Heidi Berry

Her earliest release on Creation Records was the 1987 Folk-Rock styled mini-album, Firefly{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/firefly-mw0000994960|title=Firefly – Heidi Berry | Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|accessdate=January 29, 2020}} A second Creation release, 'Below The Waves' followed in 1989, which saw a more eclectic musical style emerging for Berry.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/below-the-waves-mw0000204592|title=Below the Waves – Heidi Berry | Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|accessdate=January 29, 2020}} Her association with 4AD began with a guest vocal on Blood (This Mortal Coil album) in 1991, where she contributed to their reworking of a Rodney Crowell classic, "'Til I Gain Control Again". Berry eventually moved over to 4AD as a signed artist, releasing three solo albums, Love (1991),{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Heidi-Berry-Love/master/56509|title=Heidi Berry – Love|website=Discogs.com|accessdate=January 29, 2020}} Heidi Berry (1993),{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Heidi-Berry-Heidi-Berry/release/389682|title=Heidi Berry – Heidi Berry|website=Discogs.com|accessdate=January 29, 2020}} and Miracle (1995).{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Heidi-Berry-Miracle/master/56551|title=Heidi Berry – Miracle|website=Discogs.com|accessdate=January 29, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://4ad.com/|title=The official website for independent record label 4AD.|website=4ad.com|accessdate=January 29, 2020}} The album, Heidi Berry achieved a minor hit with the lovely "The Moon and the Sun" and subsequent albums yielded tours in the UK, Europe and USA. The albums achieved critical acclaim, and Berry's music garnered a devoted cult audience.{{Cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/heidi-berry/175900590|title=Heidi Berry on Apple Music|website=Music.apple.com|accessdate=January 29, 2020}} Pomegranate: An Anthology was her final 4AD release in 2001. This featured the song, "Needle's Eye", a song written by Berry, and produced by Patrick Fitzgerald (Kitchens of Distinction, Stephen Hero) as part of their collaborative project, Lost Girls.Lost Girls (2001) [CD] Producer: Patrick Fitzgerald. 3-Loop Music

Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1958, the third of four children,Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, {{ISBN|1-84195-335-0}}, p. 221 Berry's mother, Beth was a jazz singer with Québécois roots, and her father, Don Berry, worked in theatre and film, most notably appearing alongside Ed Harris in the George A Romero 1981 cult movie, Knightriders. The Berry family moved between New York City, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and after her parents' divorce, her mother met and married British anti-architect and Right Livelihood Award laureate, John F. C. Turner,{{Cite web|url=https://www.rightlivelihoodaward.org/laureates/frances-moore-lapp-institute-for-food-and-development-policy/|title=Frances Moore-Lappé / Institute for Food and Development Policy}} and the family took up residency in London in 1973.Ankeny, Jason "[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=heidi-berry-p56303/biography|pure_url=yes}} Heidi Berry Biography]", Allmusic, retrieved October 16, 2010

While studying for a Fine Art Degree in London, she recorded a demo tape in 1985, which eventually found its way to Creation Records boss Alan McGee via her then boyfriend Pete Astor. She signed to Creation in 1987, releasing Firefly, a six-song mini-album, recorded with Martin Duffy of Felt on keyboards and members of Astor's band The Weather Prophets.Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave, Virgin Books, {{ISBN|0-7535-0231-3}}, p. 41Anderson, Lydia "[http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=heidi_berry Heidi Berry]", Trouser Press, retrieved October 16, 2010 A full-length album, Below the Waves, followed in 1989, featuring her brother Christopher on acoustic guitar (who also played on her later albums).Raggett, Ned "[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=below-the-waves-r180515/review|pure_url=yes}} Below the Waves Review]", Allmusic, retrieved October 16, 2010 Her relationship with Creation broke down, and she left, stating "I simply felt that they didn't understand me".Sexton, Paul (1996) "[https://books.google.com/books?id=wwkEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22heidi+berry%22&pg=PA9 4AD's Heidi Berry Spawns a Miracle]", Billboard, September 21, 1996, pp. 9, 79, retrieved October 16, 2010

It was during her support set for Felt in London's Camden Town in 1991, that Berry's performance caught the eye of Ivo Watts-Russell. He recalled being drawn in by her "Dusty Springfield hand movements".Aston, Martin. (2013) Facing The Wrong Way: The Story of 4AD. HarperCollins. pp. 360–2 {{ISBN|978-0007564125}} This led to him asking Berry to perform the song "'Til I Gain Control Again" on the third album by This Mortal Coil (Blood). Heidi Berry went on to record three solo albums for 4AD, Love, Heidi Berry and Miracle. Love featured an array of musicians, including Martin McCarrick (of Siouxsie & the Banshees), Terry Bickers and Laurence O'Keefe (of Levitation), Ian Kearey (Oysterband) and Lol Coxhill. The self-titled Heidi Berry album focused on "being unlucky in love and in life."{{cite news|last1=Semon|first1=Craig S.|title=When Heidi Berry gets down, she really gets down|work=Telegram & Gazette|publisher=Globe Newspaper Company|date=August 15, 1993|id={{ProQuest|268527741}}}}

