''The Poison'' is the debut album by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. The album was released on October 3, 2005 through Visible Noise Records in the UK, and on February 14, 2006 in the United States through Trustkill Records. The album included 11 new songs and two previously heard songs, "Cries in Vain", which was previously heard from their self-titled UK EP and from their US EP, ''Hand of Blood'', as well as from "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" was previously heard. Some copies of the album contain the song "Hand of Blood", previously heard from the same-titled EP, replacing "Spit You Out".

The album debuted at No. 128 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 2 on the Heatseekers Chart, and as of January 30, 2009, the album has sold 1,300,000 copies worldwide and 500,000 copies in the US. It's the first album released through Trustkill Records to be officially certified gold by the RIAA.

Track listing

{{tracklist | collapsed = yes | headline = Alternate version | title1 = Intro | length1 = 2:22 | note1 = feat. Apocalyptica | title2 = Her Voice Resides | length2 = 4:17 | title3 = 4 Words (To Choke Upon) | length3 = 3:43 | title4 = Tears Don't Fall | length4 = 5:56 | title5 = Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do) | length5 = 3:35 | title6 = Hit the Floor | length6 = 3:30 | title7 = All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me) | length7 = 3:45 | title8 = Hand of Blood | length8 = 3:36 | note8 = replaced "Spit You Out" | title9 = Room 409 | length9 = 4:01 | title10 = The Poison | length10 = 3:39 | title11 = 10 Years Today | length11 = 3:55 | title12 = Cries in Vain | length12 = 3:56 | title13 = The End | length13 = 6:48 }}

{{tracklist | collapsed = yes | headline = Deluxe Version Bonus Tracks | title14 = Seven Days | length14 = 3:24 | title15 = My Fist, Your Mouth, Her Scars | length15 = 3:52 | title16 = Welcome Home (Sanitarium) | length16 = 6:13 | note16 = Metallica cover | title17 = Tears Don't Fall | length17 = 4:37 | note17 = Acoustic }}

{{tracklist | collapsed = yes | headline = Bonus DVD Included in the Deluxe Version | title1 = 4 Words (To Choke Upon) | note1 = Filmed Live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo | length1 = 3:47 | title2 = Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do) | note2 = Filmed Live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo | length2 = 3:41 | title3 = Cries in Vain | note3 = Filmed Live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo | length3 = 4:17 | title4 = All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me) | note4 = Filmed Live At Brixton Academy, London, England | length4 = 3:53 | title5 = Her Voices Resides | note5 = Filmed Live At Brixton Academy, London, England | length5 = 4:26 | title6 = Hand of Blood | note6 = Video | length6 = 3:34 | title7 = 4 Words (To Choke Upon) | note7 = Video | length7 = 3:51 | title8 = Tears Don't Fall | note8 = Video | length8 = 4:40 | title9 = All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me) | note9 = Video | length9 = 3:58 }} {{tracklist | collapsed = yes | headline = UK Re-issue bonus tracks | title14 = Seven Days | length14 = 3:24 | title15 = My Fist, Your Mouth, Her Scars | length15 = 3:52 | title16 = Spit You Out | length16 = 4:16 | note16 = Live at the Brixton Academy | title17 = All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me) | length17 = 4:03 | note17 = Live at the Brixton Academy }}

{{tracklist | collapsed = yes | headline = Japanese Deluxe bonus tracks | title14 = Room 409 | length14 = 4:00 | note14 = Live | title15 = Spit You Out | length15 = 4:03 | note15 = Live }}

Limited Edition Multimedia Content

Singles

Personnel

;Additional musicians

Reception

The album has received generally many favorable reviews from the critics. Corey Apar of Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars out of 5, stating "Overall, The Poison is a well-produced, solid effort — but seeing as they're now trying to take over American hearts, it would be nice to see future attempts to distinguish themselves more from the new-school pack."

;The Poison

Release history

Details

References

Category:Bullet for My Valentine albums Category:2005 albums Category:Debut albums Category:Metalcore albums Category:Trustkill Records albums

Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jay James (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Michael Thomas (drums). They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana. Jeff Killed John recorded six songs which were not released; two of these tracks were reworked later in their career as Bullet for My Valentine. Financial difficulties dictated the name change, which was followed by a change in music direction. In 2002, the band secured a five-album deal with Sony BMG. The band has stated that their music is influenced by classic heavy metal acts such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slayer. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.

Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, ''The Poison'', was released on October 3, 2005 in the United Kingdom and on February 14, 2006 in the United States to coincide with Valentine's Day hence their band name. The album entered the ''Billboard 200'' in the US at number 128. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The band made appearances at the Download Festival and ''Kerrang!'' XXV, and undertook a US tour with Rob Zombie. Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album, ''Scream Aim Fire'', was released on January 29, 2008 and debuted at number four on the ''Billboard 200''. The band's third album, ''Fever'', was released on April 26, 2010 and debuted at number three on the ''Billboard 200''. The band has sold over one million albums in the United States and nearly 2,500,000 albums worldwide and are the most-successful act in the ''Kerrang! Awards'' category of "Best British Band" with three wins.

History

Jeff Killed John and record deal (1998—2005)

Roadrunner Records showed interest in Bullet for My Valentine and offered the band a deal. The offer was ultimately turned down, and the band signed a five-album record deal with Sony BMG and a UK licensing deal with Visible Noise. According to Tuck, they chose Sony because, "We thought that a lot more doors would be open to us." A self-titled EP was released on 15 November 2004 in the UK. Produced by Colin Richardson, it featured five tracks and marked the band's first official release. A second EP, ''Hand of Blood'', was released on 22 August 2005 through Trustkill Records and was only available in the US; the release contained one extra track than the self-titled EP, "4 Words (To Choke Upon)". Daniel Lukes of ''Decibel Magazine'' reviewed the EP by stating, "The worst part is that the music itself isn’t all that bad, for the genre." He went on to comment that the band should be "embarrassed" about the release. Zeromag's Josh Joyce complimented the band on "how technical they can get without confusing the kids".

''The Poison '' (2005—2007)

Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, ''The Poison'', was released on 3 October 2005 in the UK and on Valentine's Day, 2006 in the US. It entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 128, and attained number 11 on the Independent Albums chart. On 30 January 2009, the album was certified gold by the RIAA after 500,000 copies were sold in the US. Four singles were released from ''The Poison'': "4 Words (To Choke Upon)", "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)", "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)", and "Tears Don't Fall". Bullet for My Valentine promoted the album by touring across the world. In 2005, with increased popularity, they played on the larger Download Festival Snickers stage; in 2006, the band were moved to near the top of the main stage bill. Other tours included opening for Metallica and Guns N' Roses in the summer of 2006, the Vans Warped Tour, ''Kerrang!'' tour, and Earthday Birthday. The band's performance at the Brixton Academy in London on 28 January 2006, was filmed for their first DVD, ''The Poison: Live at Brixton''. During June 2007, Tuck suffered from laryngitis, which let to an emergency tonsillectomy in July. Bullet for My Valentine were forced to cancel several shows, including supporting Metallica for three dates on their Sick of the Studio '07 tour on 29 June in Bilbao, 5 July in Vienna, and 8 July at the recently completed Wembley Stadium in London. Unable to speak, Tuck wrote that as soon as doctors cleared him he would be in the studio working on the band's next album.

''Scream Aim Fire'' (2007—2008)

In support of the new album, the band toured North America and Australia in the spring of 2008 for the Taste of Chaos tour alongside Atreyu, Blessthefall, and Avenged Sevenfold. Bullet for My Valentine cut short the Canada portion of the tour and flew back home to support the daughter of James who was in hospital. The band performed in North America again in the summer of 2008 as part of the No Fear Tour with Bleeding Through, Cancer Bats, and Black Tide. In late 2008, the band toured Europe, supported by Lacuna Coil, Bleeding Through, and Black Tide. In December 2008, ''Scream Aim Fire'' was re-released with four bonus tracks that were recorded during the album's studio sessions, but with re-recorded vocal-lines. Bullet for My Valentine confirmed in August 2009 that they were aiming for an early 2010 release for the new album, while Tuck stated that the upcoming record is "a lot more mature-sounding, it's a lot more classic. It'll stand the test of time [more] than both the previous things we've done". In a January 2010 interview with ''Rock Sound'', Tuck stated explained details for the album; it would be titled ''Fever'' and that the 11-track record would have a sound closer to ''The Poison'' rather than ''Scream Aim Fire'' and would feature no ballads.

