- Dannielle Gaha
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Dannielle DeAndrea Birth name Dannielle Gaha Also known as Danni'elle, Sheets Afyre Genres rock, soul, pop, jazz Occupations singer-songwriter Instruments vocals Years active 1986–present Labels East West, Warner, Epic Associated acts Glenn Shorrock, John Farnham, Jason Donovan, The Nissan Cedrics Website danniellegaha.com Dannielle Gaha DeAndrea, sometimes styled as Danni'elle, is an Australian singer-songwriter. She has toured and recorded with fellow Australian John Farnham, their 1989 duet, "Communication", peaked at number 13 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart. When based in London during 1992–1993, she released three solo singles, "Stuck in the Middle", "Do It for Love" and "Secret Love" which appeared in the UK Singles Chart,[1] and she is the first Australian artist to appear on the UK soul chart.
As Sheets Afyre, she was part of a singing duo, The Nissan Cedrics, with Louise Anton on ABC-TV comedy show, Club Buggery from 1995, which was hosted by Roy and HG. The Nissan Cedrics released, Going for a Song in 1997. Her debut solo album, You Don't Know Me, contains jazz covers, was issued in 2002. She is the sister of reality television producer Eden Gaha. In 2007, she married Kyle DeAndrea and they live in Los Angeles, California. Her second solo album, Chocolate for Holly appeared in 2008.
Contents
Career
DeAndrea was a backing vocalist for Glenn Shorrock (ex-Little River Band) during his solo tours in the late 1980s and together they released a duet single, "One Million Minutes of Peace" for the International Year of Peace (1986). She first came to national prominence in August 1989, on a duet with John Farnham (ex-Little River Band) called "Communication", which reached number 13 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart.[2] She toured with Jason Donovan as a backing vocalist in 1990 and on-stage she sang Kylie Minogue's part in the duet, "Especially for You" with Donovan.[3] DeAndrea released her debut solo single, "I Like It" in 1991 and followed with "Secret Love" in 1992, neither had chart success in Australia.[2] Late that year she signed to Epic Records and travelled to the UK. Her first UK single "Stuck in the Middle" peaked in the top 75—the radio version is much slower and lighter than the accompanying club remixes by Roger Sanchez and E-Smoove. Despite the club success of "Stuck in the Middle", it did not achieve a high chart placing. Epic released "Do It for Love" in February 1993, which peaked just outside the UK Top 50.[3][4] Again, the track came with a batch of club remixes.
In June 1993, DeAndrea's remixed version of "Secret Love" was released, it became a UK club hit and peaked at No. 41.[3][4] . There was an album recorded around this time, featuring the three aforesaid singles, but Epic chose not to release it, disappointingly. One of the tracks from these sessions Show Some Mercy has been previewed on Youtube. All of Gaha's singles were big UK club hits, but testament to the particular popularity of 'Secret Love' amongst clubbers, was affirmed in 1998, when Danny J Lewis sampled heavily the 'Wanna spend the night with you' vocal from the track, on his single, Spend The Night, which was a UK Top 30 hit. Additionally, In 2002, an unofficial remix was issued due to demand from clubbers and distributed to various radio stations and clubs. The remixes came mostly from Dave Lee under his "Joey Negro" guise. The radio version - as was the case for her previous singles - was different from the club mixes. DeAndrea was the first Australian artist to hit the dance/soul charts in the UK with her singles.[3]
As Sheets Afyre, she was part of a singing duo, The Nissan Cedrics, with Louise Anton (as Muff Merkin) on ABC-TV comedy show, Club Buggery from 1995, which was hosted by Roy and HG. The Nissan Cedrics released, Going for a Song in 1997.[3]
She toured Australia with Farnham in 2002–2003 on his The Last Time Tour. Her debut album You Don't Know Me, released in 2003, was an entirely different musical direction for DeAndrea. It comprised covers of jazz and blues standards by artists like Ella Fitzgerald, and included, "Moon River", "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" and "The Masquerade Is Over". You Don't Know Me was well-received by critics and sold respectably in Australia but did not chart.[2][5]
In early 2007, DeAndrea recorded an album with French composer Christophe Jacquelin, who found her on MySpace and flew her over for 2 weeks to record the album Lovers and Tears by Leaving the Ozone—a project with DeAndrea, Jacquelin and songwriter Claudia Phillips—with a French and Bulgarian orchestra.[5][6] One of their songs was used for the closing credits on 3D IMAX movie Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean (2008). Also in 2007, DeAndrea married Kyle DeAndrea, they live in Los Angeles, California. She released a CD, Chocolate for Holly, which includes a reworked version of "Do It for Love". DeAndrea won a California State University, Northridge (CSUN) jazz competition in late 2007 and from that recorded her next original EP Be with Me".
In 2008 DeAndrea joined up with Scooter Pietsch and Jessica New to record a dance, pop album Supabeat. Songs from this album have been used on television series including, Degrassi High, The Bold and the Beautiful, MTV's Real World, The Greek and Burn Notice.[5]
In March 2009, DeAndrea returned to Australia for the launch of Chocolate for Holly and Be with Me at The Vanguard, the performance was sold out. DeAndrea joined Farnham on his Back By Demand Tour in September–October 2009 throughout Australia. She also performed solo concerts of her own material and jazz standards into November.[7]
In 2010, DeAndrea toured Europe and North America as part of Jackson Browne's band. She returned to Australia in October to join Farnham on his national tour. She also performed side shows to promote the release of her new single "Blue Skies".
Discography
Singles
Title Released Label Other Information "One Million Minutes of Peace" 1986 Label unknown Duet with Glenn Shorrock. "Communication" August 1989 Label unknown Duet with John Farnham. "I Like It" 1991 Label unknown Debut solo single. "Secret Love" Early 1992 Epic "Stuck in the Middle" August 1992 Epic "Do It for Love" February 1993 Epic CD single features bonus track, "Strong Heart". "Secret Love" June 1993 Epic 7" re-release features bonus track, "One More Chance". Albums
Title Released Label Other Information Going for a Song 1997 East West, Warner Music Group As a member (Sheets Afyre) of The Nissan Cedrics. You Don't Know Me 2003 Sony Debut solo album Lovers and Tears 2007 cdbaby Recorded with Christophe Jacquelin and French and Bulgarian orchestras as Leaving the Ozone. Chocolate for Holly 2008 itunes Second solo album Supabeat 2008 itunes With Scooter Pietsch and Jessica New. Be With Me 2008 itunes Solo EP References
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 164. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b c "Discography Danni'elle". Australian charts portal. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Danni%27elle. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d e McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Danni'elle Gaha'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1865080721. http://web.archive.org/web/20040803181234/www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=4. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ a b "UK Singles Chart runs". polyhex.com. http://www.polyhex.com/music/chartruns/chartruns.php. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ a b c "Dannielle Gaha :: About this Artist". ReverbNation (eMinor, Inc). http://www.reverbnation.com/danniellegaha#/page_object/page_object_bio/artist_549958. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "Leaving the Ozone | Lovers and Tears". CD Baby. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lto#. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "Dannielle DeAndrea (aka Dannielle Gaha) Australian Tour". LiveGuide.com.au. http://www.liveguide.com.au/Tours/643764/Dannielle_DeAndrea/Dannielle_DeAndrea_aka_Dannielle_Gaha_Australian_Tour. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
External links
Categories:- Living people
- Australian dance musicians
- Australian female singers
- Australian pop singers
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