Berry toured extensively during 1991–1993 in the UK, Europe and the USA. Highlights included tours with Red House Painters, Mazzy Star, Indigo Girls, Everything But The Girl. She also toured with Brendan Perry{{Cite web|url=https://www.brendanperry.com/|title=Brendan Perry|website=Brendanperry.com|accessdate=January 29, 2020}} (of Dead Can Dance) – and recorded several songs including ‘The Devil’, which he produced at his studio in Ireland. This was released on the 4AD label promo CD, "Shaving The Pavement"Shaving The Pavement (1996) Song:‘The Devil’. Producer: Brendan Perry 4AD (PRO-C-8096)

In 1999, she formed Lost Girls, a collaboration with Patrick Fitzgerald of Kitchens of Distinction, releasing the single "Needle's Eye". Lost Girls' long-awaited album was released in October 2014 by 3 Loop Music on vinyl, download and as a 2CD expanded edition (featuring demos and extra tracks).{{cite web|url=http://3loopmusic.tmstor.es/cart/product.php?id=18618 |title=Lost Girls – Lost Girls – TM Stores |website=3loopmusic.tmstor.es |date=October 20, 2014 |accessdate=May 5, 2016}} Berry has also contributed harmony vocals to a number of alternative, indie and dream pop artists, notably Pete Astor,Submarine (1990) [CD] Song: ‘Submarine’. Peter Astor. Producer: Peter Astor. Rough Trade Breathless,Green To Blue, 2012. [CD] Breathless. Song: ‘Just For Today’. Tennor Vossa Records Spear of Destiny,Thirty One (2014) [CD] Spear of Destiny. Song: ‘Just For Today’. Producers Christophe Bride/Kirk Brandon. Eastersnow Recording Company and Stephen Hero.Deciduous Eccentric (2019) [CD] Stephen Hero. Song:’Stripping Oliver’. Producer: Patrick Fitzgerald. Ragoona Records. In the early 2000s, she collaborated with soundtrack composer, Andy Cowton.{{Cite web|url=https://www.andycowtonmusic.com/biog|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101125344/https://www.andycowtonmusic.com/biog|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 1, 2019|title=CREDITS|website=Andycowtonmusic.com|accessdate=January 29, 2020}} on two BBC TV documentary soundtracks.

Martin Aston's definitive story of the 4AD label, Facing The Wrong Way includes numerous entries about Heidi Berry.Aston, M. (2013), Facing The Wrong Way: The Story of 4AD. HarperCollins There is also a short entry in The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize.Cavanagh, D. (2001), My Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize. Virgin Books. pp. 172, 284 {{ISBN|978-0753506455}} A filmed interview with Heidi Berry features in the documentary feature film, 'Upside Down: The Creation Records Story' Upside Down: The Creation Records Story. 2011. [DVD]Dir. Danny O’Connor. Document Productions Ltd

If Berry's music has proved difficult to classify, Ivo Watts-Russell, considered this a strength. He said of her work in 2013, "Music often has to do with the time when [it was] made, but Heidi's three albums transcend that for me. Her albums are at the core of what I hoped I was doing with 4AD, to represent people who could express themselves in music that has nothing to do with the flow and flavour of the decade in which they were made. It's the same reasons why Nick Drake's music works for people. Heidi's music is not about where she fitted in. Instead, it has great lasting value." .Aston, Martin (2013), Facing The Wrong Way: The Story of 4AD. HarperCollins. p. 361

Berry's early music garnered comparisons to early Marianne Faithfull, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Sarah McLachlan and Beth Orton, and was described as "highly orchestrated folk-rock"Mason, Stewart "[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=heidi-berry-r185236/review|pure_url=yes}} Heidi Berry Review]", AllMusic, retrieved October 16, 2010 The Boston Globe described her as sounding "like a majestic cross between Sandy Denny, Enya and Sade".Morse, Steve (1991) "Heidi Berry Love 4AD", Boston Globe, December 12, 1991, p. 6 Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters described her styles as essentially "folk", with "dark...instrumental flourishes and layered vocals".Robinson, Charlotte (2001) "[http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/b/berryheidi-pomegranate.shtml Heidi Berry Pomegranate]", PopMatters, retrieved October 16, 2010 Barry Didcock of the Sunday Herald argues that Berry might be "the great overlooked voice of acoustic rock."