During the summer of 2009, Bullet for My Valentine toured across the United States as part of the Mayhem Festival, alongside Killswitch Engage, Slayer, and Marilyn Manson on the main stage; they also appeared on the UK leg of the Sonisphere tour at Knebworth, headlining the second stage. The band will be headlining the second stage at the Download Festival 2010 on the Friday night. The band has also been confirmed for Nova Rock, Metaltown, Rock am Ring, Rock on the Range, The Bamboozle, Bilbao Live Festival, Fortarock and Graspop. In addition, they will be playing alongside the Big Four on the Greek leg of Sonisphere. ''Fever'' was released on 27 April 2010. A free download of a new track called "Begging For Mercy" was released on the band's website on 14 February, 2010 as part of a Twitter promotion. The song "Your Betrayal" was chosen as the lead single for the album and was set to release on 9 March 2010, but, unexpectedly, was released earlier on 2 March 2010 as a digital single on iTunes Store. The second single is called "The Last Fight" and was released on 19 April. The album artwork for this studio album was released on the official website on 5 March 2010. Bullet for My Valentine announced the start their US tour in support of ''Fever''. It began on 30 April with the bands Airbourne and Chiodos as support. On 12 March the band released the music videos for "The Last Fight" and "Your Betrayal". The band revealed the track listing on their website on March 15, as well as other various sources that include an email to all of their subscribers on the mailing list. On 26 April the band played a secret show in London to celebrate the release of ''Fever''. This was their only UK headline show until the end of the year.

Fourth studio album (2011-present)

Musical style and influences

Band members

;Former members

Discography

Awards and achievements

References

External links

Category:Welsh heavy metal musical groups Category:British metalcore musical groups Category:British thrash metal musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1998 Category:Musical quartets Category:Jive Records artists Category:Kerrang! Awards winners Category:People from Bridgend

His work often parodies popular song forms, such as in "The Elements", where he sets the names of the chemical elements to the tune of the "Major-General's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Pirates of Penzance''. Lehrer's earlier work typically dealt with non-topical subject matter and was noted for its black humor, seen in songs such as "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park". In the 1960s, he produced a number of songs dealing with social and political issues of the day, particularly when he wrote for the U.S. version of the television show ''That Was The Week That Was''.

In the early 1970s, he retired from public performances to devote his time to teaching mathematics and music theatre at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He did two additional performances in 1998 at a London gala show celebrating the career of impresario Cameron Mackintosh.

Early life

Lehrer graduated from the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. He attended Camp Androscoggin, both as a camper and a counselor. While studying mathematics as an undergraduate student at Harvard College, he began to write comic songs to entertain his friends, including "Fight Fiercely, Harvard" (1945). Those songs were later named ''The Physical Revue'', a joking reference to a leading scientific journal, ''The Physical Review''.

Mathematics career

He remained in Harvard's doctoral program for several years, taking time out for his musical career and to work as a researcher at Los Alamos, New Mexico. He served in the Army from 1955 to 1957, working at the National Security Agency. (Lehrer has stated that he invented the Jell-O Shot during this time, as a means of circumventing liquor restrictions.) All of these experiences eventually became fodder for songs, viz. "Fight Fiercely, Harvard", "The Wild West Is Where I Want To Be" and "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier". Despite holding a master's degree in an era when American conscripts often lacked a high school diploma, Lehrer served as an enlisted soldier, achieving the rank of Specialist Four, which he described as being a "corporal without portfolio". In 1960, Lehrer returned to full-time studies at Harvard, but he never completed his doctoral studies in mathematics.

From 1962, he taught in the political science department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1972, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz, teaching an introductory course entitled "The Nature of Mathematics" to liberal arts majors—"Math for Tenors", according to Lehrer. He also taught a class in musical theater. He occasionally performed songs in his lectures, primarily those relating to the topic.

