Charlie Dore

Cuckoo Hill, 3rd July 2006, Black Ink Music BICD 3

‘Cuckoo Hill’ is the second album of new material within two years from acclaimed British singer songwriter Charlie Dore. Best known for her self-written 1980 single ‘Pilot Of The Airwaves’ (which reached no 13 on the Billboard chart), Charlie has spent many of the intervening years acting in TV, theatre, radio and film and composing major hits for artists such as Tina Turner, Celine Dion, George Harrison, Lisa Stansfield, Jimmy Nail, Sheena Easton and Hayley Westenra. Discovering her own voice again in 2005, Charlie wrote and released ‘Sleep All Day And Other Stories’ which was hailed as a ‘treasure’ by The Observer and brought her many new fans.

Enjoying a new streak of creativity, Charlie and her long-time collaborator Julian Littman explored more diverse themes and arrangements on ‘Cuckoo Hill’. She says ‘I liked the freedom of going from ‘Captain of Industry’, which is just a schoolroom piano and brass band, to a tabla-based groove with Guy Barker's trumpet on top on ‘Your Lover Called’, to more eastern-European influenced tracks like 'My Wayward Friend' and 'When We Fall', then going west again with mandolin and dobro on 'Looking For My Own Lone Ranger'. At the other end of the scale we've got a full-tilt bluegrass track, 'When Bill Hicks Died'. We were lucky enough to get permission to use his voice on it. He died 10 years ago but his material is still absolutely relevant today.’

'Cuckoo Hill' takes its name from the street where Charlie was brought up and was her family home until only last year. Written and recorded during what she describes as the most turbulent year of her life, Charlie has dedicated the album to her father and her brother, both of whom she lost in 2005.

Live dates:
23 Apr Soul Cafe, Maidstone
07 May Marlborough Theatre, Brighton
11 May Spitz, London
17 May Angie's Folk Club, Wolverhampton
23 May Swindon, Arts Centre
01 Jun The Barn, Milton Arms, Portsmouth
15 Jun Que Pasa, Slough
23 Jun High Barn, Great Bardfield, Essex

‘File under: treasure’ ***** - Observer Music Monthly
‘…like the McGarrigle’s English sister’ – Uncut
‘…a lovely surprise’ - Q

For more info, please see www.charliedore.com or contact Rosie Wilby at Piranha PR on 020 8299 1928 / 07956 460 372; rosie@piranha-pr.co.uk

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