song. Isn't it the theme song for Ugly Betty? I always think of Ugly Betty when I hear it ha ha.
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LOVE her! Very talented artist. when is she touring the US? I'll pay good $ to see her.
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I love her new album! I don't know what the comics mean though, and I like being able to picture a story to go with them.
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She is the BEST BEST BEST BEST singer EVER!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I LOVE her!!!!!!!! i really want kt to come out with another cd!
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I like to listen to her when I ride my motorcycle around the Houston streets, my fav from Eye to the Telescope is Heal Over everyone can relate to those words, "Even if you Fail nobody really minds" that is where my spirit truly is today... a good listen.. Berni
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I got her first album on CD and got my MOM addicted!!! We both love her music.
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you can listen to her at any time, any time at all, and i like how she's got a little rock edge behind everything! It gives her generally chill songs an attitude that keeps you listening.
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I love her music! like crazy! her voice is really cool, and the music it self is just nice. i don't know... i just like her. =)
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i like black horse and the cherry tree, but i don't really listen to her. but i like her voice.
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I didn't realize that KT went to Kent School in CT. I'm from CT and have been to Kent School numerous times, including working there. It's kinda neat to know that a great little school tucked away in the secluded northwest hills of CT helped to shape and hone her talents. She's great.
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She has a flair all her own, it has a vitality, and a flavor which makes her so unique and sought after. Michael Gallegos
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I love KT's sound. Her voice is smooth and beautiful. I have to say though, I was a bit disappointed by Drastic Fantastic. Eye to the Telescope shows more lyrical depth, I feel. It's mellow sound is wonderful... b u t that's just me.
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I wonder if she plays her own lead guitar?
Someone (KT, studio hire?) knows how to play. |
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KT Tunstall is an amazing artist. There's just something special about her that makes her music so great. She's not the type of shallow singer you just hear on the radio, but music that reaches out to you.
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I love her song "Hopeless" and "Girl and the Ghost" I really like all of her songs!She is just a great singer!Oh and I also like her song "Ashes"!
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I really like KT. I really like her song "Hopeless" She is really cool!
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