In 2001, Lehrer taught his last mathematics class (on the topic of infinity, and which was said to go on forever) and retired from academia. He has remained in the area, and still "hangs out" around the University of California, Santa Cruz.

His Erdős number is 4.

Mathematical publications

RE Fagen & TA Lehrer, "Random walks with restraining barrier as applied to the biased binary counter", ''Journal of the Society for Industrial Applied Mathematics'', vol. 6, pp. 1–14 (March 1958) T Austin, R Fagen, T Lehrer, W Penney, "The distribution of the number of locally maximal elements in a random sample", ''Annals of Mathematical Statistics'' vol. 28, pp. 786–790 (1957)

Musical career

Author Isaac Asimov recounted in his second autobiographical volume ''In Joy Still Felt'' of seeing Lehrer perform in a Boston nightclub on October 9, 1954, during which Lehrer sang very cleverly about Jim getting it from Louise, and Sally from Jim, "and after a while you gathered the 'it' to be venereal disease [the song was likely "I Got It From Sally (in later versions 'Agnes')"]. Suddenly, as the combinations grew more grotesque, you realized he was satirizing every perversion known to mankind without using a single naughty phrase. It was clearly unsingable (in those days) outside a nightclub." Asimov also recalled a song that dealt with the Boston subway system, making use of the stations leading into town from Harvard, observing that the local subject-matter rendered the song useless for general distribution. Lehrer subsequently granted Asimov permission to print the lyrics to the subway song in his book. "I haven't gone to nightclubs often," said Asimov, "but of all the times I have gone, it was on this occasion that I had by far the best time."

Lehrer was inspired by the success of his performances of his own songs, so he paid for some studio time to record ''Songs by Tom Lehrer''. At the time, radio stations would not give Lehrer air time because of his controversial subjects. Instead, he sold his album on campus at Harvard for three dollars, while "supportive record merchants and dorm newsstands bought copies…and marked them up fifty cents." After one summer, he also started to receive mail orders from all parts of the country (as far away as San Francisco, after ''The Chronicle'' wrote an article on the record). Interest in his recordings was spread by word of mouth; friends and supporters brought their records home and played them for their friends, who then also wanted a copy.

The album—which included the macabre "I Hold Your Hand in Mine", the mildly risqué "Be Prepared", and "Lobachevsky" (regarding plagiarizing mathematicians) became a cult success via word of mouth, despite being self-published and without promotion. Lehrer then embarked on a series of concert tours and recorded a second album, which was released in two versions: the songs were the same, but ''More of Tom Lehrer'' was studio-recorded, while ''An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer'' was recorded live in concert.

Lehrer's major breakthrough in the United Kingdom came as a result of the citation accompanying an honorary degree given to Princess Margaret, where she cited musical tastes as "catholic, ranging from Mozart to Tom Lehrer". This prompted significant interest in his works and helped secure distributors for his material in the UK. It was there that his music achieved real popularity, as a result of the proliferation of university newspapers referring to the material, and the willingness of the BBC to play his songs on the radio (something that was a rarity in the United States).

By the early 1960s, Lehrer had retired from touring and was employed as the resident songwriter for the U.S. edition of ''That Was The Week That Was'' (TW3), a satirical television show. An increased proportion of his output became overtly political, or at least topical, on subjects such as education ("New Math"), the Second Vatican Council ("The Vatican Rag"), race relations ("National Brotherhood Week"), air and water pollution ("Pollution"), American militarism ("Send the Marines"), World War III "pre-nostalgia" ("So Long, Mom", premiered by Steve Allen), and nuclear proliferation ("Who's Next?" and "MLF Lullaby"). He also wrote a song that famously satirized the alleged amorality of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, who had previously worked for Nazi Germany before working for the United States. ("'Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That's not my department', says Wernher von Braun.") Lehrer did not appear on the television show; his songs were performed by a female vocalist and his lyrics were often altered by the network censors. Lehrer later performed the songs on the album, ''That Was The Year That Was'', so that, in his words, people could hear the songs the way they were intended to be heard.

In 1967, Lehrer was persuaded to make a short tour in Norway and Denmark, where he performed some of the songs from the television program. The performance in Oslo, Norway, on September 10 was recorded on video tape and aired locally later that autumn; this program was released on DVD some 40 years later.

Also around 1967, Lehrer composed and performed on piano original songs in a Dodge automobile "industrial" film that was distributed primarily to Dodge automobile dealers. It was also shown at promotional events organized by Dodge. Set in a fictional American wild west town, the full proper title of the film appears to be "The Dodge Rebellion Theatre presents Ballads For '67" Since the film is introducing 1967 model automobiles, it was possibly produced in late 1966.

The record deal with Reprise Records for the ''That Was The Year That Was'' album also gave Reprise distribution rights for Lehrer's earlier recordings, as Lehrer wanted to wind up his own record imprint. The Reprise issue of ''Songs by Tom Lehrer'' was a stereo re-recording. This version was not issued on CD, but the songs were issued on the live ''Tom Lehrer Revisited'' CD instead. The [live] recording also included bonus tracks "L-Y" and "Silent E", which Lehrer wrote for the PBS children's educational series ''The Electric Company''. Lehrer later commented that worldwide sales of the recordings under Reprise surpassed 1.8 million units in 1996. That same year, the album ''That Was The Year That Was'' went gold. The album liner notes (and Lehrer himself in one routine) promote Tom Lehrer's songs using reverse psychology, by deliberately quoting his negative reviews.

Departure from the music scene

When asked about his reasons for abandoning his musical career, in an interview in the book accompanying his CD box set (released in 2000), he cited a simple lack of interest, a distaste for touring, and boredom with performing the same songs repeatedly. He observed that when he was moved to write and perform songs, he did, and when he was not, he did not, and that after a while he simply lost interest. Although many of Lehrer's songs satirized the Cold War political establishment of the era, he stopped writing and performing just as the 1960s counterculture movement gained momentum.

Lehrer's musical career was brief; in an interview in the late 1990s, he pointed out that he had performed a mere 109 shows and written 37 songs over 20 years. Nevertheless, he developed a significant cult following both in the United States and abroad.

In the 1970s, Lehrer concentrated on teaching mathematics and musical theater, although he also wrote ten songs for the children's television show ''The Electric Company''—Lehrer's Harvard schoolmate Joe Raposo was the show's musical director for its first three seasons.

Revivals and discographic reissues

In conjunction with the ''Tom Foolery'' premiere in 1980 at Criterion Theatre in London, Lehrer made a rare TV appearance on BBCs ''Parkinson'' show, where he sang "I Got It From Agnes".

On June 7 and 8, 1998, Lehrer performed in public for the first time in 25 years at the Lyceum Theatre, London as part of the gala show ''Hey, Mr. Producer!'' celebrating the career of impresario Cameron Mackintosh, who had been the producer of ''Tom Foolery''. The June 8 show was his only performance before Queen Elizabeth II. Lehrer sang "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and an updated version of the nuclear proliferation song "Who's Next?". The DVD of the event includes the former song.

In 2000, a boxed set of CDs, ''The Remains of Tom Lehrer'', was released by Rhino Entertainment. It included live and studio versions of his first two albums, ''That Was The Year That Was'', the songs he wrote for ''The Electric Company'', and some previously unreleased material. It was accompanied by a small hardbound book containing an introduction by Dr. Demento and lyrics to all the songs.

In 2010, Shout! Factory launched a reissue campaign, making his long out-of-press albums available digitally. They also issued a CD/DVD combo called ''The Tom Lehrer Collection'', which includes his best-loved songs, plus a DVD featuring an Oslo concert.

Musical legacy

In 2003 he commented that his particular brand of political satire is more difficult in the modern world: "The real issues I don't think most people touch. The Clinton jokes are all about Monica Lewinsky and all that stuff and not about the important things, like the fact that he wouldn't ban land mines... I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporize them."

In a phone call to Gene Weingarten of the ''Washington Post'' in February 2008, Lehrer instructed Weingarten to "Just tell the people that I am voting for Obama."

A play, ''Letters from Lehrer'', written by Canadian Richard Greenblatt, was performed by him at CanStage, from January 16 to February 25, 2006. It followed Lehrer's musical career, the meaning of several songs, the politics of the time, and Greenblatt's own experiences with Lehrer's music, while playing some of Lehrer's songs. There are currently no plans for more performances, although low-quality audio recordings have begun to circulate around the internet.

Some of his songs ("I Hold Your Hand in Mine" and "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park") were reworked into German by the Austrian-Jewish singer satirist Georg Kreisler who lived in the United States from 1938 until 1955. Lehrer was praised by Dr. Demento as "the best musical satirist of the twentieth century". Other artists who cite Lehrer as an influence include "Weird Al" Yankovic, whose work generally addresses more popular and less technical or political subjects, and educator and scientist H. Paul Shuch, who tours under the stage name Dr. SETI and calls himself "a cross between Carl Sagan and Tom Lehrer: he sings like Sagan and lectures like Lehrer." More stylistically influenced performers include American political satirist Mark Russell, and the British duo Kit and The Widow. British medical satirists Amateur Transplants acknowledge the debt they owe to Tom Lehrer on the back of their first album, ''Fitness to Practice''. Their songs "The Menstrual Rag" and "The Drugs Song" are to the tunes of Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag" and "The Elements" (itself set to the tune of the "Major-General's Song" from ''The Pirates of Penzance'' by Gilbert and Sullivan), respectively. Their second album, ''Unfit to Practise'', opens with an update of Lehrer's "The Masochism Tango" and is called simply "Masochism Tango 2008". Syndicated conservative morning-radio talk show host Jim Quinn sings with piano backing in a Lehrer-like tribute in a song on how political correctness has destroyed so many Christmas traditions with the song "A Politically Correct Christmas".

Lehrer has said of his musical career, "If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while."

Music lists

Reviews selected by Lehrer for his liner notes

Solo discography

Many Lehrer songs also are performed (but not by Lehrer) in ''That Was The Week That Was'' (Radiola LP, 1981)

The sheet music to many of Lehrer's songs is published in ''The Tom Lehrer Song Book'' (Crown Publishers, Inc., 1954) Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 54-12068 and ''Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer: with not enough drawings by Ronald Searle'' (Pantheon, 1981, ISBN 0-394-74930-8).

References

External links

Category:1928 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century mathematicians Category:American male singers Category:American mathematicians Category:American novelty song performers Category:American satirists Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American pianists Category:American comedy musicians Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Reprise Records artists Category:Comedy musicians Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Category:Parody musicians Category:University of California, Santa Cruz faculty Category:Horace Mann School alumni Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Jewish songwriters Category:Wellesley College faculty Category:Jewish comedians Category:American Jews Category:American Jews

Amy Macdonald (born 25 August 1987 in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire) is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Her debut album, ''This Is the Life,'' was released on 30 July 2007 and has sold more than 3 million copies. Her first single, "Poison Prince", was released on 7 May 2007. Other singles released from ''This is the Life,'' "Mr Rock & Roll" and the album's title track, were also successful, reaching the UK Top 40 Singles charts and enjoying success elsewhere in Europe, particularly Germany. "L.A." and "Run" did not chart on the UK Top 40 but were hits elsewhere in Europe.

Macdonald's second studio album, ''A Curious Thing,'' was released in March 2010. The album's lead single, "Don't Tell Me That It's Over," was a modest hit in the United Kingdom, charting at forty-eight on the UK Singles Charts, but did better in Continental Europe, charting as high as six in Germany and two in Belgium. The second single, "Spark" failed to chart in the UK, but charted elsewhere in Europe. "This Pretty Face" was released as the album's third single; it charted at one-hundred-thirty-eight in the UK, and at forty-nine in Germany. "Love Love", the fourth single, charted at one-hundred-eighty-three. "Your Time Will Come", was the fifth single from the second album ''A Curious Thing,''. That was released December 17, 2010.

Early life

Music

Breakthrough

In an interview with HitQuarters, Wilkinson said he was "literally aghast" at her songwriting abilities when first he heard Macdonald play the songs "This is the Life" and "Mr Rock n Roll".

Wilkinson then spent around eight or nine months recording demos with Amy at his home studio with a view to securing a record deal for his new client. In 2007, Macdonald signed a contract with Vertigo.

Macdonald received her first major press coverage when she questioned whether the 2007 winner of ''The X Factor'', Leon Jackson, was suffering from tonsillitis, referring to it as "lazyitis". Macdonald had tonsillitis at the same time but still performed at Glasgow and at the BBC's ''Hogmanay Live'' show the same night.

''This Is the Life'' (2007–2009)

The fourth and most successful single, "This Is the Life", charted at #28 in the UK, but was #1 in five other European countries. The single was awarded Platinum in Germany and Belgium and Gold in Spain and Switzerland. The fifth single, "Run", gave Macdonald her second lowest chart position in the UK at #75. However, "Run" charted at #36 in Germany. The sixth and final single was the re-release of "Poison Prince", but charted at #148 in the UK, Macdonald's lowest chart position.

The album's track "Youth of Today" was chosen as the first single featured on Bebo/iTunes' "Free Single of the Week" program.

She appeared as a musical performing guest on British and foreign shows including ''The Album Chart Show'', ''Loose Women'', ''Friday Night Project'', ''Taratata'' (France), and ''This Morning''. She won the best newcomer award at the Silver Clef awards.

''A Curious Thing'' (2010-2011)

Macdonald began writing songs for her second album in spring 2009, in a brief break from her touring commitments. For the first time she began poring through her old notebooks, looking at song ideas, unlike her debut which consists mainly of songs that she wrote straight away. Many of the tracks were inspired by real-life personalities or events from her everyday life. Contrary to some reports, she did not write "Spark" for murdered toddler James Bulger after watching a TV programme on his murder. "What Happiness Means To Me" is dedicated to her footballer fiancé Steve Lovell, while "An Ordinary Life" is inspired by the "Z-list celebs" she saw flocking around Scots-born Hollywood actor Gerard Butler at a party he held in Glasgow late 2009 to mark the opening of his film ''Law Abiding Citizen''. There is also a track about Michael Jackson and one dedicated to her late grandparents. The tracks were recorded at Weller's BlackBarn Studios in Surrey.

Macdonald started working on her second album in the year of 2009. She said "Some of the sounds are just amazing and we've managed to persuade one of my favourite artists to whack some stuff down on them, but you'll have to wait and see." The second album, titled ''A Curious Thing'', was released on 8 March 2010.

It was preceded by the release of the first single, "Don't Tell Me That It's Over", a week earlier on 1 March 2010. The single was released to UK radio on 11 January. Amy performed the new single on the Simon Mayo Show on BBC Radio 2 on the same day. "Don't Tell Me That It's Over" has been released to radio in countries like UK, Switzerland, Germany and France. The album's second single "Spark" was released on May 10, 2010 on digital download format. Macdonald also confirmed that she would tour the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe in 2010.

The album's third single "This Pretty Face" was released on July 19, 2010. Also, Macdonald confirmed she would embark on a tour, entitled ''The Love Love Tour''. Amy MacDonald is one of a number of artists who appear with Ray Davies in his 2010 album ''See My Friends''. She sings with him on "Dead End Street".

''The Third Album'' (TBA)

Artistry

Musical style

Macdonald cites Travis as her biggest influence. Other influences include The Killers and the Libertines.

Personal life

Awards and nominations

Macdonald performed, along with U2, at the German 2009 Echo Awards, where she won an award in the category "Best International Newcomer". She also won Best International Album and Best International Song at the 2009 Swiss Music Awards.

In 2010 Macdonald won "best album" for ''A Curious Thing'', at the annual Tartan Clef awards on 20 November in Glasgow. Also, Macdonald won "best international album Rock/Pop" with ''A Curious Thing'' at the Swiss music awards in March 2011. Furthermore, Macdonald won "best international Rock/Pop Female" at the Echo Awards, beating celebrities such as: Adele, P!nk, Rihanna and Katy Perry.

Discography

References

External links

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:People from Glasgow Category:Scottish songwriters Category:Scottish contraltos Category:Scottish female singers Category:Scottish female guitarists Category:Scottish singer-songwriters Category:People from Bishopbriggs Category:People educated at Bishopbriggs High School