Penny Broadhurst

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Penny Broadhurst

---

Img_capt = Penny Broadhurst 2007
Background = solo_singer
Alias =
Born = 1980
Died =
Origin = Harrogate UK
Instruments =
Genre = Pop Rock Indie
Occupation(s) = singer
Years_active = 2006 - present
Label = None
Notable_albums =
Notable_songs =
Related_acts =
URL = [http://www.pennybroadhurst.com/ www.pennybroadhurst.com]
Current_members =
Past_members =

Penny Broadhurst (born October 21 1980 in Harrogate, Yorkshire), is a British pop singer, songwriter, writer and former spoken word artist from the north of England. She lists Kate Bush, "Doctor Who", Roger Nichols, Alan Bennett, Belle & Sebastian, Kirsty MacColl and The Smiths and people on buses among her many influences.

She was one of three winners in the "BBC Look North" Band Search" competition and was chosen to appear at the 2007 O2 Wireless Festival on June, 17 2007 (with Daft Punk, Klaxons, Mark Ronson etc.) at Harewood House, Leeds. She was longlisted in the BBC's "Next Big Thing" talent search in November 2007. [cite news|last= Staff writer|title= Longlist chosen for BBC talent search|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7113270.stm|work= BBC News Online|date= 2007-11-27|accessdate= 2007-11-27]

Career

Penny Broadhurst first started performing her own material as a spoken word performer when she was a student in Norwich in 1998. A self-confessed pop music fan, her performances of acerbic and witty vocal narratives, delivered in a broad Yorkshire accent and often accompanied by pop and rock music, were frequently compared to that of a pop star rather than a poet. Her first album of spoken word with music got radio play on BBC 6 Music, and the "NME" declared "...You can't mosh to poetry, but if you could, then you'd mosh to this."

Forsaking the poetry circuit for gigs supporting bands and comedians, she gradually moved away from using just the spoken word, and began to write and sing her own pop songs in a wide variety of musical styles, working with producers Ed Heaton and Si McGrath of Hightone Productions. Clint Boon of Radio Xfm Manchester said of her songs : "She's unsigned, but she sounds like an established act to me. I can see why she calls herself the Queen of Pop." She has worked alongside many other artists including: Patrick Wolf, Damo Suzuki, Melt Banana, The Vichy Government, Help She Can't Swim, DARTZ!, Stephen K Amos, Curtis Walker, Robin Ince, Das Wanderlust, Frank Turner and The Seven Inches. She has also appeared at Ladyfests around the UK and literary festivals including Off The Shelf and Ilkley Literature Festival. She is a member of the Yorkshire young writers' initiative "The Writing Squad", funded by the Arts Council. In Summer 2005 she played at Glastonbury and in 2005 and 2006 at the Truck festival. She has also recently appeared at other festivals including Latitude Festival (2006 and 2007), Solfest (2007) and Indietracks (2008) and made a television appearance on "BBC Look North".

As well as having radio play on BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, and Radio Magnetic in the UK (on their B playlist), Penny Broadhurst's work has been broadcast on FM4 in Austria and other local and international stations. Her more recent songs have also been featured on Xfm and Dandelion Radio.

Penny Broadhurst is based in Leeds, but regularly performs at venues throughout the UK. Her current live incarnation is known as Penny Broadhurst & The Maffickers; the Maffickers being her live backing band. The band consists of Penny Broadhurst on vocals, Jonny Lee Hart (from The Chiara L's) on guitar; Owen Lloyd (from The French Defence) also on guitar; Jon Watson (of Blah Blah Tin) on bass; Emil Andrews (of The Seven Inches) on keyboards, glockenspiel and brass; and Paul Roberts (formerly of the now defunct Letters and Colours) on drums.

Recordings

Penny Broadhurst released a spoken word album "Blue Bank" in 2005 on her own independent label, Killer Question.

In January 2006 she released her first pop single "LJaded".The song was described by The Guardian as "a tribute to the Myspace and blogging generation". It was made available as a free download for a limited period, together with another track 'London'.It was accompanied by the following instructions:

"Download the MP3s, burn a CD, download the artwork, print it out, stick it in a jewel case and hey presto! A Penny Broadhurst single."

Her latest EP, "Allons-y!", which features more demo tracks from her new musical direction, was released on Killer Disc Records on 24th September 2007. in a limited edition run of CDs, which were numbered and signed. This includes a different mix of 'London' from the mix on the free single, which is now no longer available for download. The title is the French for "Let's go!", which reflects the tone of the EP and is also a common utterance by the Tenth Doctor as played by David Tennant in Doctor Who.

Track List

Single

"London" (download only) Released January 2007 by Killer Disc Records, Leeds.
# "London (Jeff Lynne Superstar)"
# "LJaded"

Lyrics by Penny Broadhurst, music by Broadhurst/Heaton/Mcgrath.

EP Released 24th September 2007 by Killer Disc Records, Leeds

"Allons-y!"

# "Give It Up"
# "Chemist Goods"
# "LJaded"
# "London (Klar Mix)"

Published works

That Way Out

Penny Broadhurst's first printed collection of poetry and lyrics, "That Way Out" (ISBN 0-9549684-1-7), was published on August 25 2006 by Killer Question with photography by Danny North. This brings together previously unpublished material as well as some of the lyrics recorded for the spoken word album "Blue Bank" and other words and lyrics originally published in X magazine, Parameter, Brittle Star, Citizen 32 and Leeds Guide.

Notes and references

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/tees/content/articles/2005/03/03/pellethead_030305_feature.shtml Review, BBC Tees]
* [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1949776,00.html Profile in the Guardian]

External links

* [http://www.pennybroadhurst.com/ Official website]