Swing Out Sister

Swing Out Sister is a Rock-Jazz-pop-Soul musical group best known worldwide for their 1987 song "Breakout", their only song to reach the US top 10. Various listeners have classified their sound as everything from smooth jazz to cool jazz to acid jazz.

History

Swing Out Sister was formed by Andy Connell (keyboards), Martin Jackson (drums) and Corinne Drewery (vocals). (The name came from a 1945 movie starring Arthur Treacher, called Swing Out, Sister.) Both Connell and Jackson had been playing in other bands prior to forming SOS, while Drewery was actually a fashion designer before joining up with the band. Together with their producer, Paul Staveley O'Duffy, they signed with Mercury Records and released their debut album, It's Better To Travel, on May 11 1987, which went to#1 on the UK album charts; the singles "Breakout" and "Surrender" were top ten hits in the UK. "Breakout" went into the top ten in the US as well and was nominated for a Grammy in 1988.

The album registered with listeners for its mix of jazz and electropop, with an unusual blend of real horns, synths (arranged subtly, to sound like strings), drums and xylophones, scored by producer/arranger Richard Niles. In addition to "Breakout," it also yielded the single, "Twilight World" , which has been the subject of many remixes and is a dance club favorite worldwide; and "Surrender," whose powerful lead and backup vocals are accompanied by John Thirkell's powerful trumpet solo.

From the start, Drewery and Connell have been able to rely on some of the best in British and American pop to help shape their albums, including longtime partner O'Duffy; Thirkell and saxophonist Gary Barnacle, the famous Henpecked Horns known for their work with Level 42; percussionist Luis Jardim; guitarist Tim Cantsfield; and trumpet/fluegelhorn master Jerry Hey.

Original member Jackson, whose acoustic drums drove the "Surrender" single, left the group during the making of the second album, Kaleidoscope World; while the liner notes give "special thanks to Martin Jackson", they also note that "Swing Out Sister are Corinne Drewery & Andy Connell." Drewery and Connell have been the core of the group for all subsequent albums. Jackson later worked for Frank Zappa.

The second album, "Kaleidoscope World", was released in May 1989 to great acclaim. It was more classical in arrangements and songwriting. One of the duo's inspirations for the album was songwriter Jimmy Webb, who led some orchestrations for the album.

The third album, "Get In Touch With Yourself", was released in May 1992. With more danceable rhythms than ever before, it sports a cover of the Dusty Springfield classic "Am I the Same Girl," originally an instrumental for Young-Holt Unlimited and later a vocal showcase for Barbara Allen. The album's title track, a blend of 70s soul and modern pop, gained the duo heavy airplay on smooth-jazz radio. The fourth album, "The Living Return", was released in September 1994 and is a departure of sorts. Long-time producer Paul O'Duffy was replaced by Ray Hayden, combining a "raw" feel to the songs that in most cases were the results of jam sessions in the studio. Swing Out Sister was now a complete band of ten members. Few of the band's releases charted highly on the pop listings in Western countries after the successful debut album (though they became radio-airplay staples on jazz stations); however, the band had become extremely popular in Japan. Their song "Now You're Not Here" (from their album "Shapes And Patterns", one of several released only in Japan) was used as the theme to a Japanese TV program, and received a Japanese 'Grand Prix' (the equivalent of a Grammy) for best international single in 1997.

The fifth album, "Shapes and Patterns", was first released in Japan only in March 1997, but it was released in Europe and USA the year after. Producer Paul O'Duffy was back at the helm, and so was the lush arrangements of the first three albums.

The sixth album, "Filth and Dreams", proved yet again that Swing Out Sister was eager to reinvent themselves. The album was released in Japan in March 1999, and it is still the only album not released in any other country.

The seventh album, "Somewhere Deep in the Night", was released in May 2001 in Japan with subsequent release in Europe and USA. It is quintessential Swing Out Sister: lush, brassy and stringy arrangements to melodic tunes.

Their old recording label, Universal dropped them from their contract in America due to poor CD sales, so they signed on with Shananchie Entertainment.

The band's latest album, the eighth studio effort, was released in Japan on April 28, 2004: "Where Our Love Grows". The UK edition came in July 2004. GQ Magazine reviewed it and called it "indisputably their finest record to date".

For more history of Swing Out Sister: *SOS

Sound

The first album in 1987 was hailed as "jazzy, horn-coloured pop that puts an '80s techno veneer to the smoky aroma of late-'50s nightclubs"! And while the techno veneer has been toned down since then, their music is still lush and upbeat. The power of Swing Out Sister: "They don't fit niches, because they create their own time and time again."

Fans

Swing Out Sister has an ardent fan-following, many of whom were there from the start in 1987. More recently, a group of Swing Out Sister fans on the Internet has begun an e-mail campaign to get them on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman. As of June 26th 2006, SOS are now in negotiations for doing a song on a television show.

Concert Tour

Swing Out Sister is now finished touring England, Japan and Canada for 2005, but is still touring and playing. SOS has also recently played in Athens, Greece in 2006 and may even play in Jakarta, Indonesia soon, but has not confirmed. Corinne has kept her promise that she may return to America in 2006 to tour at some more venues, after her very successful tour there in 2005. It was also announced recently that SOS will indeed be at the Canal Room again in New York City on 1 June 2006 * and at the Capital Jazz Fest in Columbia, Maryland *^* Corinne says the dates have not been finalized. As of 29 March 2006, the tour was postponed.

SOS composer/keyboardist Andy Connell can not tour with the band any longer leaving Corinne Drewery and the others to continue touring/performing without him. Dan Swana is now keyboardist during the present tour. They have appeared on tour without the horn section, upsetting many SOS fans, since it has always been part of the distinctive Swing Out Sister sound.

Music Videos

Albums

It's Better To Travel (1987)
Kaleidoscope World (1989)
Get In Touch With Yourself (1992)
Live at the Jazz Café (1993)
The Living Return (1994)
Shapes and Patterns (1997)
Filth and Dreams (1999) - Japan only
Somewhere Deep in the Night (2001)
Where Our Love Grows (2004)
Live in Tokyo (2005)

Miscellaneous

In September 2005, Martha Stewart fresh out of US Federal Prison, began to use the 1992 Swing Out Sister single called "Am I The Same Girl?" (Soulful Strut) in her promo commercials for her show "MARTHA" on NBC TV Networks in America and then at the opening introduction theme song of her TV show "MARTHA" which can be seen at 11 AM EST. Each show starts with SOS singing "Am I The Same Girl?" to images and photos of Martha Stewart when she was a baby and growing up a teenager and as a young woman.

New CD Album

Swing Out Sister now says that they are now going back to their studio in London and recording their new CD, which has not yet been named.

Paul Stavely O'Duffy will not be part of the new album.

The band also plans on making a second tour of America in 2006. It will finish its tour of England by November 2005.

External links

English musical groups