Award-winning singer KT (Kate) Tunstall is one of those performers who didn’t burst so much as crept onto center stage. But, since her goal is to be a “vocational musician,” now that she’s here, she’s probably here to stay.
Tunstall, who rose to fame on the success of the songs “Black Horse And the Cherry Tree” and “Suddenly I See” (used in the first scene of The Devil Wears Prada) from the album Eye to the Telescope, didn’t even bother listening to music when she was growing up in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Her (adopted) mother was a primary school teacher; her dad, a physicist. He liked to take her to the St. Andrews University Observatory, where she spent hours with her eye to the telescope. The album’s name is a tribute to her father and those days.
Neither of her parents was particularly musical, and there was no music in the house, because her brother was deaf and their parents thought that a house without TV or music would work against the exclusion he was already facing from a noisy world. Tunstall now believes the silence helped her as well since it let her approach music, once it found her in her mid-teens, with a fresh palette.
Her initiation came when she was 16, at the hands of a group of Fife folk musicians, the Fence Collective, led by Kenny Anderson, better known as singer/songwriter King Creosote. She spent several years with them and then spent most of her 20s playing in Edinburgh rock bands such as Elia Drew, Tomoko and Red Light Stylus, toured with the Klezmer band Oi Va Voiand and played on their album, Laughter Through Tears. Then, with her 30th birthday fast approaching, she moved to London and recorded her own album, Eye to the Telescope.
The album got an unexpected boost when she was asked to step in for Nas on Later with Jools Holland and upstaged the other guests, The Cure, Embrace and the Futureheads. A veteran live performer, she wowed Glastonbury, got nominated for a Mercury Prize, won Q’s track of the year award for “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” (the song she song on Holland’s show), became the best selling female artist of 2005, beating out Madonna and Mariah Carey. To cap it off, she ended up winning a Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist.
America was a different story. The album wasn’t released until 2006 and was pretty much regarded as an import until American Idol contestant, Katherine McPhee asked if she could sing “Black Horse” on the show. Tunstall has been vocal in her dislike of shows like Idol, but agreed, figuring McPhee must have wanted to since "no one on that show told Katharine McPhee to sing my song because no one fucking knew it."
The exposure made a huge difference in Tunstall’s sales. Before the Idol turn, her record was in the bottom quarter of the top 100. The week after, it went to number 23 and was on its way to going platinum. Ultimately the record would sell 1.5 million copies in the U.K., a million or so in the U.S. and another million plus in the rest of the world. Not bad for a woman who claims to have been perfectly happy busking for a living.
She released an acoustic album, Acoustic Extravanza, in 2006 and in September 2007, her second original album, Drastic Fantastic. Although initial reviews have been less than stellar reviews, earning only a C+ from Entertainment Weekly), Tunstall is unphased because she’s proud of the work.
“Really,” Tunstall wrote on her website, “I think the most important thing is being sure it’s about being a vocational musician. It’s not about being famous and it’s not about being loaded. It’s about getting yourself into a position where you can play gigs.” And, indeed, on that end, Tunstall has very little to worry about. Like a better mousetrap, all K.T. Tunstall has to do is announce that she’s playing live and people will come.
Hey! - We added a new track to the player called "U Dream". It's YOUR feedback that helps us figure out which tracks go on the new CD so please have a listen and drop off a comment. Tonight I am also clicking VOTES for ALL of our good friends in the You Bring the Talent contest. Please vote for us too if you like what you hear. Cheers! ... Adam
We want to say "Hi" to all of our newest friends on Uber & a huge "Thank You!" to everyone for all of the great comments, messages and votes. It's very encouraging to be a part of such a great community of artists and music lovers. Cheers! ... Adam
Hi KT Tunstall! I really like your music! I wish you win the nomination British Female Solo Artist on Brit Awards! Good look! Greetings!, Byee PS: Will you come to Chile?
Hey KT Thanks for adding me to your list. I love your music =) You are a great guitar player and you inspired me even more to train my guitar skills as well as my drawing skills. Somehow I'm more creative when I listen to your songs while drawing. anyways thanks again. take care
