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Everything But The Girl (EBTG) are a British two-person band formed in Hull, England in 1982 by lead singer and bassist Tracey Thorn (born September 26, 1962) and guitarist Ben Watt (born December 6, 1962).
Biography
They were separately signed to Cherry Red records as solo artists, with Thorn also forming one-third of the Marine Girls trio, and just happened to be attending the University of Hull at the same time. The band's name came from the slogan of an old-fashioned furniture shop on Beverley Road, Hull (now demolished). The idea behind the slogan was that they could provide every imaginable item to furnish your home, and everything in the store was for sale, except the girl who worked there.
After a one-off single, a cover version of Cole Porter's "Night and Day", their first hit single, "Each and Every One", had a jazzy sound, and EBTG was considered part of a jazz/pop movement that included other British acts like Sade, Matt Bianco, and The Style Council, on whose Café Bleu album they guested. Their first album was released in the UK as Eden and in the United States eponymously as Everything But The Girl.
Subsequent releases underscored EBTG's versatility and range. 1985's Love Not Money featured a shimmering pop sound with jangly guitars, and featured a cover of The Pretenders song "Kid". The following year, they released Baby The Stars Shine Bright, an album of Bacharach-esque songs recorded with an orchestra. In 1988, EBTG released Idlewild, a collection of mellow pop songs that began a trend towards middle-of-the-road, adult contemporary music that they would continue with subsequent releases The Language of Life (featuring the single "Driving"), Worldwide and Acoustic.
The duo were forced to curtail recording and touring for a few years when Watt contracted Churg-Strauss syndrome, an autoimmune disease (he subsequently wrote a memoir, Patient, about his ordeal). The next work of original music was not until 1994, when EBTG released Amplified Heart. Although most of the music was still acoustic-based, it had a much more contemporary feel. Producer Todd Terry remixed the track "Missing", and when EBTG released the remix as a single, it became a huge international hit. It hit the top of nearly every chart around the world, and charted in the U.S., a feat that had previously eluded the band. The track reached number two and stayed in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for well over a year.
As evidence of their popularity, on the television show Ellen, she started a short-lived band with Bonnie Raitt and Aaron Neville which they called "Everything and the Girl".
The success of that track, along with a collaboration Thorn did with the bands Massive Attack and Deep Dish, influenced them and helped usher the band into a more electronic sound. Their subsequent albums Walking Wounded and Temperamental, showed the band's musical progress as well as established Ben Watt as a master DJ with an innate understanding of musical landscaping.
The band has been on hiatus for a few years. Watt has concentrated on being a DJ and remixer, finding great success as one half of Lazy Dog with partner Jay Hannan. Watt and Thorn, intensely private about their relationship and personal life, have a strong desire to raise their three children outside of the spotlight. In late spring 2005, Thorn recorded her first vocals in three years, on a song called "Damage" on the album Eat Books for the German band Tiefschwarz, for which she also wrote the lyrics and melody. Their fan base is still very active, as messages on the band's website confirm. Most recently, the band released a double disc of remixes highlighting the best of their eclectic electronica influenced music including a trio of newly commissioned remixes.
Thorn is currently working on a solo album due to be released in February 2007.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | UK | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Eden | 14 | - |
| 1985 | Love Not Money | 10 | - |
| 1986 | Baby the Stars Shine Bright | 22 | - |
| 1988 | Idlewild | 13 | - |
| 1990 | The Language Of Life | 10 | 77 |
| 1991 | Worldwide | 29 | - |
| 1992 | ? | ? | |
| 1993 | Home Movies | 5 | - |
| 1994 | Amplified Heart | 20 | 46 |
| 1996 | Walking Wounded | 4 | 37 |
| 1996 | The Best Of Everything But the Girl | 23 | - |
| 1999 | Temperamental | 16 | 65 |
| 2006 | Adapt Or Die: Ten Years Of Remixes | - | - |
Singles
| Year | Song | UK | U.S. | U.S. Dance | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Each and Everyone" | 28 | - | - | Eden |
| 1988 | "I Don't Want to Talk About It" | 3 | - | - | Idlewild |
| 1992 | "Covers EP" | 13 | - | - | Covers EP |
| 1994 | "Rollercoaster" | - | - | - | Amplified Heart |
| 1994 | "Missing" | - | - | - | Amplified Heart |
| 1995 | "Missing" (Todd Terry remix) | 3 | 2 | - | Amplified Heart |
| 1996 | "Walking Wounded" | 6 | - | - | Walking Wounded |
| 1996 | "Wrong" | 8 | 68 | 1 | Walking Wounded |
| 1996 | "Single" | 20 | - | - | Walking Wounded |
| 1996 | "Driving" (remix) | 36 | - | - | The Best of Everything but the Girl |
| 1997 | "Before Today" | 25 | - | - | Walking Wounded |
| 1998 | "The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)" (with Deep Dish) | 31 | - | 1 | Temperamental |
| 1999 | "Five Fathoms (Love More)" | 27 | - | 1 | Temperamental |
| 2000 | "Temperamental" | 72 | - | 1 | Temperamental |
| 2000 | "Lullaby of Clubland" | - | - | 3 | Temperamental |
| 2001 | "Tracey in My Room" (Mash-up) | 31 | - | - | - |
Other
- A short version of "Five Fathoms" was featured on the video game Beatmania IIDX, with the music video featuring Watt and Thorn playing on other Bemani video games by Konami in the London Trocadero.
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External link
Peel Sessions artists | Electronic music groups | House music groups | Folk music groups | Rhythmic Top 40 acts | Bemani_artists
Everything But The Girl | Everything But The Girl | Everything But The Girl | Everything but the Girl
"Everything but the Girl"