Rachel Fuller is a singer songwriter who flies the flag for Essex, where she was brought up in Southend-On-Sea.
However, unlike her stereotypical counterparts, instead of dancing around a handbag in white stilettos, Rachel’s youth was spent penning orchestral compositions for the London Philharmonic (at the tender age of ten) and later working at the local crematorium playing funeral hymns, because ‘the money was good’. A self - composed death requiem followed, inspired by the film ‘Amadeus’ (portraying the life and death of Mozart) and so did the increasing demand for her to work as an arranger. Her classical roots echo continuously throughout her work. ‘Cigarettes and Housework’, Rachel’s debut album, also allowed her to aspire to the standards set by her favorite artists Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder.
“I used to have an attic at home where I would hide out, just me and my hormones, listening to these genius musicians. I found inspiration here. The attic was where I could purge my emotions through my music.
When my best friend Mikey split up with his girlfriend, he ended up living there. We spent months writing and jamming together”
Her music and words are autobiographical, poignant stories. " The songs are quite self-explanatory. A lot of them come from personal experience and how I perceive relationships, and the imperfections that we all have."
It was whilst working as a music arranger that she met her partner to be, Pete Townshend, Rachel was orchestrating songs for his Lifehouse project. Although impressed by her orchestral skills, he was particularly taken by the clarity of her voice and encouraged her to perform and record her own work. A record deal with Universal soon followed after being signed by Doug Morris.
Last year, Rachel opened the main stage at T in the Park and performed at the BPI/Radio2 showcase at the respected South By South West festival in Austin, Texas.
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BILLBOARD --- March 17th 2005
“She's followed by Rachel Fuller, whose underrated Universal set, "Cigarettes and Housework," came out last summer in the United States; a U.K. release is still pending.
Seated behind a grand piano, Fuller's delicate, lovely voice and songs fit perfectly into the current "chanteuse" mood of such acts as Nellie McKay -- although Fuller isn't quite as quirky. However, she certainly provided a wacky SXSW moment: Tall Texan Jerry Hall joined her on "Around This Table,' reciting lyrics supported by Fuller's singing.
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She also appeared live on radio 2’s cabaret with Eddie Izzard at Ronnie Scotts.
Another highlight for Rachel, was appearing at the Poetry Olympics in 2005 at the Royal Albert Hall. This time, Rachel and Pete were the musical accompaniment to Jerry Hall, reciting a piece written by Rachel.
Rachel has also achieved unbelievable success on KIAC radio, winning Song of the Year and having a No.1 with Just Breathe for 8 weeks. She also fought off tough competition from artists such as Sheryl Crow, XTC, Echo and The Bunnymen to name a few, to hit the No.1 spot again for 7 weeks with her cover of Ruby Tuesday, (see attached chart for 1st May 06.) KIAC has impressive statistics with over 10 million hits per month! Rachel has to date had over 175,000 plays of her music.
Visit www.iacmusic.com to chart Rachel’s success.
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ROLLING STONE --- latest edition reviewed “Sunrise”,
Rachel Fuller and Pete Townshend (3 stars) "Sunrise"
iacmusic.com
More than any other veteran artist, Townshend is exploiting the freedom of the Net, posting online diaries, an episodic novella and live cuts. Now, just for the hell of it, he's recording a bunch of songs with his girlfriend: Among the best is this delicate take on an obscure ballad from The Who Sell Out, with Townshend accompanying Fuller's breathy, Tori Amos-esque vocals with some gossamer acoustic guitar.
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With her new EP, ‘Shine’ out in June and ‘In The Attic” touring alongside The Who on their first ever world tour starting this summer, Rachel certainly has something to Shine about.
Rachel’s EP will be out in June available at all Barnes and Nobles Stores across America and on line at: Barnes and Noble She is also doing live PA’s at some of the larger Barnes and Noble stores this autumn whilst on the road.
Rachel will be performing tracks from her new EP at the Brighton Songwriting festival on the 28th May 2006, featuring Pete Townshend as her special guest, more details of this can be found on her website:
Rachel Fuller
Or read her daily ravings on her blog, which has had over 450,000 visits!
Rachel's Blog
Rachel's Shop
Rachel's Show
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