Nancy Nova

Nancy Nova
Background information
Birth name	Carol Ann Holness
Genres	Disco/New wave
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	FX Records
Associated acts	Toto Coelo, Cleo Laine, Lena Zavaroni, Jesse Green, Richard E. Grant
Website	http://nancynova.com

Carol Ann Holness, better known by her stage name Nancy Nova, is a singer and songwriter from London, largely active from 1978 to 1983. She is the daughter of Bob Holness and sister of Ros Holness of Toto Coelo.

Biography

Nova attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for three years from the age of 18.^[1] She initially found success as a songwriter for Jesse Green, writing the single "Flip". She was a featured artist on the Italian television programme Non Stop for six weeks and her single, "Akiri Non Stop", was used as the theme music for the show. Her 1981 single, "The Force", received radio airplay and was a hit in the dance charts.^[which?] She was a founder member of Toto Coelo, but left before they achieved popularity due to her signing a worldwide recording contract with EMI.^[1]

She has also written songs and sang backing vocals for Lena Zavaroni and Cleo Laine. Though quiet for most of the 1980s and 1990s, in 2004 Nova released a compilation album of her 1980s songs on CD, entitled The Force. A year later, an album of new material in a jazz style was released, entitled Nancy Sings Jazz. The latest album, Blowout (2007), was only available through iTunes.

She was noted by Paul Gambaccini in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums for being in the charts the same week as her sister (4 September 1982).^[2]

Discography

Albums

• Akiri Non Stop (1978, Derby)
• The Force (CD) (2004, FX Records)
• Nancy Sings Jazz (2005, FX Records)
• Blowout (2007, iTunes only, FX Records)

Singles

• "No Way" (1978, Vogue)
• "Akiri Non Stop" (1978, Derby)
• "Heaven" (1979, Ritz/Derby)
• "Heaven" (1980, Hansa)
• "The Force" (1981, Ritz/Hansa)
• "Made In Japan" (1982, EMI)
• "No, No, No" (1982, EMI) - UK #63;^[3] Portugal #3
• "Lifeline" (1983, EMI)

Compilation appearances

• Modern Heroes (TV Records 1982) - featured "Made In Japan"^[4]
• Twelve Inches of Pleasure (Proto Records 1983) - featured "The Force"^[4]

Releases as songwriter

Singles

• Jesse Green - "Flip" (co-writer) (EMI Records, 1976) - UK #26^[5]
• Sue - "Tip for the Top" (co-writer)^[6]
• Richard E Grant & Orpheus - "To Be Or Not To Be" (co-writer) (Avex, 1997)^[7]

Albums

• Cleo Laine - Return to Carnegie - "Direction" (co-writer)
• Geordie - Save The World - "You Do This To Me" (co-writer)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Nancy Nova Biography". http://nancynova.com/biography.html. Retrieved 2008-05-17. 
2. ^ Gambaccini, Paul (2008). Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums (19th Edition). Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 398. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Discogs.com listings". http://www.discogs.com/artist/Nancy+Nova. Retrieved 2008-05-17. 
5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 235. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
6. ^ "Sue Tip for the Top Credits listing". http://www.discogs.com/release/198533. Retrieved 2008-05-17. 
7. ^ "Orpheus Credits listings". http://www.discogs.com/release/198533. Retrieved 2008-05-17. 

External links

• Official website
• Myspace page
• 80sactual Blogspot - Mentioned as being in the charts alongside her sister in The Sun in September 1982

Persondata
Name	Nova, Nancy
Alternative names	Holness, Carol Ann
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death
Place of death