Julia Fordham

All Music Guide:

Onetime member of Mari Wilson's backing troupe the Wilsations, English songbird Julia Fordham finally released her debut in 1988. Unimaginatively titled, Julia Fordham showed off Fordham's smoky jazz bar low, dulcet voice and contained four singles: "The Comfort of Strangers," "Woman of the 80's," her first hit "Happy Ever After," and "Where Does the Time Go" which missed the U.K. TYp 40 by the most slender margin, peaking at 41.

The following year, Porcelain consolidated her presence as a leading album artist. Produced by Hugh Padgham, Grant Mitchell, and Fordham herself, standout tracks include "Lock and Key"; tonally warm, her vocal delivery was likened to Joni Mitchell's with whom she'd be further linked in years to come). Porcelain guested Manu Katche and Pino Palladino among its high caliber lineup. More tales of hopelessness in the art of relationships were outlined in 1991's Swept, which included the excellent "I Thought It Was You," like songstress Judie Tzuke, however, Fordham found her singles too classy for mainstream radio play and so it stalled in the mid sixties of the chart. A remix of the song came closer, reaching number 45 in spring 1992.

Fortunately, Fordham did enjoy some singles success courtesy of "(Love Moves In) Mysterious Ways." Taken from the film The Butcher's Wife, it climbed to number 19, making it her biggest U.K. hit to date. Swept was quickly reissued, this time, with the song part of the process. Relocating to the States in the mid-'90s, Fordham began work on her fourth album with Larry Klein, then husband and producer of Joni Mitchell. He'd also been busy working with David Baerwald and the Innocence Mission, but thanks in part to him, Fordham's Falling Forward became another slice of technical accomplishment. Despite efforts to present her in more contemporary pop format ("Can't Help Myself" received a modest remix) the reception was mixed. In 1997, East West portrayed Fordham on the cover in the most American of things --, a yellow cab. For some reason it was granted release only in the States, a fate also bestowed on other British acts (Duran Duran and Wang Chung, to name two). Canadian guitarist/ producer Michael Brook, renowned for his film work and experimental music affiliations, handled production. A solid greatest-hits compilation released in 1999 and her last contractual effort for Virgin, the aptly titled Collection included updated versions of "Happy Ever After" and "Where Does the Time Go" as well as "Killing Me Slowly" from East West. She teamed up with Larry Klein once again during the new millennium, and a new deal with Division One/Atlantic prevailed in time for the 2002 release of Julia Fordham's sixth studio album, Concrete Love. The Vanguard label was her new home for 2004's That's Life and the live CD/DVD combo that followed, That's Live.

Wikipedia:

Julia Fordham (born 10 August 1962) is a British singer-songwriter. Her professional career started in the early 1980s, under the name "Jules Fordham", as a backing singer for Mari Wilson and Kim Wilde, before signing a recording contract of her own later that decade. Fordham is now based in California.

Career

In 1988, Fordham released her first album on Circa Records. Simply titled Julia Fordham, it reached #20 in the UK and eventually earned a Gold disc. It contained the Top 40 single "Happy Ever After" (which peaked at #27 in August 1988) The album also charted in the U.S., reaching #118 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Fordham released her second album, Porcelain, in 1989. The album charted higher than her debut (#13) but sold less, and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It was, however, Fordham's only album to crack the U.S. Top 100, reaching #74.

In late 1991, Fordham released her third album, Swept. The album only reached #33 in the UK, but contained the Top 40 hit "(Love Moves In) Mysterious Ways", which peaked at #19 in early 1992 and was also featured in the 1991 film The Butcher's Wife.

Fordham's fourth album, Falling Forward, was released in 1994. The album peaked at #21 in the UK, but was her last album to chart there. The single, "Different Time, Different Place" narrowly missed the UK Top 40 (#41).

In 1997, Fordham released her fifth album, East West, but this was commercially unsuccessful. 1998's The Julia Fordham Collection recapped the best-known songs from these five albums, and included new versions of recordings including "Where Does The Time Go", which featured the vocals of Curtis Stigers.

Signed in 1999 to Division One/Atlantic Records, Fordham recorded Concrete Love. The album was produced by Larry Klein who has worked with many artists including Joni Mitchell (his former wife) and with Fordham previously on Falling Forward. The release was cancelled when a corporate reshuffle caused her record label to be closed and her contract was terminated. The album eventually emerged on Vanguard Records and various other labels internationally including Sanctuary Records in the UK. It now featured a re-recording of its title track as a duet with India.Arie, as well as different cover artwork. Remixes of the single "Wake Up With You" were also released. Fordham embarked on an acoustic club tour in the US, the UK and Japan.

Her seventh album, That's Life, was released on her 42nd birthday in 2004. She performed more live shows which included a successful run of shows in Japan at the Blue Note venues. That's Live, a live album and DVD (filmed in Los Angeles with guests India.Arie and Judith Owen), was released in January 2005. Fordham then came to the end of her recording contract with Vanguard. Also in 2005, Fordham's sister, Claire Fordham, had a book published, Plus One: A Year in the Life of a Hollywood Nobody based on her experiences of being Julia's sister and living in Los Angeles.

Now without a recording contract, Fordham continued to record, independently releasing a remake of her debut single "Happy Ever After" in aid of Indian Ocean Tsunami relief. This was backed by two tracks written and recorded with Aadesh Shrivastava. The single was released to download and then made available to purchase on CD, which was backed by Richard Branson who offered to stock the CD in his Virgin Megastores. The project was nominated for an OSSA award.

In 2006, Fordham released an EP entitled Baby Love, via AWAL (Artists Without A Label). The EP is a collection of songs inspired by the birth of her daughter, Marley Rose. Also in 2006, Fordham appeared in a music video for the Judith Owen track, "Here", playing the part of Owen's mother. The video was directed by the actress Jamie Lee Curtis. In 2007, Fordham appeared as guest vocalist on the track, "Carry", on Owen's album, Happy This Way.

In September 2007, EMI released the compilation Songbook. It was a Philippines only release and included previous studio recordings as well as live cuts and rare tracks. In November 2007, it was announced that Fordham had completed a new album which was going to be released via a 'start up' company called NovaTunes. After some delay China Blue was released as a download-only album in late January 2008. It is a jazz-based album of self-penned songs with the exception of one track ("I Keep Forgettin'") which is a cover of a Lieber and Stoller song. The album was subsequently released on CD.

In 2010, Fordham teamed up with comedian/actor Paul Reiser and released the album Unusual Suspects. The two embarked on an acoutsic tour after its release. In late 2011, Fordham released two new tracks for download. "You Left Me For Dead" (a collaboration with guitarist Dominic Miller), and the seasonal track "Christmas In London".