Everything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl emerged in 1982 out of the early careers of Tracey Thorn (born September 26th, 1962 in Brookman’s Park, England) and Ben Watt (born December 6th, 1962 in London, England). As teenagers during the post-punk years of the early ’80s, both were signed separately to the London-based independent label Cherry Red – Tracey initially with her first band Marine Girls, Ben as a solo artist. After a clutch of independent releases, including two Marine Girls albums, a collaborative single (using the name Everything But The Girl for the first time), and their respective minimalist solo albums, “A DISTANT SHORE” (Thorn, 1981) and “NORTH MARINE DRIVE” (Watt, 1982), the pair then signed as Everything But The Girl to the fledgling Blanco Y Negro label (through WEA) in 1984.

Between 1984 and 1991, EBTG released six studio albums: “EDEN” (1984, featuring the European hit, “Each And Every One,” and later released as “EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL” in the U.S. – with new sleeve and altered track listing to accommodate six new recordings), “LOVE NOT MONEY” (1985), “BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT” (1986, including “Come On Home”), “IDLEWILD” (1988, including the U.K. #3 hit, “I Don’t Want To Talk About It,” and “Apron Strings,” written for the John Hughes film, She’s Having A Baby), “THE LANGUAGE OF LIFE” (1990, their first release on Atlantic in the U.S.; includes the VH1 hit, “Driving”), and “WORLDWIDE” (1991).

Three compilation albums appeared in the early nineties: “ACOUSTIC” (1992, a mixed collection of “acoustic” tracks for North America only, including all four songs from the U.K. hit EP, “COVERS”), “ESSENCE AND RARE” (1992, a Japanese-only retrospective and rarities compilation), and “HOME MOVIES” (1993, a non-U.S. retrospective compilation including hits and popular album tracks).

Since 1992-93, when Ben endured a lengthy recovery from an unexpected and near-fatal illness, EBTG have returned to work with renewed dedication. 1994 saw the release of their seventh studio album, “AMPLIFIED HEART,” which garnered some of the best reviews of their career and achieved gold status in America and England. A year after its release, the album spawned a massive million-selling worldwide hit with Todd Terry’s thumping, melancholy house remix of “Missing,” which earned an RIAA gold single, went to #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 (and #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay chart), and charted in a variety of U.S. radio formats. The single also went to #3 in England (where it was Top Ten for over three months and was certified platinum); #1 in Australia, Canada, Germany, and Italy (where it held the top spot for six weeks); and Top Five in another six European countries.

EBTG undertook their most extensive tour to date throughout North America and Europe in support of “AMPLIFIED HEART” and “Missing.” During the same period, Tracey sang lead vocals and co-wrote two songs (one with Ben) for Massive Attack’s second album, “PROTECTION” (1994), and both she and Ben guested on dates on Massive’s 1995 tour. Tracey also sang on Massive’s recording of Smokey Robinson’s “The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game” for Atlantic Records’ soundtrack to the hit Warner Bros. film, “BATMAN FOREVER.”

The rest of 1995 was spent dividing their songwriting time between spells in London and New York, followed by the recording of EBTG’s eighth studio album, “WALKING WOUNDED” (1996). Time was also found for more promotion to support the continued worldwide success of “Missing,” plus the set-up of EBTG’s own massive 50-page non-corporate Website on the Internet (http://www.ebtg.com), written and conceived entirely by the band.

“WALKING WOUNDED” released on May 21st, 1996, is the eighth studio album from Everything But The Girl. It is a step further out from the tender, folk-jazz breakbeats of “AMPLIFIED HEART” (1994), EBTG’s previous album and home of the original version of “Missing.” The new album draws its inspiration from the hit “Missing” remix and Tracey’s recent close collaborative work with Massive Attack, while introducing fresh ideas from the burgeoning U.K. drum’n’ bass scene. “WALKING WOUNDED” features nine new songs, as well as two remixes: a Todd Terry remix of “Wrong,” and an Omni Trio remix of the title track. It is an album of intense, beat-driven songs.

“Drum ‘n’ bass is the most exciting thing to happen to music in a long time,” says Ben. “To me, it often sounds like 21st Century bossa nova, which is where we have so often naturally written and felt music. People have responded so strongly to our recent records and collaborations that it has opened up new areas to us in rhythm and melody.”

With “WALKING WOUNDED,” EBTG have attempted to redefine and modernize the Brazilian feel of their early work through drum ‘n’ bass on such songs as “Good Cop, Bad Cop” and “Before Today.” The duo has also collaborated with London drum ‘n’ bass specialists Spring Heel Jack (featuring John Coxon, who co-produced tracks on “AMPLIFIED HEART,” and Ashley Wales) on the title track’s surging, cinematic strings and skimming beats.

The deep, melancholy sound of “Missing” permeates “Wrong” (the first single) and “Big Deal,” whilst elsewhere, looser mid-tempo grooves and atmospheric arrangements affect “The Heart Remains A Child,” “Single,” “Mirrorball,” and the introspective Howie B-filtered collaboration, “Flipside.”

“Half of the album was written in London, half in New York, where we went last spring,” says Tracey. “We wanted to make an album that could be played in the city as much as in the house. London and New York gave us the inspiration and the beats, whilst the success of ‘Missing’ gave us the courage.”

With the exception of the Spring Heel Jack co-write, all of the songs on “WALKING WOUNDED” were written by Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn. The album was produced and programmed by Ben Watt, except for “Walking Wounded” (produced and programmed by Spring Heel Jack), and “Flipside” (co-produced and programmed by Howie B).