While the album,Miracle has an acoustic band basis for much of the music, Berry never returned to the straightforward folk/rock of Firefly, instead letting the ghostly arrangements of 'Below the Waves' be her guide for future work.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/love-mw0000503436|title=Love – Heidi Berry | Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|accessdate=January 29, 2020}}

NME said of the song, "Needle’s Eye" on its initial 4AD release, "Over a wasted, civil war-style landscape comes a vocal that sounds like some daughter of Tim Buckley intoning a lament for the dead. I know nothing about Lost Girls; all I know is the world should know more about them."{{Cite web|url=http://www.3loopmusic.com/shop-the-long-lost-lost-girls-albums/|title=Lost Girls long lost album re-issued|website=3loopmusic.com|date=January 10, 2015}}

Martin Aston of Mojo commented on the sleevenotes for Pomegranate, "Given how many singer-songwriters have ploughed the folk-fusion field since Heidi, her influence is doubtless greater than people realise."{{Cite web|url=https://shopusa.4ad.com/artists/view/name/heidi-berry|title=Heidi Berry at 4AD Shop USA|website=Shopusa.4ad.com|accessdate=January 29, 2020}}

Heidi Berry is currently a Senior Lecturer at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute, where she teaches on the Masters programme. She holds a Master's degree in Songwriting from Bath Spa University. Berry joined BIMM Brighton as a lecturer in the second year of its existence and has contributed extensively to curriculum development across the college, specialising in Songwriting and Creativity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bimm.ac.uk/study/tutors/brighton/heidi-berry/|title=Heidi Berry|website=Bimm.ac.uk|accessdate=January 29, 2020}}

Before embarking on her musical career, Berry attended Chelsea School of Art and London's Goldsmiths College and gained a BA (hons) in Fine Art from Middlesex University (formerly Hornsey School of Art). She continues to create visual art, concentrating on painting and printmaking.

• Firefly (1987) Producer: Pete Astor. [LP/CD] Creation (CAD1012CD)
• Below the Waves (1989) Producer: Heidi Berry/Christian Lunch [LP/CD] Creation(CRELP048)
• Love (1991) Producer: Pete Walsh. [LP/CD] 4AD (CAD1012CD)
• Heidi Berry (1993) Producer: Hugh Jones. [LP/CD] 4AD (CAD 3009 CD;US /CD: 45301

• Miracle (1996) Producer: Hugh Jones. [LP/CD] 4AD (CAD 1011 CD;US CD: 46020)

• Distant Thunder (1992), Warner Bros. USA (CD PRO- CD)
• "Lilliput" (1992), 4AD US (2 CD+hardcover book) (LILLIPUT 1/2)
• "The 13 Year Itch" (1993), 4AD UK (CD Limited Ed.)
• "The Moon and the Sun" (1993), 4AD (CD single BAD-3010)
• Soil Samples 13 (1993), Warner Bros. USA (PRO-CD-6107)
• All Virgos Are Mad (1994), Warner Bros. USA (CD 9362 45789-2)
• Facing the Wrong Way (1995), 4AD UK (CD FTWW 1)
• Think I’m Getting the Hang of It (1995) 4AD US (CD PRO-CD-7625)
• No Balls (1995) 4AD US (CD PRO-CD-7300)
• Shaving the Pavement (1996) (C PRO-C-8096)
• Dr. Martens: Shoe Pie (1996) 4AD US/UK (CD SHOE-1-CD)

• Pomegranate: an Anthology (2001) Producer: Various. 4AD [LP/CD] (EAD2K10A)

• Lost Girls (2014) Producer: Patrick Fitzgerald. [LP/CD]3-Loop Records
• Aeroplane (1996) Producer: Aeroplane (John Ross / Rob Fitzpatrick). [EP] Detox

• "Deciduous Eccentric" (2019) Song, 'Stripping Oliver’. Stephen Hero (Ragoora Records CD)
• Lost Girls (2014) Collaborative album with Patrick Fitzgerald. (Bad Parents CD)
• "Thirty-one" (2014) Song, 'Hurry Home'. Speak of Destiny (Easter Snow Music CD)
• "Green to Blue" (2012) Song,'Just For Today'. Breathless (Tenor Vossa CD)
• "Aeroplane" (1996) Producer: Aeroplane (John Ross / Rob Fitzpatrick). [EP] Detox
• "Blood" (1991) Song,'Til I Gain Control Again'. This Mortal Coil. 4AD CD

• Hyper Normalisation (2016) BBC trailer. Dir. Adam Curtis. (TV)
• Generations; Naked (2000) BBC- Soundtrack collab. With Andy Cowton (TV)
• Dawson's Creek (2002) S05-E08. Song: ‘The Moon And The Sun’ Dir. Lev L Spiro. (TV)
• Baywatch (1998) Song: ‘Miracle’. Pearson Television / The Baywatch Company (TV)
• Up in the Air (1991) Promo. Dir. Miles Aldridge. (VID/DVD)
• The Moon and the Sun (1993) Promo. Dir. Angela Conway.{{YouTube |KN7OYgoaX9M |Heidi Berry – "The Moon And The Sun"}} (VID/DVD)
• Northshore Train (1980) Promo. Dir. Mehdi Norowzian. (VID)

{{Reflist}}

• [http://4ad.com/artists/heidiberry Heidi Berry at 4AD]
• Heidi Berry Music [https://www.heidiberrymusic.com]

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Category:1958 births

Category:Living people

Category:Alumni of Bath Spa University

Category:Musicians from Boston

Category:Folk musicians from Massachusetts

Category:American women singer-songwriters

Category:4AD artists

Category:Creation Records artists

Category:21st-century American women

Category:Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts