{{short description|English singer-songwriter, actress (b. 1956)}} {{EngvarB|date=August 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{multiple issues| {{BLP sources|date=April 2010}} {{BLP primary sources|date=May 2011}} }} {{Infobox musical artist | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1956}} | birth_place = Pinner, Middlesex, England | genre = Folk, pop | occupation = {{hlist|Singer-songwriter|composer|multi-instrumentalist|record producer|actress}}<!--Please do not add to this list without first discussing your proposal on the talk page. --> | instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|pump organ|autoharp}}<!--- If you think an instrument should be listed or removed, a discussion to reach consensus is needed first per: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Infobox_musical_artist#instrument---> | years_active = | website = {{URL|charliedore.com}} | label = {{hlist|Island|Chrysalis}} | associated_acts = }} '''Charlie Dore''' (born 1956) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and actress.
Although best known as a singer-songwriter, Dore has a multi-faceted career that includes acting in film, TV and radio, comedy-improvisation, and composition for film and TV. She studied drama at the Arts Educational School, Tring and London.<ref name="AMG">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/charlie-dore-mn0000171576|title=Charlie Dore | Biography & History|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=2 November 2019}}</ref>
==Career== ===Early years=== Dore worked for two years in repertory in Newcastle at the Tyneside Theatre Company, starting in the touring company, Stagecoach, where she performed in theatres, schools, streets, a psychiatric hospital, Oxford University, and the Swan Hunter shipyard canteen. She later appeared in several shows directed by Michael Bogdanov, including a rock musical version of Euripides' ''The Bacchae''; ''Orgy'' by Cecil Taylor; ''Oh, What a Lovely War!''; and Joe Orton's ''What the Butler Saw''.
Moving back to London, Dore worked in fringe theatre, then joined Thames TV's long-running series ''Rainbow'' for 18 months, writing and performing songs with Julian Littman, whom she had met at drama school, and Karl Johnson, an actor-musician from the Tyneside Theatre Company before being replaced by the more familiar ensemble of Rod Burton, Matthew Corbett and Jane Tucker which evolved into Rod, Jane and Freddy. After this, Dore, Littman and Johnson composed and recorded the original theme from the BBC pre-school series ''You and Me''.
A friend, blues guitarist Sam Mitchell, asked Dore to deputise for him at Obelisk, a Westbourne Grove pancake house where he played on Monday nights. Dore co-opted Julian Littman and Karl Johnson to help pad out the long sets required and the band grew, eventually including Karl's brother Stuart Johnson on banjo and dobro, and various guests on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar. It was the basis of her first band, Hula Valley. The band played a selection of bluegrass, western swing, and hillbilly music, as Dore was yet to start her own songwriting.
As the band grew and changed shape and name, from Prairie Oyster to Fresh Oyster to Charlie Dore's Back Pocket,<ref name="Larkin80">{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=2003|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-969-9|page=167}}</ref> original material started to flow and the band played the London pub and club circuit, regularly appearing at The Hope & Anchor, The Half Moon, Dingwalls, and the Rock Garden. During this period the band personnel was still changing and included, among others, Charlie Gaisford, Ian McCann, Keith Nelson, Gus York, Garrick Dewar, Paul Atkinson and Pick Withers on drums, who was also playing with the early Dire Straits.<ref name=CDCom>{{Cite web|url=http://www.charliedore.com/|title=Charlie Dore|website=Charliedore.com|accessdate=2 November 2019}}</ref>
===First album=== She was spotted by Island Records and signed to a solo recording and publishing deal by Chris Blackwell in 1978, later that year being flown to Nashville, Tennessee, to work with producer Audie Ashworth at his Crazy Mama's studio.<ref name="Larkin80"/> Dore continued to work with Littman, her guitarist and co-writer, and the first album, ''Where to Now'', featured many favoured session musicians, including Charlie McCoy, Reggie Young, Sonny Curtis, and David Briggs.
Island employed Joe Boyd to re-mix the album, but thought the album 'too country' and drafted in the British record producers Alan Tarney and Bruce Welch to re-record several tracks, including "Fear of Flying" and "Pilot of the Airwaves".<ref name="Larkin80"/> The latter went on to become an enduring radio favourite, reaching No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, earning Dore the ''Record World'' New Female Artist of the Year, an ASCAP award and charting in Canada, Australia, and Europe. The single reached number 66 on the UK Singles Chart,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 166}}</ref> and Dore left Island for a deal with Chrysalis Records.<ref name="Larkin80"/> Chrysalis teamed Dore with the record producer, Glyn Johns, but the company were not happy with the result, and Dore was flown to Los Angeles to re-record the entire album with producer Stewart Levine.<ref name=CDCom />
On 5 November 1990, "Pilot of the Airwaves" was the final track played by Radio Caroline as an unlicensed offshore radio station.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.offshoreechos.com/offshorethemes/1st%20%26%20Last%20A-L.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929033318/http://www.offshoreechos.com/offshorethemes/1st%20%26%20Last%20A-L.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2011|title=First & last|accessdate=2 November 2019}}</ref>
===Second album=== The second album, ''Listen!'',<ref name="Larkin80"/> featured most of Toto as the studio band. She toured with her UK band throughout 1981 and 1982, representing the UK in Tokyo at the Yamaha Song Festival and won the Silver prize at the Seoul Song Festival with her song "Sister Revenge".<ref name=CDCom />
===As an actress=== In 1983, she starred opposite Jonathan Pryce and Tim Curry In Richard Eyre's film, ''The Ploughman's Lunch'',<ref name="Larkin80"/> and during the 1980s more acting work followed, including leading roles in ''A Killing on the Exchange'' (1987) and ''Hard Cases'' (1989)<ref name="Larkin80"/> for ITV, ''South of the Border'' (1988)<ref name="Larkin80"/> for BBC, and two productions, ''Whistle Stop'' and ''The Big Sweep'' with People Show, the UK's longest running fringe theatre group.
Dore also appeared in Eric Idle's comedy for BBC radio, ''Behind the Crease,'' directed by Harry Thompson. It was a second collaboration, the first being a duet with Idle, "Harry," which Idle had written, composed, and performed with Dore as a jokey birthday present for his friend Harry Nilsson. However, Nilsson surprised Idle by including the original recording on his 1980 ''Flash Harry'' album.<ref name=CDCom />
===As a songwriter=== During this time she started to have success as a writer for other artists, initially scoring a U.S. number 7 hit with "Strut", co-written and co-composed with Littman for Sheena Easton,<ref name="Larkin80"/> and going on to have her songs recorded by artists including Tina Turner, George Harrison, Celine Dion, Paul Carrack, Ricky Ross, Worlds Apart, and Jimmy Nail; for whom she co-wrote "Ain't No Doubt", a UK number 1.<ref name="Larkin80"/>
===In comedy=== In 1990, she co-founded comedy-improvisation troupe, Dogs on Holiday, which hosted and performed at its own Soho venue, The Hurricane Club.<ref name="Larkin80"/> The club, which ran for six years on Saturday nights with a mixture of improvisation and stand-up, played regular host to the emerging careers of comedians such as Mark Lamarr, Harry Hill, and Jo Brand, and also enjoyed a guest visit from Robin Williams, who joined the team onstage for an evening of improvisation.
===''Things Change''=== In 1995, Dore ventured back into the recording studio to record her own album, ''Things Change'' (Black Ink/Grapevine), which included the original version of "Refuse to Dance", featuring actor Alan Rickman (this song was later covered by Celine Dion on her multi-platinum album ''The Colour of My Love'').<ref name="Larkin80"/> The album also included "Time Goes By", which was remixed by Italian team Souled Out (who later became known as Planet Funk) and produced a European dance hit, reaching number 6 in Italy and number 1 in Israel.
==Later career== Over the next decade she continued to produce hits for artists including the German pop idols No Angels, Lisa Stansfield, Hayley Westenra, Status Quo, and a second track for Celine Dion, "Rain, Tax (It's Inevitable)", co-written with another long-standing collaborator, Terry Britten, which appeared on Dion's ''A New Day Has Come''.
Between 2001 and 2003, Dore and Littman provided the score for two series of BBC drama, ''Two Thousand Acres of Sky'', and also a film, ''Roman Road'' (Zenith 2004). During this time she also collaborated with Simon Rogers, one half of underground dance group Slacker, to produce ''Space Country'', a collection of ambient country music.
In 2005, Dore released ''Sleep All Day and Other Stories'', a return to her acoustic country-folk roots, followed by ''Cuckoo Hill'' in 2006. Both albums won her excellent reviews,{{By whom|date=May 2012}} as well as the International Acoustic Music Awards Grand Prize for the song, "Looking for My Own Lone Ranger". "File under treasure," wrote Charlie Gillett in ''The Observer''{{'}}s Music Magazine.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}
In 2008, Dore won Overall Grand Prize as well as Best Folk Award at the 4th Annual International Acoustic Music Awards.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} The following year saw the release of ''The Hula Valley Songbook'', a collection of American hillbilly, western swing, and popular favourites of the 1930s, based around the set list performed by her first band and originally recorded by artists such as Jimmie Rodgers, Al Bowlly, and Milton Brown. Dore toured the UK with her band, Littman, Dudley Phillips, Steve Simpson, and Jake Walker, collectively known as the Hula Valley Orchestra, also opening for Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra for several of his summer concerts.
In October 2009, Dore's cover of "Here Comes the Sun", a Hawaiian reggae version produced with Littman, was included in ''Mojo'' magazine's tribute album, ''Abbey Road Revisited''. It was the biggest selling edition of the magazine to date.<ref name=CDCom />
In April 2011, Dore released ''Cheapskate Lullabyes'', which included an unplugged rendition of "I'm Cleaning Out My House" from her previous album, ''The Hula Valley Songbook''. It was released on CD and digitally through iTunes.
==Discography== ===Albums=== *1979 ''Where to Now'' on LP/TC (Island) and reissue CD on CherryRed/Lemon Records (US number 145) *1981 ''Listen!'' on LP/TC (Chrysalis) and reissue CD on CherryRed/Lemon Records *1981 ''Listen!'' on LP (Chrysalis) Japanese pressing WWS-81446/VIP-4113 *1995 ''Things Change'' on CD *2005 ''Sleep All Day and Other Stories'' on CD *2006 ''Cuckoo Hill'' on CD *2009 ''The Hula Valley Songbook'' on CD/mp3 *2011 ''Cheapskate Lullabyes'' on CD/mp3 *2014 ''Milk Roulette'' on CD/mp3 *2017 ''Dark Matter'' on CD/mp3 *2020 ''Like Animals'' on CD/mp3
===Singles=== *1979 "Pilot of the Airwaves" (US number 13 Pop (Billboard) number 12 (Cashbox) / number 4 Adult Contemporary, 1980) UK number 66; CAN number 3, AUS number 28,<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=93}}</ref> NZ number 2, GER number 37 *1979 "Fear of Flying" *1981 "Listen", AUS number 85<ref name=aus/> *1997 "Time Goes By" UK number 79, IT number 6, ISR number 1 *2005 "Sleep All Day" *2005 "Cartoon" *2007 "Some Kind of Love" *2024. “Blowing Leaves”
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website}} * {{IMDb name}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dore, Charlie}} Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:People from Pinner Category:English film actresses Category:English women singer-songwriters Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Island Records artists Category:Actors from the London Borough of Harrow