Tara Blaise

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Tara Blaise


Img_capt =
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Tara Egan-Langley
Alias =
Born = London, England
Died =
Origin = Ireland
Instrument =
Voice_type = Alto [cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1890112/resume |title=Tara Blaise resume |publisher=Internet Movie Database |accessdate=2008-04-08]
Genre = Pop folk
Occupation = Singer
Actress
Years_active = 1990s — present
Label = Spokes Records
DRO/Atlantic (2006)
Associated_acts = Kaydee
John Hughes
URL = http://www.tarablaise.com
Notable_instruments =

Tara Blaise is a female pop folk rock singer from Ireland. The eldest of six children, she was born in London but at the age of three moved with her parents to Ireland and grew up in the rambling hills of Aughrim County Wicklow.

Biography

Early career

The daughter of an architect and a speech and drama teacher, Tara was introduced to the world of drama and music at a young age, studying Speech and Drama up to grade eight in the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

Tara Blaise's singing career began at 16 when she formed a band called Les Legumes with some school friends, but it was her stint as a backing singer with Dublin band The Wilde Oscars that first brought her to the attention of the Irish music scene.

After The Wilde Oscars came Igloo. Having made a name for themselves on the Irish live circuit, they entered the studio and produced a couple of well-received singles. Subsequently, when much-vaunted band Kaydee sought her out after their singer quit, she agreed to join. The Kaydee album on EMI was re-recorded to feature Tara's vocals and released to very positive reviews. However, despite regular touring including a Midem showcase and a London live club residency, Kaydee never quite hit the big time.

Solo career

"Wild Ocean"

Having just decided to go solo, Tara received a call from a friend who hooked her up with John Hughes, (manager of The Corrs, Musical Director of Alan Parker's film of "The Commitments", and former musician with Minor Detail).

John Hughes was in the middle of his own instrumental album ("Wild Ocean" released in October 2004 by 14th Floor Records/Warner UK), and he was looking for a vocalist/lyricist. They collaborated on one track, "Dancing In the Wind", and the association worked so well that they recorded another, "Come Away". Concurrently, Tara took the time to complete a course in Drama at Dublin's Gaiety School of Acting, finishing in time to add vocals to "Deo", the first single from the "Wild Ocean" album. Tara also appears in the video for "Deo", shot in County Antrim, including The Giant's Causeway, and "Dancing in the Wind".

"Dancing on Tables Barefoot"

John Hughes offered her an album deal on his own Spokes label, and sent her to Los Angeles to work with Corrs producer Olle Romo, resulting in her debut album "Dancing On Tables Barefoot". The first Tara Blaise solo single was "Fool for Love", featuring only Tara's voice and a string quartet.Both "Fool for Love" and follow up "Paperback Cliché" were playlisted by BBC Radio 2 in the UK and Tara covered much ground with a tour of UK regional radio stations, perform with Corrs’ guitarist Anthony Drennan.

"Paperback Cliché" was a huge radio hit in Ireland, gaining more than 400 plays, and listed at No 2 in the Irish artist airplay Chart, behind U2, and was featured in the movie "Tara Road". The album "Dancing on Tables Barefoot" was released in the summer of 2005, and described by Hot Press as “a warm and honest record, lit by a genuine sense of personal adventure, and delivered with feeling and panache in equal measure.” "The Sunday Times" said ‘Pretty much everything here could be a single..’

Live shows in the summer of 2005 included The Isle of Wight Festival (where a video was shot for third single "The Three Degrees"), T in the Park, the Richmond Festival, Yorks, The Secret Garden, V Festivals in Chelmsford & Staffs and in Ireland the Oxegen Festival (Naas, County Kildare). She headlined London's Bush Hall in September 2005, and had her first headlining Irish tour, culminating in a Dublin show at the Sugar Club in November.

A slightly different version of "Dancing On Tables Barefoot" was released in Spain in February 2006 on the DRO/Atlantic label, part of the Warner Music Group. Their first single was "The Three Degrees", which reached number 9 in the Spanish airplay Chart. Tara and guitarist Anthony Drennan made various appearances in Spain to promote the album in early March, returning in late June / early July.

In April 2006, Tara Blaise appeared as 'Beth' in the first stage production of "Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds", alongside Justin Hayward, Russell Watson, Chris Thompson and others. The production toured the UK (including The Albert Hall and Wembley where the DVD was shot) & Ireland from 13 to 30 April 2006 and prior to that Tara opened the show at a special concert in Trafalgar Square on 12 March to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

In July 2006 Tara toured Spain in support of the second single "Paperback Cliché", playing a special acoustic concert in Santiago de Compostela, plus live in-store appearances in FNAC,(Madrid) and Discos Castello (Barcelona). Accompanied by Irish guitarists Anthony Drennan and Conor Brady, these appearances prefaced future acoustic shows to be announced.

"Great Escape"

In March and April 2007 Tara opened for Michael Ball on his 23 date tour of the UK. Tara released a single called "Fall at the Start" in June 2007 and featured on "The Tao of Bergerac", a comedy show by Will Smith and Roger Drew on BBC Radio 4 on 15 August 2007 which was later released. In April and May 2008 she opened for Brian Kennedy on his Irish tour. "Fall at the Start" is also featured on Blaise's second album "Great Escape", which was released in May 2008. A single titled "Breathe" was released in March and the forthcoming single, "Make You", is produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Blaise is also to be featured in an advertising campaign for the Dublin Make-up brand [http://www.face2.ie/ Face2] [cite web |url=http://missliliphoto.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/face2/ |title=Face2 |publisher=Lili Forberg Photography |date=2008-04-09 |accessdate=2008-04-18] .

Discography

Albums

References

External links

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* [http://www.tarablaise.net/ TaraBlaise.net] (Fan website)
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