Elkie Brooks
(born Elaine Bookbinder, 25 February 1945 in Broughton, Salford) is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. She is known for her husky voice.
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ELKIE BROOKS TICKETS
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Life and career
Brooks was born to
Jewish parents in
Salford, England and grew up in
Prestwich. She attended North Salford Secondary Modern School.
A professional singer since she was fifteen, Brooks' debut, a cover of
Etta James's "Something's Got A Hold On Me", was released on
Decca in 1964. She spent most of the 1960s on Britain's
jazz scene.It was on the jazz scene she met Humphrey Lyttelton the two remained friends till Lyttelton's death in 2008. Impressed by
Steve Marriott's vocal and stage performances, she helped the mod band Small Faces with their early career by introducing them at several venues. In the early 1960s Brooks supported
The Beatles in their Christmas show in London. She also toured the U.S with The Animals, among other acts and also supported
Jimi Hendrix.After she met husband Pete Gage, she joined the short-lived fusioneers Dada before forming
Vinegar Joe with Gage and
Robert Palmer. After three albums, they split up in 1974, and Brooks and Palmer both went solo. After a time as backing singer with the American southern boogie band
Wet Willie, she returned to England.
Her first solo album on A&M records
Rich Man's Woman
(1975) came before a run of sixteen UK hit albums in twenty-five years, starting with
Two Days Away
, produced by the legendary duo Leiber & Stoller, who had also worked with Elvis Presley and many others (1977). Brooks wrote some tracks with Leiber and Stoller. The hits "Pearl's a Singer", "Sunshine After the Rain" came from this album. "
Lilac Wine", Don't Cry Out Loud, came later. The albums
Shooting Star
(1978),
Live and Learn
(1979),
Pearls
(at the time, the largest selling album by a British female artist) (1981), "
Fool (If You Think It's Over)" was a hit for Brooks taken from this album, written by Chris Rea.
Pearls II
(1982),
Minutes
(1984) and
Screen Gems
the first album to be produced on CD in the UK (1984) were all UK chart successes. In 1986
No More the Fool
gave her biggest hit single to date while the parent album reached the top 5. Following chart success ensued with the albums
The Very Best of
(1986),
Bookbinders Kid
On
Bookbinders Kid
, she covered "What's The Matter Baby" previously recorded by Timi Yuro. Yuro got in touch with Brooks to compliment her. (1988),
Inspiration
(1981),
Round Midnight
(1993),
Nothin' But the Blues
(1994),
Amazing
(1996) and
The Very Best of
(1997). In 1980 Brooks performed at the Knebworth festival with
The Beach Boys,
Santana and
Mike Oldfield.
Brooks' success has earned her recognition by the
Guinness Book of Records
as the most charted British female album artist of the last 30 years.
Pearls
stayed in the charts for 79 weeks and was still there when
Pearls II
charted a year later.
In March 2003 she participated in the
ITV music talent show
Reborn in the USA
, alongside musicians such as Peter Cox (
Go West Singer),
Tony Hadley and
Leee John. The
Electric Lady
album (2005) saw a return to her blues and rock roots, featuring self-penned tracks alongside re-workings of numbers by
The Doors,
Bob Dylan,
Paul Rodgers and
Tony Joe White. The following year saw the release of her first official DVD, titled
Elkie Brooks & Friends: Pearls
featuring an array of guest musicians.
Brooks is currently working on her 20th studio album. A popular live attraction, Brooks has toured almost every year during her solo career. Her 1982 UK concert tour was seen by more than 140,000 people in just three months. She has performed at every major UK theatre including sell out runs at the
London Palladium,
Dominion Theatre,
Hammersmith Apollo,
Ronnie Scott's,
Royal Albert Hall and
Wembley Arena.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year
| Album
| UK # [1]
| Weeks
| Label
|
| 1975
| Rich Man's Woman
| -
| -
| A&M
|
| 1977
| Two Days Away
| 16
| 20
| A&M
|
| 1978
| Shooting Star
| 20
| 13
| A&M
|
| 1979
| Live and Learn
| 34
| 6
| A&M
|
| 1981
| Pearls
| 2
| 79
| A&M
|
| 1982
| Pearls II
| 5
| 25
| A&M
|
| 1984
| Minutes
| 35
| 7
| A&M
|
| 1984
| Screen Gems
| 35
| 11
| A&M
|
| 1986
| No More the Fool
| 5
| 23
| Legend
|
| 1988
| Bookbinder's Kid
| 57
| 3
| Legend
|
| 1989
| Inspiration
| 58
| 3
| Telstar
|
| 1991
| Pearls III (Close to the Edge)
| -
| -
| Freestyle
|
| 1993
| Round Midnight
| 27
| 4
| Castle
|
| 1994
| Nothin' But the Blues
| 58
| 2
| Castle
|
| 1995
| Circles
| -
| -
| Permanent
|
| 1996
| Amazing
| 49
| 2
| Carlton Classics
|
| 2003
| Shangri-La
| -
| -
| Classic Pictures
|
| 2003
| Trouble in Mind
(with Humphrey Lyttelton)
| -
| -
| Classic Pictures
|
| 2005
| Electric Lady
| -
| -
| Swing Cafe
|
Live albums
| Year
| Album
| Label
|
| 1997
| The Pearls Concert
| Artful
|
| 2000
| Live at the Palladium
| JAM Records
|
| 2000
| Live 2000
| JAM Records
|
| 2005
| Don't Cry Out Loud
| Recall
|
| 2007
| Live With Friends
| EMP
|
Compilations
| Year
| Album
| UK # | Weeks
| Label
|
| 1986
| The Very Best of Elkie Brooks (Telstar)
| 10
| 18
| Telstar
|
| 1997
| The Very Best of Elkie Brooks (Polygram)
| 23 (re-entry 1998)
| 7
| Polygram
|
Singles
| Year
| Song
| UK # | Weeks
| Album
| Label
|
| 1964
| "Something's Got a Hold on Me"
| -
| -
| -
| Decca
|
| 1964
| "Nothing Left to Do but Cry"
| -
| -
| -
| Decca
|
| 1965
| "The Way You Do the Things You Do"
| -
| -
| -
| Decca
|
| 1965
| "He's Gotta Love Me"
| -
| -
| -
| HMV
|
| 1965
| "All of My Life"
| -
| -
| -
| HMV
|
| 1966
| "Baby Let Me Love You"
| -
| -
| -
| HMV
|
| 1969
| "Come September"
| -
| -
| -
| NEMS
|
| 1974
| "Rescue Me"
| -
| -
| -
| Island
|
| 1975
| "Where Do We Go From Here"
| -
| -
| Rich Man's Woman
| A&M
|
| 1975
| "He's a Rebel"
| -
| -
| Rich Man's Woman
| A&M
|
| 1977
| "Pearl's a Singer"
| 8
| 9
| Two Days Away
| A&M
|
| 1977
| "Saved"
| -
| -
| Two Days Away
| A&M
|
| 1977
| "Sunshine After the Rain"
| 10
| 9
| Two Days Away
| A&M
|
| 1977
| "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"
| -
| -
| Two Days Away
| A&M
|
| 1978
| "Lilac Wine"
| 16
| 7
| Pearls
| A&M
|
| 1978
| "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"
| 43
| 5
| Shooting Star
| A&M
|
| 1978
| "Since You Went Away"
| -
| -
| Shooting Star
| A&M
|
| 1978
| "Stay with Me" (Netherlands only)
| -
| -
| Shooting Star
| A&M
|
| 1979
| "Don't Cry Out Loud"
| 12
| 11
| Pearls
| A&M
|
| 1979
| "The Runaway"
| 50
| 5
| N/A
| A&M
|
| 1979
| "He Could Have Been an Army"
| -
| -
| Live and Learn
| A&M
|
| 1979
| "Falling Star"
| -
| -
| Live and Learn
| A&M
|
| 1980
| "Why Don't You Say It"
| -
| -
| -
| A&M
|
| 1980
| "Paint Your Pretty Picture"
| -
| -
| Pearls
| A&M
|
| 1980
| "Dance Away"
| -
| -
| Pearls
| A&M
|
| 1981
| "Warm and Tender Love"
| -
| -
| Pearls
| A&M
|
| 1981
| "Fool (If You Think It's Over)"
(Chris Rea cover)
| 17
| 10
| Pearls
| A&M
|
| 1982
| "Our Love"
| 43
| 5
| Pearls II
| A&M
|
| 1982
| "Nights in White Satin"
| 33
| 5
| Pearls II
| A&M
|
| 1982
| "Will You Write Me a Song"
| -
| -
| Pearls II
| A&M
|
| 1983
| "Gasoline Alley"
| 52
| 5
| Pearls II
| A&M
|
| 1983
| "I Just Can't Go On"
| -
| -
| Pearls II
| A&M
|
| 1984
| "Minutes"
| -
| -
| Minutes
| A&M
|
| 1984
| "Driftin'"
| -
| -
| Minutes
| A&M
|
| 1984
| "Once in a While"
| -
| -
| Screen Gems
| A&M/EMI
|
| 1986
| "No More the Fool"
| 5
| 16
| No More the Fool
| Legend
|
| 1987
| "Break the Chain"
| 55
| 3
| No More the Fool
| Legend
|
| 1987
| "We've Got Tonight"
| 69
| 1
| No More the Fool
| Legend
|
| 1987
| "Too Much To Lose"
| -
| -
| -
| BMG
|
| 1988
| "Sail On"
| -
| -
| Bookbinders Kid
| Legend
|
| 1989
| "Shame"
| -
| -
| Inspiration
| Telstar
|
| 1989
| "You're the Inspiration" (Belgium only)
| -
| -
| Inspiration
| Telstar/Disky
|
| 1990
| "I'll Never Love This Way Again"
| -
| -
| Inspiration
| Telstar
|
| 1990
| "For the World" (withdrawn before release)
| -
| -
| -
| European Artists
|
| 1991
| "The Last Teardrop"
| -
| -
| Pearls III (Close to the Edge)
| Freestyle
|
| 1991
| "One of a Kind (Belgium only)"
| -
| -
| Pearls III (Close to the Edge)
| Freestyle/Dureco
|
| 2005
| "Out of the Rain"
| -
| -
| Electric Lady
| Swing Cafe
|
References
- British Hit Singles & Albums